this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2024
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Smart enough to understand heat pumps dumb enough to think it's has that large of an effect.
In cities it actually does have an effect, especially in crowded ones. Millions of people in a relatively small area blasting AC "exhaust" out of their windows heat up the crammed air and in turn the buildings, streets, etc. which increases the heat island effect of cities.
Granted, it's not a huge effect, but it's measurable. First source I could find: https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/08/30/fact-check-is-air-conditioning-making-cities-hotter
see I've been wondering if a heat pump system could heat an oven hot enough to bake bread. use environmental heat to manufacture Wonder Bread or something.
I don't know the answer, but it this did work it would both make the outside of the oven super cold and be so slow to warm up that it would be pointless. Keep in mind that you have to get stuff in and out so air exchange is inevitable, every time you open the door you'd be reducing the heat substantially and it would take a long time to rise back up.
Also my gut feeling is that any practical implementation wouldn't be as energy efficient as you'd hope.
The other part of the idea is use the heat pump to not only heat an oven to bake bread (or do some other industrial heating process) but have the other end cool some process that produces waste heat, such as a data center or something. Or air condition a warehouse.
I don’t see why it shouldn’t be able to. You might need concentric shells depending on the power of the heat pump.
I don’t see how? Using heat pumps to concentrate heat doesn’t seem like a violation of any thermodynamic laws?
They don’t continue to be 500% efficient as you fill their downstream side with heat.
Huh guess so. But still 2.4 degrees ain't a whole lot (well except on a global scale lol). Thankfully in this situation doesnt really cause additional global warming problems.
Cities are already about 5C hotter than the surrounding countryside. Adding this increase on top, means 7.5C.
4OC in the countryside is already bad, 47,5C in the city is deadly for a lot of people.
I think you underestimate, how deadly heat can be: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet-bulb_temperature
Wouldn’t those 2.5C already be included in cities being 5c warmer..?
No, since most cities are not fully air conditioned.