Re: xkcd: Neighbor-Source Heat Pump

On Tue, 10 Jun 2025 21:35:37 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
wrote:

Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> writes:

On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 15:56:23 -0400, William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com>
wrote:
>

Lynn McGuire wrote:

>
<snippo>
>

Oil for heating is the worst thing ever.=A0 Expensive and dirty.

>
I can recall a large pile of coal outside my school in grade one.  I=20
presume it was the custodian's job to shovel all that into a furnace.
>
The next fall there was no more coal.  I suspect he was very happy with=20
the change.

>
My parents converted from coal to oil in the early 1950s. I can still
remember my Da digging the hole for the tank. With a shovel.

>
My Uncle (central Wis.) converted from wood to propane in the 70's.
>
One very large convection furnace (called an octopus) in the basement
replaced with a simple propane furnace with integrated air handler.
>
No need to stockpile (fell, buck, cut and split) 10 cords of
oak firewood every year (plenty of trees on the farm).  No need
move wood from the woodpile to the basement every couple of
days.  No need to go down the rickety narrow steep stairs to feed
the fire a few times a day.
>
No more frigid winter nights hoping the warm air would reach
the second floor.

The house to my south is one of a very rare breed: it is allowed to
burn wood for heat. This is because it has no other way to be heated.
It requires special recognition from the city, to avert unwanted
visits from the Fire Dept triggered by reports of smoke being smelled.

I kind of enjoy the smell myself, keeping in mind that the fire
producing it is safely contained in a furnace.

Over the years, some owners/renters have had cords of wood delivered.
Most used an axe, but one used a chainsaw.

It was after that started that strange bumps began appearing in our
back yard and then moved to our front yard ... although, like the fall
mushrooms, I don't seem to have seen them in recent years.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"