this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2024
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Showerthoughts

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If a machine is never 100% efficient transforming energy into work because part of the energy is converted into heat, does it mean an electric heater is 100% efficient? [@showerthoughts@lemmy.world](h (social.graves.cl)
submitted 9 months ago by alvaro@social.graves.cl to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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If a machine is never 100% efficient transforming energy into work because part of the energy is converted into heat, does it mean an electric heater is 100% efficient? @showerthoughts@lemmy.world

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[–] spaduf 13 points 9 months ago (2 children)

There's an interesting aspect of this that I have not seen mentioned yet. While this is true you are usually better off using your residential heater rather than an electric space heater because residential heaters are frequently over 100% efficient. That is, they deliver more heat for the energy expenditure than if you had converted the energy directly by redirecting ambient heat. Heat pumps are this same principle taken to the extreme.

[–] RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

But there's a flip side to that as well - if you've got heat pump heating your whole home but you only really need to heat 1 room, you may be "wasting" a good chunk of that bonus efficiency.

[–] Fisk400@feddit.nu 1 points 9 months ago

If you dont want certain rooms heated you close the doors to those rooms. And place the heater such that the airflow goes trough the rooms you want heated.

Also the house should be heated evenly unless you have really poor isolation and that should be addressed way before the minutia of heat pumps gets discussed.