Oil and Gas get massive subsidies every year, but a huge part of it are the very popular heating oil subsidies that keep people alive in the winter. Could these be reduced or replaced if instead the government gave money towards families purchasing electric heaters and spending their money on that?
Edit: USA but i assume the problem is not uniquely ours
because it takes a lot of labor to install them.
that’s a low estimate. my estimate was $10,000 to install it for a single condo unit. I’ve seen many as high as 30-40K for mid-sized homes.
What do you think it should cost? $300?
the only places i’ve seen cheap installs are like, <5 housing with all the duct work already ready go and it was basally built with an upgrade in mind.
If a single person working alone can install them in a weekend - which happens all the time - a pro who has experience in doing this often should be able to do it for $1000 or less. It is a lot of labor but not more than $4000 worth. At least not the normal case.
ok, so why don’t you go around installing them for $1000?
seems like there is a big market for it, no?
The HVAC trades are run kind of like a mafia, at least in my part of the world. It’s a savage business, and it’s not because they’re competing on price.
installing a heat pump is a one-day job, even with just one person. people deserve to be paid for their labour, but $400+/hr is excessive