Heat Pumps Work Miracles
Modern heat pumps are truly a marvel, especially when you get one designed for heating and not just an AC-unit running in reverse. They're very common in Sweden and can easily warm an entire house even at -20 C.<p>Whenever this topic appears on HN I want to get on my soapbox and yell "INSULATION PEOPLE, INSULATION!". Most houses I've seen outside of the Nordics have shit-all insulation and that's depsite it working both ways - house stays cooler in the summer. It's such a small cost to add during construction and it pays off in a year or two, tops.<p>Modern, newly built houses in Sweden, way above the arctic circle, require less than 5000 kWh per year to heat and generate hotwater.