$169 million will be taken from the Inflation Reduction Act to enable the heat pump industry to produce "over 300,000" heat pumps, which amounts to $563.33 each. Also:
In a press release, the Energy Department said that it expects to move “quickly” on another round of Defense Production Act investments in early 2024. It has already said that it plans to use the law to ramp up production of electric grid components, solar energy, insulation and hydrogen energy components.
Oh, joy, dystopian power future, here we come.
What is a "heat pump?" is that an american thing? whenever I look up pictures of "heat pumps" i see pictures of what I'd call a wall mounted air conditioner.
It's basically a combination air conditioner/heater. It functions the same as an AC unit, but it also can run in reverse to heat instead of cool. It can look like a wall AC unit, or have an outdoor unit coupled with central air.
They're pretty energy efficient, but even the best ones can only manage down to around 15F before it needs secondary heating to kick in, either electric or gas. And electric secondary heating is really inefficient. Most can only manage down to 25F.
Oh we just call that a reverse cycle air conditioner here.