- Heat Pumped
- Posts
- Making Every Air Conditioner a 2-Way AC
Making Every Air Conditioner a 2-Way AC
Shreyas chats with Nate Adams ("The House Whisperer") on the latest episode of the Heat Pumped Podcast
Shreyas Sudhakar & Nate Adams
April 18, 2025
The first episode of the Heat Pumped podcast is out, and it’s a fun one.
If you know anything about home electrification, you’ve probably heard of Nate. He pulled his first gas meter back in 2014, long before electrification was trending. He co-founded HVAC 2.0, wrote The Home Comfort Book, and has been a blunt and deeply informed voice pushing this industry toward better outcomes for homeowners, contractors, and the planet.
🎧 Listen to the full episode
It’s available on YouTube, or wherever else you get your podcasts! Don’t forget to subscribe.
Key Takeaways
💡 Air conditioners are dumb
“The easiest way to describe it is it's like two Toyota Camrys, one that has reverse gear and one that doesn't and otherwise they're identical. And like, do you really want a car without reverse gear?”
This quote sums up Nate’s thesis. He makes a strong case for eliminating one-way air conditioners and switching to two-way systems (i.e. heat pumps). He wants policymakers and manufacturers to stop producing one-way ACs altogether, and thinks the small $150–$400 difference in part cost could easily be subsidized.
🏡 Hybrids are the gateway drug
Nate isn’t a heat pump purist. In fact, he says hybrid systems (furnace + heat pump) are the only realistic way to move the mainstream market in cold climates. They're easier for contractors to sell, can be cheaper for homeowners to run depending on energy cost, and can sometimes cost less up front.
“Is it [A 3 ton inverter heat pump paired with a modulating furnace] the right piece of equipment? No. Will it work and work pretty well? Yep. so that's one of the things that makes hybrid super flexible. Like you can just put that in.”
🔁 Feedback loops > ideology
Nate walks the walk. He’s lived in five all-electric homes. He measures everything. He watches runtimes. He installs energy monitors and indoor air quality sensors. And he’s not afraid to change his views based on data.
“If you're trying to figure something out, sit there and study it and stare at it. Or if you can, turn it and watch it work. And sooner or later, it will reveal its secrets to you and you'll know what to do.”
📉 The IRA was a swing and a miss
We touched on policy too. Nate’s brutal assessment of the Inflation Reduction Act heat pump rebates?
“That is such a bad way that we spent the money and we knew those program designs don't work. We took garbage designs and we put two zeros on the budgets.”
He argues that if we’d just subsidized manufacturers to stop making one-way ACs, we’d be halfway to decarbonization by now.
Subscribe for more
If you like the episode, make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! We’ve got a great list of people coming on for this first season!
Do you like seeing Heat Pumped in other formats? |