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186 points pseudolus | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.282s | source
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oezi ◴[] No.44434518[source]
There are some technological ideas to help bees be healthier such as special bee hives which have more natural topology and help the bees spend less energy on cooling/heating the hive. Example for a cylindrical hive: https://www.hiive.eu/en/
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tantalor ◴[] No.44434789[source]
We could install HVAC in each hive.

Can heat pumps be scaled down to that size?

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1. cogman10 ◴[] No.44434915[source]
You don't typically have just 1 hive. It's usually a group of them.

You wouldn't need an HVAC per hive, but rather 1 HVAC for the swarm. Get a water mass, HVAC it to the right temperature, and then pump the water through the hives to maintain a good temp.

It'd be somewhat more expensive and you'd have to have enough insulation to make sure the water isn't prematurely cooling before reaching the hive.

Hives also tend to be really cheap. They are simply wood boxes. So you'd be competing with $100 wood box with $200 wood box and $1000 HVAC and plumbing.