Ok so most of you have oil as a backup because you are way north from me and I get it, a Heat pump just won’t cut it. Well, here on the ol’ south, USUALLY, heats pumps fair pretty well. This is what you get when you are out of town most of the week and are not able to burn and it’s single digits with wind. Glad I’m home.
Last summer we installed a 2 head mini split ductless heat pump primarily for A/C (yes, a/c in Maine) and the "shoulder" heating seasons, before we fire up the big guns. They have been off for 6 weeks or so as we're now 100% wood, but just for the heck of it just the other day I turned one of them on @ about 8* outside. Much to my surprise it was blowing hot air. It does not have the backup electric resistance "emergency" heat, 100% heat pump. I was impressed.
Those temps look awfully familiar. I've been home nights and working the stove hard. Managed to keep the heat pump off 'til the early morning hours most nights. Unfortunately need to keep some space heaters running in the cold, dark corners of the house and basement though.
Many people think heat pumps can't make heat below 32 degrees, and in the past that was true, but today's heat pumps are extremely efficient! They have come a long way in a short amount of time. One of the biggest problems with heat pumps is the owner. They think they can save money by turning the unit off and then complain that the unit doesn't make enough heat. These units need to run a longer time, but they are made to run longer and use less electricity.
...and Dennis Lee was imprisoned for years for selling heat pumps 25-30 years ago, mostly because he forgot to fill out some form that NO ONE HAD EVER HEARD OF and that no one has ever been prosecuted for, before, or since.
I'm not a HVAC guy, but like any other hvac "system" it needs to be properly sized for YOUR home including insulation, windows and quantity, etc. I have been told that it is not quite as critical as the older set ups because the motor & compressor operate at a variable speed with a "soft start" that provides some of the efficiency. The older "conventional" motor/compressor's were either on or off. But again someone who actually knows (yooperdave iirc) might jump in here. Just google "mini split'' or ''ductless mini split heat pumps''. Mitsubishi, LG, Fujitsu are some of the players. We got a $750 rebate check from the state from an efficiency program fwiw. We're only into this about 4 months, but so far it's all thumbs up!
I have a new trane XR15 that was installed and sized for my home by my best friend who is a trane rep. New unit inside and out. It really runs well and keeps the house warm but this cold snap is probably the worst I’ve ever had in my adults years and some may chuckle but it just doesn’t get that cold here. It was 6 this morning. When those temps get that low, my unit will run 18/24 hours and about 5 of those hours will be emergency heat. That’s just dollars going out the window to me. Especially when I can make it 80 in here for a fraction of the cost and have fun doing it lol.
Dennis Lee plaid guilty and was imprisoned for selling "Marketing Kits" to potential dealers/investors...otherwise known as fraud....not heat pumps
Is that screenshot data tstat ? Or other software monitoring system ? Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
Uh huh. He had heat pump technology all worked out twenty years before all these companies stole his ideas, and he was railroaded because somebody didn't like their power sales being impacted so negatively. The oil and utility people have done far worse to others over the years.
That having been said, yes, he over-promised at times, and overstated COPs, but that's minor compared to what his work has done for humanity, and the time he spent in San Luis Obispo is a stain on America.
I always thought that "heat pump" was a term that described a household POS utility that keeps you warm in Summer and cool in Winter.
I had to Google this cat, never heard of him but admire this type of thinking but it looks like he's selling snake oil from the little reading I just did. Examining the Amazing Free-Energy Claims of Dennis Lee - CSI Dennis Lee - Better World Technologies and United Community Services of America - The Skeptic's Dictionary Power Failure - Forbes.com
You can get quality heat pumps for $16k or you can get a quality pellet stove for $4K. In 3 years, my pellet stove will have paid for itself in savings. I'm guessing 10 years to pay for the pump. Even if the heat pump saves more money at a better rate, I'm still coming out ahead in the first 13-15 years or so because of the savings I'm accruing for the 7 years difference. Based on that loose logic and data, the way I see it, heat pump owners don't start pulling ahead of me until nearly 15 years down the road. Yes, this assumes of course that biomass fuel remains constant over those years -- something we all agree isn't happening. But it does illustrate that a pellet stove owner is likely to be ahead of the game than you heat pump guys for some time.
