Time for a new furnace. What kind?

[kenmac]

The bad part about using an HP is. If you are use to the warm heat from a gas furnace, you may not like the heat you get from a HP. If you go HP , it man take you some time getting use to the type heat it produces.some like it...some don't

 

[Country Geek]

The bad part about using an HP is. If you are use to the warm heat from a gas furnace, you may not like the heat you get from a HP. If you go HP , it man take you some time getting use to the type heat it produces.some like it...some don't

This is correct. The second post in this thread is a much better explanation of this than I can write:

Temperature at Vents - Carrier Heat Pump

Key point:

[A heat pump] works by turning over the air in a room multiple times through the heat exchanger instead of just pumping a bunch of hot air into a room (like a furnace) and hoping it mixes with the ambient air. So as you probably already know, it's not designed to be as hot as a furnace would be.

Except I'll add that the 90 degree air being provided, while warm, is below body temperature so it feels cooler to the touch, while a furnace is putting out hotter air that is above body temp.

I've also been told by experts, but not verified for myself, that newer heat pumps feel warmer. I think the real key is whether the air being produced is above or below body temperature.

 

[fordmantpw]

Talking about hot water brings another thought to mind. With geothermal, make sure you get a desuperheater option on your unit. With it, you get 'free' hot water during the summer. It takes the waste heat from the house and heats your domestic hot water with it. During the winter, it will heat your water some, but not to the extent in the summer.

If you are planning to replace your existing water heater soon, do it now when you put in your geothermal system and reap the rewards. It works best to have 2 water heaters, one used only for storage that will hold the water heated by the geothermal unit. The water comes into the storage unit, then from there to the main water heater. That is the way ours is set up. You know how as you are taking a shower, especially if you are 3rd or 4th in line, you have to turn up the hot water as it gets cooler? Well, in the summer, we actually have to turn down the hot water because it gets hotter once the main water heater starts drawing water from the storage heater.

So you can figure at least 50% savings on hot water by going this route.

 

[fordmantpw]

The bad part about using an HP is. If you are use to the warm heat from a gas furnace, you may not like the heat you get from a HP. If you go HP , it man take you some time getting use to the type heat it produces.some like it...some don't

You know, that is the sole reason some friends of ours chose to use gas over geothermal in their new home. 'She wants the air coming out of the vents to feel warm.' I personally don't care, as long as my house is warm. Geothermal thermostats are usually set to 0.5 degrees difference before kicking in. It is a lot more consistent heat than other types due to the fact that that is the most efficient way to run it. You don't want to use programmable thermostats with geo as that will kill the efficiency.

 

[kcflhrc]

I agree a heat pump is a different kind of heat. I have a brand new 4 ton Heil Heat Pump with propane back up. As long as the propane companies don't price gouge this year like last year it should be fine. Summer fill price is $1.79 a gallon and I have a 500 gallon tank. Last winter was pretty bad in Kansas. I'm still holding out for more global warming, cause I like it hot. My take on Geothermal is that it runs all the time. If I hear something running I see dollars flying out the window. Heat pumps run a lot more than gas or propane. If I had to do it all over again I would probably just go all electric.

 

[fordmantpw]

I agree a heat pump is a different kind of heat. I have a brand new 4 ton Heil Heat Pump with propane back up. As long as the propane companies don't price gouge this year like last year it should be fine. Summer fill price is $1.79 a gallon and I have a 500 gallon tank. Last winter was pretty bad in Kansas. I'm still holding out for more global warming, cause I like it hot. My take on Geothermal is that it runs all the time. If I hear something running I see dollars flying out the window. Heat pumps run a lot more than gas or propane. If I had to do it all over again I would probably just go all electric.

My geothermal doesn't run all the time. It runs more than our propane furnace and old A/C did, but the temp is more consistent, and total cost to run is much less.

 

[KennyG]

The moving air does feel a lot cooler which takes some planning to determine if your existing duct system is adequate to keep air velocity down when switching from gas heat to a heat pump. I have a wood stove in the basement so I put the furnace fan on manual to move air and heat to the upper floors. My wife complains about the cold drafts. I tell her to sit somewhere else. You can imagine how that all turns out.

 

[kenmac]

Well,the duct work has to be sized for the air flow and static pressure per the specs of the unit being installed. All that depends on the unit manufacture. You can't size duct work for a 3 ton system at .2 etc static pressure if the manufacture calls for different specs. A gas furnace usually turns off at a higher temp than heat pumps provide. I have had to remove heat pumps and install total gas units because of unhappy heat pump customers. Like I stated, if you like the way the heat feels from a gas furnace. You may be unhappy with the heat from a HP. Heat from a HP takes some getting use to when switching from gas heat

 

[mikehaugen]

I have had to remove heat pumps and install total gas units because of unhappy heat pump customers. Like I stated, if you like the way the heat feels from a gas furnace. You may be unhappy with the heat from a HP. Heat from a HP takes some getting use to when switching from gas heat

Just to clarify, does this only apply to traditional heat pumps? Seems someone mentioned earlier that geothermal does not have this drawback.

 

[fordmantpw]

Just to clarify, does this only apply to traditional heat pumps? Seems someone mentioned earlier that geothermal does not have this drawback.

Geothermal has the same thing to an extent. The air coming out of the vents is warmer than an air-to-air HP, but not near as warm as a gas furnace.