Heat Pump and power consumption

[kcflhrc]

I have the Dual Fuel, heat pump with LP back up. For Kansas it seems to be a pretty good set up. We have cold snaps but this year longer than normal. I have my heat pump locked out at 30 degrees, which means I run on LP under 30 degrees. I may change that to 25 or so and see how it works. You have to find a happy medium where the heat pump fails to keep up and runs all the time vs running on LP for a short while and getting things toasty in a hurry

 

[Sigarms]

It all comes down to price of electric and LP. Natural gas of course is a lot cheaper in most areas.

I just scratch my head when someone has an oil furnace (still have a bunch of them even in NC) and they want a new AC system, but don't want to spend a little more for a heat pump set up with the oil furnace. With the price of oil and how much you use that oil furnace below 65 degree outside air temp, the payback for the difference is pretty quick as long as you have a decent electric rate.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

No difference but the electric bill, mine is a 4 ton unit in our 2500 sq ft 2 story. Lots of difference heating a 1400 sq ft ranch vs a 2500 sq ft 2 story. Air has to be pushed a lot farther and a lot more variations in temp between floors. Plus our house was built in 1970. Newer construction is much more efficient. Although ours is all brick

Wow, install a secondary heat system. Your problem is not the heat pump, it's your house. Pushing 70 heating degrees in 1970 insulation is insane. Get a pellet stove or wood stove on the first floor to provide your primary heat any time you go over 40 heating degrees.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Just FYI, SEER stands for Summer Energy Efficiency Rating, and is a measure of cooling efficiency. It doesn't mean much when it come to heating. Modern heat pumps run about 16 SEER for a middle of the road heat pump. Heating rating is the HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor). An average unit will have a HSPF of about 8.5 - 9.

Do your energy upgrades first. Insulation is the gift that keeps on giving. Replace doors and windows. If you buy a heat pump first, you will pay big bucks for an oversized unit and then pay big bucks as it tries to compensate for a leaky house. Your utility company should arrange a free energy audit for you.

 

[goeduck]

After disabling my strip electric heat when my wood stove can稚 keep up or when I am at work, my heat pump is running solo now. This morning wifey ran the Tstat up 4 degrees to 74 F when she got up and I measured the temperature at a close register to be 90 degrees. So it is picking up 20 degrees from 70 to 90 when it was 40 degrees outside. Is that normal?

 

[LD1]

After disabling my strip electric heat when my wood stove can稚 keep up or when I am at work, my heat pump is running solo now. This morning wifey ran the Tstat up 4 degrees to 74 F when she got up and I measured the temperature at a close register to be 90 degrees. So it is picking up 20 degrees from 70 to 90 when it was 40 degrees outside. Is that normal?

That sounds about right to me.

If you knew how many CFM your blower was, you could convert that temp rise into BTU......

When it gets colder outside.....might only get 80-85 degree air out the vents....but still able to heat the house....and still more efficient than strips.

 

[coldsteelva]

The real trick is to keep that heat your capturing/producing INSIDE the house. Definitely spend money on sealing the envelope before addressing what may be a perfectly serviceable HVAC.

 

[jwstewar]

I have the Dual Fuel, heat pump with LP back up. For Kansas it seems to be a pretty good set up. We have cold snaps but this year longer than normal. I have my heat pump locked out at 30 degrees, which means I run on LP under 30 degrees. I may change that to 25 or so and see how it works. You have to find a happy medium where the heat pump fails to keep up and runs all the time vs running on LP for a short while and getting things toasty in a hurry

Funny, I had my breakover point (Lennox abbreviates it BP in the thermostat) set at 25 because propane had been so expensive. Around here AEP keeps raising their rates to the point it is getting ridiculous. I just changed my breakover point to be 30 or 32. At 1.79 a gallon, propane is cheaper than the heat pump struggling to keep up and the house is warmer. We built the house in 2008, it is a 2-story about 3100 sq ft plus basement. Electric bill last month (read date of Jan 10th) was $397, but that is close to typical for us. That includes running heated buckets for the all of the goats, dogs, and chickens. That also includes using a 9,000 BTU A/C-Heat Pump-Heat Strip window unit in our 12x14 milk room in the barn.

 

[MacLawn]

I got an Ecobee thermostat over a year ago, love it!! It has paid for itself in less than 6 months. Then last month, I got Nest for other place. Both were from my power company at good discount. No way would I ever buy another Nest. Love the Ecobee. Research it, it absolutely save on heat/ac bill.

 

[dragoneggs]

I got an Ecobee thermostat over a year ago, love it!! It has paid for itself in less than 6 months. Then last month, I got Nest for other place. Both were from my power company at good discount. No way would I ever buy another Nest. Love the Ecobee. Research it, it absolutely save on heat/ac bill.

Uh oh... just installed a Nest. Why are you so bent on Ecobee vs. Nest? What makes that smarter (energy saver)???