heat pumps

[shaley]

We have friends who live next to a cave and that is where they installed the outside unit... constant 50 degrees inside the cave.

mark

It's not those GEICO guys is it.

 

[Sigarms]

The larger the duct system the more dead air it holds. When a system gets larger than 3 tons this becomes a factor. I like to see two units (split zones) at that point vs. one big 5 ton unit.

"All things equal", it makes more sense to zone a system rather than putting more than one system in if you can still meet the load requirements with one system (cost wise). For my house, I have three systems, not the way I would of designed it, but that's what I'm stuck with and it would be a royal bi*&ch to change it, if not near impossible.

Most houses are not built for HVAC sytems, the HVAC systems have to be built around the houses. Wait until some of you have to replace a system with a new 13 SEER system or higher. The coils are bigger and some of you may be in for a surprise as far as to how much space you actually have to work with.

And from what I've seen, people won't bat an eye to upgrade 5k to 10k in kitchen cabnets or bathroom/sink fixtures, but god, have to upgrade the HVAC system by 1k and they have a heart attack.

 

[Bird]

My 1999 Rheem heat pump says "High Efficiency" on the top, but I've not found anything to tell me what the tonnage or the seer is. I'm sure that's only because I don't know what to look for.

 

[mjarrels]

What fails first on heat pump systems, inside air handler or outside unit? Mine are about eight years old.

mark

 

[Sigarms]

Bird, look at the model number. Some nomenclatures are hard to read, but some may have a 18,24,30,36,42,60 in the model number wich tells you the tonnage. Sorry to say, "High Efficiency" means nothing when it's written down on the equipment. Usually you will find a rating plate on the outside unit (as well with any HVAC equipment) that should at least give you the basic information.

 

[Bird]

look at the model number

You mean as in the attached photo? That's the plate that's on the outside unit.

 

[F350]

just my $0.02, I have a 3200 sq ft (living) home with two heat pumps. I would never go the heat pump route again. Too drafty..............

 

[Bird]

just my $0.02, I have a 3200 sq ft (living) home with two heat pumps. I would never go the heat pump route again. Too drafty..............

I guess, as with lots of things, it's primarily a matter of personal preference. One of my wife's brothers used to live in a house with one and liked. Another of her brothers has one now and likes it. My cousin used to have one and didn't like it. And now we have one and are happy with it so far. Drafty? Yeah, a little bit, but not enough to bother me. I hope its more energy efficient than what we've been accustomed to, and since it's 7.5 years old, I'm hoping it lasts a long time.

 

[Su7]

mechanic,

I didn't see any mention regarding water or ground source heat pumps which are much more efficient than air source heat pumps since they derive their heat from the earth or water supply which is at a steady state ~50 year round. These systems can even provide all your hot water needs in summer(cooling mode) via a desuperheater and even have options for heating your pool. Check out some of the below links as well as an article regarding the most recent DX version - Enjoy!!

Geothermal Resources Council
Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium, Inc.
ClimateMaster Inc. - Welcome to ClimateMaster.com
What is geothermal? | Frequently Asked Questions
GeoComfort.com

 

[Sigarms]

Bird, your outdoor unit is a two and half ton thirteen SEER heat pump. Keep in mind, depending on what it's "matched up" per the indoor coil/blower/air handler, ratings may differ per the manufacturer (one example would be if an expansion valve was installed or not).

Surprised that for the time (it was made on the 24th week in 1999) that someone did actually put in and spend the extra money for a 13 SEER unit.