Looking to replace our HVAC. Anyone have anything thoughts about standard AC vs the heat pump?
Or the "hybrid" system.
Or the "hybrid" system.
AC vs Heat Pump
- Thread starter JokersWild
- Start date
Heat pump is more worth the investment if you have an above average sized house & are eligible to get the lower electric rate per KWH from Mid-Am. It is nice to put less hours on your furnace but once warranty is up on Heat Pump repairs tend to be higher than a standard AC.
No, not geothermal.
Heat pumps and ac is basically the same.
I just wasn't sure of the pro/cons of each of them or if people had had this choice recently and decided one way or another.
Heat pump does both heating and cooling on electric when the temperature is above 17 degrees. When temp goes below 17 the furnace heats on gas or if you're all electric an airhandler inside heats.
I had one of those in my first house. Did not work particularly well and always felt cold in the cool months. I think there is a place for them, but not so much in the Midwest where the air temperature gets too cold for them to work well.
For what it's worth Heating and air guys told me they are cheaper to run, but are more high maintenance.
I don't have one anymore....
Air source heat pumps got a bad reputation 25 or so years ago back in the midwest primarily due to some poorly educated (or in some cases unscrupulous) salespeople and installers, resulting in many installations having significantly undersized backup heating, and homeowners not obtaining the energy savings they were promised.
The link below is to a very old publication, but it has a nice graph on the bottom of page 2 showing the general relationship between house heat load and heat pump capacity as a function of ambient temperature (the specific curves for any house depend on the house and heat pump model selected).
Just realize that in the upper midwest, for a decent portion of the heating season, the heat load on the house is probably going to be larger than what the heat pump can supply, and the backup heating will be active.
https://www.bae.uky.edu/publications/AEES/AEES-15.pdf
The link below is to a very old publication, but it has a nice graph on the bottom of page 2 showing the general relationship between house heat load and heat pump capacity as a function of ambient temperature (the specific curves for any house depend on the house and heat pump model selected).
Just realize that in the upper midwest, for a decent portion of the heating season, the heat load on the house is probably going to be larger than what the heat pump can supply, and the backup heating will be active.
https://www.bae.uky.edu/publications/AEES/AEES-15.pdf
I know I am talking about an RV instead of a house, but the concept still applies. When we first started offering a heat pump option on our roof ACs, what design told me is that the heat pump was just meant to "take the chill out (raise temp 4-5 degrees)", and not replace the need for a gas furnace.
If you go the heat pump route- I have watched my backyard neighbor go outside in the freezing cold and scoop the snow away from the outside unit many times. Looks like the most miserable thing to do is scoop out a 3-5 foot snowdrift around the unit so the pump will work efficiently..... so theres that.
I have an air source heat pump hybrid system and like it. Mine is effective to 20degrees. Mine goes thru a defrost cycle that uses the furnace to melt the snow around it. Highly recommend buying all the same branded system so my furnace and heat pump talk to each other to optimize. I save about $30-$40 per month mostly due to drafty windows.
Also having the choice of electric or Nat gas hedges my self against high costs of either in the future
I am putting in a new system right now. Ferguson in Nevada. Heat pumps have come a long way in durability cost and efficiency .
My system also connects to the internet and keeps track of the cost of electric and natural gas and makes the choice which way to go.
