Posts Tagged ‘heat pump’

5 Things to consider when replacing your heating system

Posted: January 12, 2012 in Conservation, HVAC
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A big old boiler

#1: Research replacement systems before your current system dies

Hopefully, you’re reading this before you need to replace your heating system. Other than buying a car, a new heating system is likely to be the biggest single item you’ll purchase for your home. And just like a car, you want to do your research before plunking down the the ten grand on something you’ll be living with for years.

Unfortunately, most people wait until their heating system dies – usually in the dead of winter. What ensues is an emergency phone-call to your “heating guy” who will either replace your system with exactly the same, inefficient, old unit you already have or whatever he’s got on the truck, most likely the latter.

You wouldn’t buy a car this way, would you? You wouldn’t call your car dealership and say “my car broke down, sell me what you’ve got. Maybe give me a few options for different cars.”

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Understanding and Evaluating Heat Pumps

Posted: January 5, 2012 in HVAC
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Heat pumps are a bit of magic. But you use one in your home every day – your refrigerator. So if you can accept that your fridge works, somehow making 0 degree air from the 70 degree air in your home, plus some compressor action, then you should be able to accept that heat pumps can produce 95 degree air to heat your home while it’s 25 degrees outside.

I’m not going to subject you to a full lesson on thermodynamics and the refrigeration cycle. Instead, I just want you to accept the fact that heat pumps work on the same principles as refrigerators and air conditioners – they move energy from one place to another. In the process, they make one side of the system hotter and the other side colder.

Heat pumps, refrigerators and air conditioners all work the same way – they move heat from one place to another, amplifying the effect using a compressor and refrigerants.

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The Energy Geek Video 3: Ultra Efficient Heat Pump Review

Posted: December 1, 2011 in Conservation, HVAC, Review
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I bumped this back up to top of the list since it’s one of the most popular posts I’ve ever done. I also just had the misfortune of losing ALL THREE indoor units during a recent storm and power surge that killed appliances all around my development. Argh! However, they’re up and running again, good as new.

I love these heat pumps! There’s one in the bedroom, one in the basement “party room” and one in the large, living room that’s full of windows – a space that has been uncomfortable for years.

After installing these systems, I don’t know how we dealt without them before. The summer comfort is waaay better than ever. And in our basement room, I turned off the main heating system and used the Fujitsu exclusively all winter.

Keep in mind that this is one special little unit. There are many mini-split systems on the market that look like this, but most of them are barely half as efficient as this one. They’re just not in the same league.

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Q&A – Should I get a high efficiency heat pump?

Posted: May 10, 2011 in Conservation, Energy auditing, HVAC
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A friend dropped me this email yesterday, asking for some advice (slightly edited):

We spent a lot on oil last winter.  We have a 23 year old heat pump which gives us A/C in the summer, but no heat any longer.  I had a proposal from the installer for a new 14.5 seer heat pump replacement.
Here is the question: how much more efficient will that unit be compared to our old unit?  We are not convinced that it is worth the cost, so we thought you might give us a ball park estimate of potential savings.  Bottom line is enough: does this sound like a good decision?

This is such a great question, that I wanted to share it, and my answer, with the rest of you.

Let’s start with the basics – what is a heat pump?

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