Help! High Heating Bill
We have a 4-zone heat pump central heating system (SEER 14). Consuming approx. 360 kWH/day right now which works out to a 2000+ electric bill. We need someone who is knowledgeable to come in and 1) tweak the system – check out the ductwork, do cleaning if needed, etc. 2) check for leaks and 3)…
We have a 4-zone heat pump central heating system (SEER 14). Consuming approx. 360 kWH/day right now which works out to a 2000+ electric bill. We need someone who is knowledgeable to come in and 1) tweak the system – check out the ductwork, do cleaning if needed, etc. 2) check for leaks and 3) possibly make a recommendation to add a gas-fired furnace to our system if need be.
Any recommendations?
sorry to hear about your situation. like the others have said, i believe your problem is that you need a real furnace. http://bk.ly/beY
however, given what you are paying to Con Ed during the winter, the payoff statistics should look quite good for an investment outlay.
I am not sure (w/o asking the arch.) if the ductwork is truly “central” since there we have zoned A/C. If it is floor by floor, how could I install a gas furnace (except for the garden floor)?
I think it was around 900/month last winter, max.
25 or more years ago someone in my neighborhood started a business selling heat pumps that used electric-resistance heat as a back up.IIRC the purchasers got a special electric rate for not using gas heat–it wasn’t special enough! I guess they haven’t improved much. AFAIK the few that he installed are still sitting as rusted junk on rooftops, having been quickly abandoned by their unlucky buyers.
Thanks, all. Last winter wasn’t quite as bad – 900/month.
Electrical system is practical and cost efficient in Florida not NYC. Let the winter finish batten down the hatches and get a gas furnace in before the next winter comes.
I have worked with Andrew Collins in a past project that included a refurb of an existing residentail heating system, and found his office very helpful. Their website is – http://www.pacollinspe.com
Hope this helps,
Kyle Page, AIA LEED AP
Sundial Studios Architecture & Design, PLLC
(718) 852 6708
Probably cheaper to burn the money. Use $1 bills though.
How recent is this system that you didn’t notice the electric bill before? Or is this your first winter with this system?
Anyway, whoever installed a heatpump/electric backup heat forced-air system in a NYC climate should be shot because that kind of stupidity is incurable. No amount of tweaking and or cleaning will help you. Use the existing system for cooling only and add a gas furnace. Better still, if you have the money install new equipment for cooling. Fourteen SEER is nothing these days and besides, who knows what other wonders your installer managed to perform. What’s your summer bill like?
The best recommendation I have for you is to hire someone other than the original installer.