Heat Pumps

About 8 months ago I moved into a home heated with heat pumps. Anyone who says this is a good way to heat a home is flat out full of baloney. It can’t keep up in this climate. My electric bill is absurd and my ducts are blowing lukewarm air into my 67° rooms.

72fmechanical

in Heating and Cooling 1 month ago

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jimhillra | 1 month ago

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@72F, there are a great deal of considerations here.

First and foremost, you’re right in that electric heat pumps in our area typically cost more than gas boilers and radiator heat. That’s because gas is much cheaper than electricity in our area.

Also, keep in mind that radiators were designed for leaky houses with little or no insulation. They blast a ton of heat at once, then shut off until the house is cold enough for another blast. Whereas heat pumps run almost constantly but at lower temperatures because they are designed for environments that don’t lose heat so quickly.

A properly designed house can easily be heated with the right heat pump. I was in one of our passive house renovations last week when it was 16 degrees. The heat pump was heating the lowest floor but was off on the upper two floors, and the house was warm and comfortable throughout.

When heating with heat pumps, it’s critical that you have very good windows, air sealing, and insulation. Even windows that appear in good shape may not be of a quality that would have enough air sealing and insulation to keep the cold out. And most row houses were built with little or no insulation in the walls, and only a little, if any, in the roof. If the house wasn’t recently renovated, chances are there’s not enough insulation for heat pumps.

I’d suggest looking up the model number of the condenser to see if that unit has HyperHeat. If you can’t find that information online, you could probably contact the manufacturer and give them the serial number. They should be able to look it up. If it doesn’t have HyperHeat, then it’s not sufficient for a sole source of heat in this climate zone. If this is the case, it’s a long shot, but you might be able to swap out the condenser for one with HyperHeat.