Heat Pumps = scam?

[edro]

Popsicles are such a scam here in hell!

 

[DesiPower]

Heat Pumps rule in Texas, we pay less than $150 for our 3000sqft home during peak winter

 

[Colt45]

natural gas ftw

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: Colt45
natural gas ftw

Sure if you live near the pipe.

 

[krylon]

Originally posted by: EricMartello
Doing some of my own research on Heat Pumps (the thing to heat and cool your home), I discovered that heat pumps work well, until about 37 degrees F where they start to run constantly, possible invoking backup heat to work. I live in the Northeastern region of the US which routinely sees winter temps 30 and under for weeks at a time...and wind, which I surmise would require more heating to compensate for.

Right now I have an aging central air / gas furnace deal and the A/C is great in terms of not using much electricty, but the gas furnace sucks more [gas] the winter than a thai hooker with a $10 bill. In my area, propane is close to $3 a gallon and I fill a 500 gallon tank about 3 times between Oct-Mar. That's a lot of money I'd rather spend on thai hookers and parts for my car. I spend about $30 a month to COOL my home in the winter...so yeah, total WTF there since I effectively pay $400/mo for heat and hot water. BULLLLLSHIT

So is there such thing as a heat pump that works efficiently in the winter? I don't mean pussy temps like 40 degrees - 40 degrees is warm; it's not winter, winter is 30 degrees F and below...with wind.

It's 2009 why the hell don't we have fusion heating or something yet. Screw developing crap like iphones and make a damn space-time manipulating climate controller. We have the technology. What are my options?

WTF bro. Insulate your house or fix your heater. You're doing it wrong if your bill is $4500 a year.

 

[EricMartello]

Originally posted by: Veramocor
Air source heat pumps can be made that work in low temperatures such as Hallowell http://www.gotohallowell.com/. Also I know in Canada Mitsubishi offers a heat pump that works in very low temperatures http://www.mitsubishielectric....t_is_zuba_central.html by using a variable speed compressor.

Unfortunately none of the big name companies are selling such models in the U.S.

That Mitsubishi Zuba looks like exactly what I'd want...I just wonder how much it costs, or would cost to get that from Canada to the states. Damn, that would be sweet! No need to dig holes or trenches and I could get by paying like $500 or less per year for heating / cooling. Then again, it's only available in 3-ton capacity so it might not work with my home. I think my current unit is 4-ton.

 

[Squisher]

The geothermal heat pumps with their big upfront cost of $15K-$30K will pay this off by year 10-15 depending on your heating and cooling costs.

I'd love to be paying $400/yr. for both heating and cooling.

 

[EricMartello]

Originally posted by: Squisher
The geothermal heat pumps with their big upfront cost of $15K-$30K will pay this off by year 10-15 depending on your heating and cooling costs.

I'd love to be paying $400/yr. for both heating and cooling.

I think it's possible with an efficient heatpump. My AC costs me about $20 a month to run 24/7 in the summer. I would imagine a heatpump would add around $30 to my electric bill running year round to heat and cool, sooo...12x30 = $360 a year in electricity for heating and cooling. I don't know if that mitsu pump could pull it off, but I am fairly sure a ground source heat pump could.

 

[bobsmith1492]

Originally posted by: Rubycon

Originally posted by: TankGuys

Well, CPUs *do* heat up by electrical resistance...

But ssshhh... don't tell people that I'm selling them processors I previously used to heat my living room

Technically it's junction capacitance that causes the heat.

More accurately, it's the on-resistance in the drivers that dissipates the heat (while driving the gate junction capacitances of other switches).

 

[iGas]

Air source heat pumps work well for mild climates, and geothermal or water source heat pumps should be employs in extreme hot/cold regions.

Turn down the AC/heat when not in use or at night can be a good energy saving practice. And, put a sweater on will also help, but you must check to make sure dew point isn't in side the exterior wall to prevent mold/moisture damage if you lower the house heat.

There are gas furnace that are 95-97% efficient that can be an alternative to electrical heat. Oil is getting expensive, and have insurance restriction/s on tank storage etc..., and wood isn't a logical alternative if you factor in back breaking splitting/stacking time.

<--- plumbing, gas, HVAC.

 

[iGas]

Originally posted by: EricMartello

Originally posted by: FoBoT
you are talking about air source heat pumps

ground source heat pumps, where the heat sink/source is coils buried in the ground, work fine in colder regions

my ground source heat pump is awesome

I looked at the ground source option...it seemed cool until they told me it's $15K to drill a few holes in the ground.

Aside from replacing my gas furnace (which was super high efficiency in 97 when it was new), I was thinking about just getting some electric baseboard heaters for each room. That's like what they do in Japan...even with the additional electricity being used i bet it will be better than propane.

BTW is hole-drilling really that expensive? If I buy a hole drilling machine can I go around charging that kinda money to drill?

It all depends on soil condition, or house location on/near body of water as to geothermal extraction method. Drilling is the most expensive, and it is even more if you are retrofiring the house when compare to new built.

Geothermal is doable on a new built house with suitable soil condition or water source, and is the most economical way of heating/cooling in extreme climate.