Any Regrets? Air Source Heat Pumps in New England
March 16, 2022 12:02 PM
You purchased an air source heat pump for your home in the last few years. How do you like it?
I’m about to pull the trigger and sign a contract for two ducted air-source heat pumps. One for the in-law side of the house (smallish) and one for the main side of the house (pretty largish). This will be a dual-fuel setup on both sides. If the temperature drops below a certain point, the old oil-furnace will kick in. Mini-splits are not an option, nor do we want them. Gas is also not an option. The options are: air source heat pump plus oil backup, or traditional a/c units and oil.
Without getting into the technical details, if you have made this choice, moving from fossil fuels to air source heat pump - what do you think? Are you comfy? Is the air dry? Humid? Is it a pain to take care of? Is it the best thing you have ever done?
I am in Massachusetts. I like to not to freeze in the winter, or swelter in the summer. Plus, we have multiple people working from home who need a decent environment to function. I just don’t want to end up kicking my own ass down the road.
I’m about to pull the trigger and sign a contract for two ducted air-source heat pumps. One for the in-law side of the house (smallish) and one for the main side of the house (pretty largish). This will be a dual-fuel setup on both sides. If the temperature drops below a certain point, the old oil-furnace will kick in. Mini-splits are not an option, nor do we want them. Gas is also not an option. The options are: air source heat pump plus oil backup, or traditional a/c units and oil.
Without getting into the technical details, if you have made this choice, moving from fossil fuels to air source heat pump - what do you think? Are you comfy? Is the air dry? Humid? Is it a pain to take care of? Is it the best thing you have ever done?
I am in Massachusetts. I like to not to freeze in the winter, or swelter in the summer. Plus, we have multiple people working from home who need a decent environment to function. I just don’t want to end up kicking my own ass down the road.
My parents in Rhode Island replaced steam heat with a heat pump last summer. They have a ducted unit for the main living area, and mini-splits for three bedrooms. Their system was sized so the old steam system was removed completely.
They are very happy with it and have had no issues with temperature. They are generally stoic New England types who do not make the house overly warm in the winter. There is a wood fireplace as an option for short term making one space comfy hot.
Things to be aware of:
1. the main ducted unit makes noise - a constant mechanical hum, plus intermittent clicking noises that I think are valves opening and closing on different "zones" for the coolant. Their unit is in the basement. I would not want the main unit directly below or above a bedroom. The mini-splits are extremely quiet in operation but the big unit that pushes air through the duct - not so quiet.
2. There's a small junction box that goes from the heat pump to the units - it also makes clicking noises.
3. The outside compressor is pretty quiet but still does make some noise.
4. The set temperature might need to be a few degrees warmer than what you would want for a radiant heat source, like hot water or baseboards. The heater works by moving room air past the heated coil, so air has to be in motion, making the house feel slightly drafty, which I perceive as a bit colder. Also the air coming out of the registers is not hot, it is more like barely warm, and over time it increases the temperature. This is a different sensation from old steam heat where there's a radiator that is too hot to touch in the room.
5. The removal of all old radiators/baseboard heaters etc. is a big bonus as the added floor space is available for furniture. If possible, get the system sized up and remove all the old heating equipment - it's another thing to pay for and maintain "just in case" and you can have the old holes for pipes and radiators used as the starting points for where they need to cut slots for the vent registers.
If you have not already looked into Mass Save for insulation/heat loans/subsidy for this kind of thing - do it before you start. https://www.masssave.com I have done mass save audits and insulation in two places, have paid basically nothing, and improved the air sealing and efficiency a lot.
posted by sol at 2:59 AM on March 17, 2022
They are very happy with it and have had no issues with temperature. They are generally stoic New England types who do not make the house overly warm in the winter. There is a wood fireplace as an option for short term making one space comfy hot.
Things to be aware of:
1. the main ducted unit makes noise - a constant mechanical hum, plus intermittent clicking noises that I think are valves opening and closing on different "zones" for the coolant. Their unit is in the basement. I would not want the main unit directly below or above a bedroom. The mini-splits are extremely quiet in operation but the big unit that pushes air through the duct - not so quiet.
2. There's a small junction box that goes from the heat pump to the units - it also makes clicking noises.
3. The outside compressor is pretty quiet but still does make some noise.
4. The set temperature might need to be a few degrees warmer than what you would want for a radiant heat source, like hot water or baseboards. The heater works by moving room air past the heated coil, so air has to be in motion, making the house feel slightly drafty, which I perceive as a bit colder. Also the air coming out of the registers is not hot, it is more like barely warm, and over time it increases the temperature. This is a different sensation from old steam heat where there's a radiator that is too hot to touch in the room.
5. The removal of all old radiators/baseboard heaters etc. is a big bonus as the added floor space is available for furniture. If possible, get the system sized up and remove all the old heating equipment - it's another thing to pay for and maintain "just in case" and you can have the old holes for pipes and radiators used as the starting points for where they need to cut slots for the vent registers.
If you have not already looked into Mass Save for insulation/heat loans/subsidy for this kind of thing - do it before you start. https://www.masssave.com I have done mass save audits and insulation in two places, have paid basically nothing, and improved the air sealing and efficiency a lot.
posted by sol at 2:59 AM on March 17, 2022
Got ours about 7 years ago, and it's mostly been good. Stopped the house from freezing when our gas boiler died while we were on Xmas vacation. However, a few weeks ago a rat got into the condenser and completely destroyed it. Getting replacement parts (or even a quote) is turning out to be challenging, so we'll probably have to replace the whole thing. Glad we have the boiler as well. We hadn't finished paying off the MassSave loan!
[Edit] Nevermind, ours is a mini split system. Didn't read the question properly.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 6:04 AM on March 18, 2022
[Edit] Nevermind, ours is a mini split system. Didn't read the question properly.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 6:04 AM on March 18, 2022
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On the con side of things, the energy savings we expected have never really materialized. Overall, there is little net change to the amount we spend during the year for climate control, though if I crunched the numbers, I think we would end up with a small amount saved. We have now begun looking for ways to increase the overall efficiency of our set up. Last year we had new insulation installed and currently we are looking into solar panels for the roof.
posted by El_Marto at 12:31 PM on March 16, 2022