I want very much to electrify my home, but am still finding it difficult to budget for a heat pump. In addition there is a problem with installers, in that most of them are the same plumbing and heating guys (bless ’em) that installed your (most likely) gas unit and AC if you have one. They specialize in those and they don’t like moving out of their comfort zone. So it’s hard to. know where to get good advice that is specific to my geographic area. I’ll keep looking – in the meantime, the video above is a good summary of what we know, and what the costs still are.
I’ve been pricing heat pumps in Massachusetts for a few rooms in my house. The total upper price for my system (3 heads about 36K BTU outside unit) SHOULD be $13K for a complex install for my area before any rebates. My quotes have been $19K-$22K depending on contractor and vendor. I’m really considering just doing a minimal install myself.
I’ve gone completely electric in my house including solar panels on the roof. Is it expensive? Yes. But it is well worth it. One of the big unforeseen costs is upgrading the electrical service from 100amps to 200amps. That was a $6500 bill.
Will all the upgrades pay for themselves? Unlikely. However, we are in a time when we cannot only think about our personal cost. We have to factor in the cost to future generations if we don’t electrify – FAST. If you can afford to electrify without significant financial pain I encourage you to do so. Every time a natural gas account is closed it is another nail in the fossil fuel industry coffin.
Will upgrades pay for themselves? Would bet that power prices will rise thus improving the economics. In any event, enjoy the warm fuzzy of ‘moral actions’.
At Technology Connections he does a short video on how to calculate how much heating capacity your home needs, and talks about why the heating industry has led to overcapacity in recommending home BTUs.
And he links early on to a longer more detailed video he condenses (no heating pun intended) this one from.
Years ago, I did some electronics contract work for a Canadian heat pump manufacturer which had ties to WaterFurnace in the USA (Fort Wayne) so here are my comments (10,000 ft view) of the videos on this page.
(1) Most of these comparisons are not apples-to-apples
(2) Heat Pumps come in two major flavors: air-source and ground-source. Pedantically, “source” should only used in heating mode while “sink” should only be used in cooling mode, but Joe Citizen can be pretty dumb so “source” is used, and promoted, by the marketing people. Yes, it id true that air source heat pumps are just air conditioners with a reversing valve, but this is not information manufacturers are hiding from the consumers.
(3) Ground-source pumps can employ closed loops (vertical or horizontal) or open loops (lakes or streams). The first video shows a drilling rig so we know this is going to be a vertical closed loop.
(4) Fancier implementations may include DHW (domestic hot water) heaters which is one reason why some units are over sized when installed. Think of it, in cooling mode the heat from your house could be dumped into a hot water heater.
I’ve been pricing heat pumps in Massachusetts for a few rooms in my house. The total upper price for my system (3 heads about 36K BTU outside unit) SHOULD be $13K for a complex install for my area before any rebates. My quotes have been $19K-$22K depending on contractor and vendor. I’m really considering just doing a minimal install myself.
I’ve gone completely electric in my house including solar panels on the roof. Is it expensive? Yes. But it is well worth it. One of the big unforeseen costs is upgrading the electrical service from 100amps to 200amps. That was a $6500 bill.
Will all the upgrades pay for themselves? Unlikely. However, we are in a time when we cannot only think about our personal cost. We have to factor in the cost to future generations if we don’t electrify – FAST. If you can afford to electrify without significant financial pain I encourage you to do so. Every time a natural gas account is closed it is another nail in the fossil fuel industry coffin.
Will upgrades pay for themselves? Would bet that power prices will rise thus improving the economics. In any event, enjoy the warm fuzzy of ‘moral actions’.
At Technology Connections he does a short video on how to calculate how much heating capacity your home needs, and talks about why the heating industry has led to overcapacity in recommending home BTUs.
And he links early on to a longer more detailed video he condenses (no heating pun intended) this one from.
HVAC professionals aren’t sizing equipment appropriately [condensed version]
Years ago, I did some electronics contract work for a Canadian heat pump manufacturer which had ties to WaterFurnace in the USA (Fort Wayne) so here are my comments (10,000 ft view) of the videos on this page.
(1) Most of these comparisons are not apples-to-apples
(2) Heat Pumps come in two major flavors: air-source and ground-source. Pedantically, “source” should only used in heating mode while “sink” should only be used in cooling mode, but Joe Citizen can be pretty dumb so “source” is used, and promoted, by the marketing people. Yes, it id true that air source heat pumps are just air conditioners with a reversing valve, but this is not information manufacturers are hiding from the consumers.
(3) Ground-source pumps can employ closed loops (vertical or horizontal) or open loops (lakes or streams). The first video shows a drilling rig so we know this is going to be a vertical closed loop.
(4) Fancier implementations may include DHW (domestic hot water) heaters which is one reason why some units are over sized when installed. Think of it, in cooling mode the heat from your house could be dumped into a hot water heater.