Heat Pumps Good for Western North Carolina?

Weezbo

near a river...it works.i considered adding some small radiant loop while i was there last time when it snowed...i considered, went to the plumbing companies and they were jerks wouldnt sell me parts..or materials.maybe they only like to sell not enough materials to do a job right...keep the local service guys in business...and forigners out of the trade *~/:)

NJNewbie

Heat Pumps in North Carolina

We will be building in western NC on a mountain 3000 feet up where it gets below 32 degrees on occasion (like today!). We are trying to educate ourselves about heat pumps, something very new to us, and are confused by the conflicting info and advice. It appears heat pumps alone are not enough for colder temps than 32 degrees and need a backup system, which sounds expensive. We are leaning toward a propane furnace and separate A/C unit but don't want to discount the heat pump until we get more info. Please advise if a heat pump could keep the temperature of our home at 70-72 degrees in very cold weather and if not, is the electric heat or propane backup preferable? Is the electric backup very expensive to run? Does it cost less initally than a propane furnace backup? Why wouldn't I just go with a propane furnace and be done with it? What's the advantage of a heat pump? Thank you for your help. It's very much appreciated.



"The Glass is Half Full"

Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

will a heat pump work

in northern Massachusetts? I have a customer that wants to install a water furnace. thanks, Bob

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

John Mills_5

Local utility costs

Knowing what electric & propane costs would help.

I have dual fuel, heat pump with natural gas backup. Our electric rates have remained very low in the last 10 years, our natural gas rates have skyrocketed. The heat pump has saved me a fortune. Right now it is 17 out and running on gas. Chances are a heat pump would do fine heating alone until you got into the lower 30s, then some backup would need to help out. If you rarely get below freezing, I would think a heat pump with electric backup would be good heat. If you spend a lot of time in the very cold and have high electric rates, propane or oil backup might be better.

Geothermal can be really cheap heat but high install costs can offset that considerably.

John Mills_5

Geos

Ground source heat pumps work anywhere. Biggest drawback is installed cost of a loop if you go closed system. For open loop, need a good well plus maintenance of the heat exchanger. For a cold climate like Mass. and if juice rates are high, the question would be if there would be a good savings with that type of system vs other fuels.

I have a friend in central Minnesota where it has been -20 below lately. I helped him put in his Water Furnace in the late 80s and its doing great. I know he has a LP backup but doesn't need it very often. He gets a great rate from the electric company, something those in New England may not enjoy.

Constantin

GSHP's....

... big up front cost, tempered by long paybacks and improved aethestics. Biggest drawback as I see it is the very high cost of getting the tubes into the field properly, even with a ECR DX system.

I imagine that a GSHP costs next to nothing to run in a mid-west state where coal-fired power plants are still allowed. Up here in the NE, all the oil plants are getting supplanted by gas-fired turbines. Our current electricity rates hover around $0.16/kWh, and they're likely to continue rising for the foreseeable future.

Another issue in MA is that much of the state seems to have vast quantities of drill-killing ignious rock right under the surface.

Jeffrey Campbell

GSHP

A heat pump is a stand alone sytem if properly designed the max output temperature is around 120 degrees max. which is perfect for many radiant applications. I just won an award this year from the Radiant Panel Association in the Innovative category for a geo radiant heating with chilled water cooling. Go to rpa.com and look at showcase systems. Also I live in a ski town in colorado where we experieince -20 degree nights and the system works great. A proper design in KEY! If I were building I would defineatly looking into geo options. My radiant applicaton was concrete on the lower level with tubing spaced on 9" centers and gypsum on the main lvel with 6" centers. I used closer centers to lower the supply temps.
Good Luck Jeffrey Campbell

Dale

Heat pump

I stayed in a house with an air to air heat pump in so. ohio over xmass. I hated the thing. I was cold out side so it never stopped running, I had a nose bleed, going outside on the beautiful winter day with a nice view and getting to listen to the heat pump run wasn't a seller. The discharge air temp was about 85 degrees so every outlet was a cold draft. The only comfortable place in the house was near the wood burning fireplace insert. If you do go with a heat pump overinsulate the house and really oversize the ducts to keep the velocity down. AND by all means if going electric have the bath floors and the kitchen if tile heated by and electric mat. At least you feet won't fee cold.

steve_78

heat pump

One place I found that has a lot of terrific information about heat pump systems is http://www.ourcoolhouse.com/ This site chronicles the design, construction, and real time performance of a heat pump system in a cold-climate, passive solar house. The site also has a forum where you can pose questions.

NJNewbie

Thank you to all who responded. Geothermal would be our first choice, unfortunately at our age we won't live long enough for the payback. We're leaning toward a heat pump with propane backup at this point, but would welcome any further comments or advice on this subject. Thank you!



The Glass is Half Full

Tharon

yes they work well in nc

been putting them in since 1972 in the carolinas. Ductwork is a most impotant issue, make sure the contractor does a manual j load and gives u a cost breakdown on perfomance. I go up into the mountains a good bit. L.P. is very expensive and so is Natural gas.


Peace Be With You


David C. Broome
coming from kudzo patch in the mountains of the carolinas