Inefficient heat pump

joel_19

Good replies from everyone with ways to make it better . if you could reply with more info that would help , for instance it almost sounds like you have a single zone sytem in a 2 story house , is this correct ?
You also stated that you thought it would be more efficent. My question would be , more eff than what ?
I noticed you wrote mostly about being uncomfortable but I believe you did not actually talk about eff. Which would be refering to the amount of energy consumed , not to how it actually feels.
We do the hydro conversions farely often up here and they are great , but without proper zoning and ductwork your comfort may not improve much.
I'd want to be taking a close look at your duct system before going any further , some duct systems leak 30 percent of the air they move . That could account for some of your discomfort and it would be much better to fix that than install a larger unit which will just consume more energy.

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Jay Coughenour

Inefficient Heat Pump

We have a 2 story house in Williamsburg VA and asked the builder for 2 zones. We expected this to be a more efficient way to heat and cool the house. The technician installed a heat pump system for the upstairs, and it does not do the job in cold weather.



We keep the thermostat set at about 71 or 72 degrees. Even though the heat pump system runs almost continuously, the upstairs is always cold and uncomfortable, especially the master bedroom. The system also struggles to cool adequately in the heat of the summer.


The house is about 2,650 sq ft, half upstairs and half down. The only open space between the floors in the stairway, so there is not a lot of air exchange between them. There is one return vent for the upstairs system and it is centrally located.



Any suggestions or reference material would be greatly appreciated.

don_134

I would

say there a problem.With the mild winter we had this year
the heatpump if size correctly should have never reach it first balance point.

Why not call the company out that put it in and ask for a
performace test,to see if the sytem is putting out the proper btus?

In the mean time,you can do a simple test yourself to see if its even working properly.
With a thermometer check the temps coming out of one of the outlets.record..at the return take the temp reading going back to the unit.this is what we call a delta t.

You should see any where from a 16 to 20 difference.If the
reading or above or below then you have more issue then you thought.

You are checking in ac mode with this test not heat.

Steamhead

If the heat pump won't do it

I'd convert both zones to "hydro-air" for heat. In this system a hot-water coil is placed in each main supply duct, fed by a hot-water boiler and suitably controlled. This is far cheaper to run than the usual electric resistance backup, which is nothing more than a glorified hair dryer. But it does cost more to install.

The boiler can also drive an indirect tank-type heater for your hot faucet water. This will give you much more hot water at less operating cost than the usual electric (or even gas) heater. Again, it does cost more to install.

If you don't plan to stay in that house for a long time, realize that savvy home buyers will want to see the utility bills. Operating costs will figure more and more into buying decisions as energy costs rise. If yours are considerably lower than the next person's, it would increase your chances of making the sale- and getting your price.

Don (above post) is in Virginia Beach. I don't know if he'd go as far south as Williamsburg ;-), but maybe he knows someone in your area who can do the job right. If not, try the Find a Professional page of this site.

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Brent_2

heat pump

You said you have a heat pump system for the upstairs. What do you have downstairs? If you aren't cool enough in the summer or warm enough in the winter your unit is undersized. Only having 1 return in the hallway also isn't that great. You should at least have a return in the master bedroom and it is best to have one in every bedroom. It would be a good idea to have a technician out to make sure the unit is running properly.

brent

Tom_35

Zone dampering could help---

I would first check to see what the load calculation of the home are. We generally do a room by room load, but would certainly want a load for each floor. If the total load is within the capacities of your heat pump, then you need to look at the duct system.

I would think that an automatic zone dampering system would certainly be worth looking at. Arzel Zoning has an excellent system that will allow you to have multiple zones on your single heat pump. Each zone would have its' own thermostat. Do a Google search on Arzel Zoning and you can see what their system is capable of. Very easy to install on existing systems.

The duct system is very important though. If the air isn't correct, you can't make the system work to its' capabilities. Most systems have leaky ducts, and I would guess that 85-90% of the return air duct systems are too small.

Tom Atchley