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Posted by on August 10, 2007, 1:27 pm
> >i got two estimates for a heat pump. the square footage of the house
> > is about 2100 square feet. the location is rochester, NY. before
> > someone jumps all over me as far as having a heat pump in the
> > northeast, keep in mind that we are on a municipal electric with the
> > rate about 3.5-4.0 cents/KWH. in fact, my highest electric bill (air
> > handler has electric coils for when needed) has been about $220.
>
> No, Heat pumps are different than they were 30 years ago, you'll be fine
> using one.
> Good rate too.
>
>
>
> > anyway, one contractor said the house size was borderline for 2.5 ton
> > or 3 ton. the current unit is a 2.5 ton.
>
> > what i'm confused about is the other contractors sizing. he sized the
> > heat pump at 2.5 tons but the air handler evaporator coils is 3 ton.
> > is there a reason why he may have done this? i will be getting a
> > variable speed blower if that matters.
>
> Not a problem IF they do a proper CFM check and tune the VS Blower into the
> proper CFM according to AIR
i was hoping that the tonnage difference between the heat pump and air
handler
would not matter (in this case). one of the bullets on the
installation contract
says that the the "system would be air balanced". the contractor has
been in business
for 20 years and previously worked for another outfit for 20 years.
based on that,
i'm confident that he knows what he is doing (no outstanding
complaints in the
BBB). besides, the company is in our small village "so i know where
he lives,
er i mean works).
one thing that i did not mention is that it is not just the heat pump
but also the
whole air handler system inside that i am replacing. the whole system
is from
the same company so i'm guessing that the size difference between the
outside
heat pump and indoors evaporator coils is allowed within the
manufacturer
specifications.
> I would suggest however that you look into a two speed unit. Possibly a 4
> ton two stage unit with a VS, this will allwo a much lower balance point on
> heating before back up/AUX heating starts. It WILL Cost more, but it may be
> well worth it.
based on comments from contractors and others that have had
replacement
heat pumps installed in our area higher SEER units, higher tonnage,
etc. would
take too longer to recover. as i said the highest bill we have ever
had was
around $220 (that's heat and electric). subtract out our $60 bill
where we are
not heating the house or using AC and you can figure that the maximum
heating
bill is around $160. during that time the AUX heat coils were on for
maybe 1/4
of the time for the month.
besides i'm going from a 9-10 SEER unit to a 13. again, i have to
trust (please,
no disparaging remarks) the contractor based on his reputation.
>
> Also, if you have the room go Geo Two Stage and pay about $100 a month year
> round for electricity and use a desuperheater for hot water heating. Yep,
> costs more but well worth it if your staying there and think you that energy
> will go up in costs.
>
> Rich
>
> > thanks!
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