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Posted by Paul M. Eldridge on April 16, 2008, 9:43 am
wrote:
>4 years ago, I suspected that the cost of petroluem and NG heating was going
>to go up considerably in the near future. Based on that and on the fact
>that we probably have the cheapest electric rates in North America (6 cents
>KWh), for our new house I decided to go with an electric heat pump. We had
>an American Standard (Trane) 14 SEER system put in and haven't missed the
>ever increasing LARGE increases in gas & oil heat.
>
>R
Hi Rudy,
Good call! The previous owners of my home used 5,700 litres of
heating oil in the year prior to my purchase. I got that down to
roughly 2,000 litres through various efficiency upgrades and a new
oil-fired boiler, indirect hot water tank and Tekmar control system.
Three years ago I installed a ductless heat pump and, with that, my
fuel oil consumption over the first two years fell to 827 and 830
litres respectively. This winter, whilest somewhat colder, it should
come in at 750 litres or less -- I'll know the exact number when my
tank is topped-up later this month or next.
I use roughly 500 litres for domestic hot water purposes with the
remaining 250 or so for backup space heating during the times when the
heat pump can't keep up. Next month I will be installing a small 58
litre, 1,500-watt electric water heater to pre-heat the water that is
feed my indirect tank. By eliminating the bulk of my DHW demand, I
expect my fuel oil consumption to fall in the range of 300 litres/year
(80 gallons).
Long term, I hope to install a second ductless heat pump to better
serve the lower level and a heat pump water heater. At that point, I
will be able to eliminate oil altogether.
Cheers,
Paul
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