We're thinking of installing a heat pump in the near/medium term (this
year or next). We live in the north Puget Sound area, so it never gets
really cold, and the summers are moderate, but July and August can get
into the high 80s occasionally. The main reason(s) for installing it
would be to (1) decrease our heating costs (propane); (2) have A/C
available in the summer when needed (hardly ever) and (3) increase the
eventual resale value of the house (probably 20+ years out, though).
It looks like most of the heat pump compressors and controllers are made
by only a few manufacturers, Goodman, Nordyne and a few others. It also
seems there are three levels of SEER ratings, around 13, >15 and >18. I
assume the price goes up with the SEER rating. We also did some poking
around on the Web opinion/review sites, and it looks like there is a lot
of variation on customer satisfaction even within one brand, which leads
us to believe that the most critical part of the whole process is
probably the installation and setup.
It looks like the older, lower SEER rated units still use R22, which is
still available, and should be for some time, but is being phased out.
The newer, higher efficiency units use R410a, which I don't know
anything about other that it runs at pretty high pressures (500 psi or
so on the high side). It also looks like there is another efficiency
rating, HSPF rating which rates the heating efficiency. These ratings
don't seem to be as easy to find as the SEER ratings.
Anyone have any current experience with a heat pump install? Does the
added expense of a very high efficiency unit pencil out over time? How
about warranties? Some have a 10 year compressor warranty, others
"lifetime"....Who's lifetime, I wonder.
I have a pretty good facilities background and have a lot of commercial
and industrial HVAC experience, but nothing on the residential side, or
with heat pumps, so any info would be welcome.
Thanks
Dave C
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