Heat pump performace in rhode island

Submitted by Yak54RC t3_zzw7a2 in RhodeIsland

THIS POST IS NOT POLITICAL SO PLEASE KEEP IT THAT WAY.

im not good with long posts and will miss info, so if you have questions about numbers and data (which i have a lot of) , please let me know

this post is for people that might be on the fence about heat pumps or are looking into getting one.as we know this month was kinda cold and this was my first cold month with my new GREE FLEXX(mr cool universal) heat pump. my home is 1400 square foot with 1k square foot basement. single floor ranch from the 60s with regular wall insulation BUT super insulated attic which came about a project i DIY last year (you can find that here https://imgur.com/gallery/Aq4fouH)

i had a full heating season with the new attic insulation last year which helped reduce my GAS use by 36 percent when compared to previous years accounting for different temps . so the next project for this year was to switch over heat pump since i had already reduced my energy needs. i have a good amount of solar panels on the roof and i overproduce during summer which gives me a credit for the winter and now with the heat pump i can take advantage of that credit.

EQUIPMENT:

i have a MR cool (just rebadged GREE FLEXX) which can be selected as 2 or 3 ton via a dip switch (they also have 4-5 ton).this basically replaces the outdoor AC unit. i still have my forced air gas furnace and air handler. nothing inside was changed since i had the right sized equipment inside already which consists of TXV valve and bi-directioanal filter dryer.

THE NUMBERS

for 1,400 sqaure foot house with 1k basement , the heat pump has used 500 KWHR for the month.i set the thermostat at 71 and NEVER change it, heat pumps do best when they have a small temp range to work instead of setting it at 65 when not home and then expecting to get to 70 when you get home. i have the the math and it uses almost EXACT amount and this way the house is always 71 degrees.

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so even with the crazy electricity rates i would pay about $145 for heating with the new heat pump for december but remember i have solar credits still. the most important thing we can do is to make sure we have proper insulation to minimize the load on the heating system. the heat pump had ZERO issues keeping up even the days we went down to 10 degrees. on the coldest day the heat pump still had downtime of 30-45 minutes before coming back on.

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ANYWAYS, shoot me your questions since im all over the place

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Comments

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Pdmnt t1_j2dy6yw wrote

I'm glad the heat pump worked but who are you voting for next election? Jk jk haha

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abovaveragefox t1_j2dxq2m wrote

Don't have one but I can say everyone I know that has installed one has raved about them.

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Yak54RC OP t1_j2dz3lp wrote

yes i would love to just give my small amount of info to someone that might have heard different or might not even know they are an option in the state . i have gas backup since i kept original furnace as air handler but i have not used any gas so far and not planning to use it at all

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abovaveragefox t1_j2e1q71 wrote

https://youtu.be/7J52mDjZzto great video on the technology and logistics of the system for anyone on the fence. Not to hijack your thread friend.

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Yak54RC OP t1_j2e2mlh wrote

No please this will broaden the conversation which is the ultimate goal

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Ragnaroknight t1_j2e268s wrote

My Heat Pump is my only heating system. I have a 1250sq foot house, And I only keep my heat at 68 when I'm home and 62- 64 when I'm not home.

I also have solar panels, 30+ of them.

Last January I used 2200KwH of electricity. That's a roughly $750 bill at today's rates. January and February are by far the worst months.

If you can tolerate 2-3 insanely high bills, for the most part it was a good investment. Keep in mind, I paid $0 from April to December.

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Yak54RC OP t1_j2e2jh9 wrote

What heat pump and do you know how much of that bill was the heat pump ?

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Ragnaroknight t1_j2e2ugv wrote

I'd say 80% of it.

My hot water, washer and dryer, fridge, and oven are also electric so that uses quite a bit. But it's immediately noticeable how much more power you use once it gets cold.

Anything above 40 degrees doesn't seem to use an insane amount of power, but once you get those below freezing days it can easily crank 80-100KwH in a single day.

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argybargy2019 t1_j2eidt1 wrote

I bet your auxiliary heating system is resistive electric. If so, you might realize significant savings if you investigate how to adjust its duty cycle and how to modify the switch temperature.

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UncleJimmee t1_j2f5szv wrote

this is likely right on. heat pumps are most effective at moderate temps. once it's cold enough they tend to switch to aux resistive heating.

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Yak54RC OP t1_j2e4w1b wrote

What water heater you have and what heat pump. On the coldest day this month my heat pump used 32 kwhr. You might have heat strips as auxiliary heating. Newer heat pumps like the one I have don’t need backup heat. I also have heat pump water heater which uses 3-5 kwhr per day in winter

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MonicaPVD t1_j2dyaop wrote

The future is here. Even without solar, the savings are considerable in RI. I am shopping for a heat pump now. Did you install the system yourself?

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Yak54RC OP t1_j2dypii wrote

yes i installed it myself but i had also previosuly installed the AC about 4 years back (which i did A TON of research for ) so i had the knowledge and tools . you just need to find a goof company or person that will work with you. it is up to us to do due diligence and get multiple quotes. I undertsnad the hesitation of homeowners with no info and of HVAC technicans that have not worked on these systems before.

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koidrieyez t1_j2dxd7f wrote

Answered the questions I had. Looking at a Mr. Cool unit to heat and cool a second floor unit that used to have a now illegal heating method. Going to use a split system. Was concerned that a heat pump wouldn't work in our area.

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kittyluxe t1_j2eo7fg wrote

we installed Mr Cool mini splits last year - they are amazing for cooling. Silent and super efficient. Our house was cool and dry all summer and electric bills less than the window units we had before. They can heat in a pinch, but we found the electric usage was really high and was more expensive than our gas heat. i do use it sometimes to warm up our sons room because that radiator is undersized. I suggest watching a lot of youtube installs and reading about btus :) i designed the system and my husband installed it. It was complicated due to the layout of our home. I'd say its not for an absolute beginner handy person - but doable if you are patient and careful. Btw - we bought way too many pre charged lines that we'd be happy to sell for a loss if your interested. Overall it cost about 6500 for 5 indoor units, 2 condensers, the electrician and the outdoor line covers.
Our lowest estimate from contractors was 17k and highest 30k to install central air. Our home is 1800 square ft.

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Yak54RC OP t1_j2dxx6s wrote

you need to remember that these units are all good units BUT if you have a bad installation or bad sizing with no information then they wont work right. just make sure its PROPERLY installed and that the unit you buy is the correct for the use you need. i understand the allure of those precharged lines but i have hear a lot of bad things. my unit was properly vacuumed and charged to EXACT amount of refrigerant per manufacturer. this is VERY important with these types of heat pumps

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omegaclick t1_j2fdghc wrote

Ops system is good down to -22f, will lose BTU's but will still put out heat, the standard MR. Cool wall mount units with the "quick" connect lines are not low ambient units and are only good to about -5F and lose almost 50% of their BTU output at that temp, so size your system accordingly..

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Diligent-Pizza8128 t1_j2e9ytg wrote

This is great to hear as we’redoing this now! We went with Daikin heat pumps.We’re also having solar installed in February, so I’m hopeful we can build up a credit this summer and enjoy a nice warm (and electric-bill free) home next winter.

We’re also getting about $4,000 back in rebates from RI Energy since we’re upgrading from oil heating - https://www.rienergy.com/RI-Home/Energy-Saving-Programs/Heat-Pump-Incentives

The incentives and federal tax credits are going to get even better in 2023, so I encourage anyone interested in heat pumps to watch out for when RI announces their new program.

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Unique-Public-8594 t1_j2e26ul wrote

This is helpful. Thank you.

We just installed one. It’s a bit louder than I would like (the blowing is noisy, not the heat pump unit). Any advice to make it quieter?

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Yak54RC OP t1_j2e2e95 wrote

What type of system. Sounds like your air output is higher to increase efficiency. Some systems you can sacrifice a little efficiency for more comfort

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Unique-Public-8594 t1_j2e4uzp wrote

I plan to contact the installer to ask about whether the system has a quieter setting. Thanks.

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Unique-Public-8594 t1_j2edq6v wrote

Bosch with Aux

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Yak54RC OP t1_j2efd99 wrote

The Bosch air handler has dip switches inside to change the fan speed. The unit I have is very similar to the Bosch. You can have a look at this manual to familiarize yourself https://resource.bakerdist.com/is/content/Watscocom/Gemaire/bosch_8-733-952-441_article_2674327384527413_en_ii.pdf

The issue I have with some installers if that they won’t spend the time to set up each system to each home. Most will just install and not set settings for comfort or efficiency.

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jfg1984 t1_j2ea0ck wrote

I’ve been thinking about getting a system installed for both heating and cooling. I have a large cape, around 1800 sq ft. I figure that will set me back around 10k

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fourlit t1_j2ebx7n wrote

We installed heat pumps a couple years ago. Ran about 17K for 1900 sq ft (3 floors/5 zones). Mistubishi with the outdoor unit that functions well below 0. No rebates/credits available at that time.

Just for comparison purposes when you get estimates.

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jfg1984 t1_j2efaxf wrote

Got it, thank you. We have two floors and I know that the state is rolling out new incentives for '23. I wouldn't be surprised to get a range of quotes from $10 - 15k.

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Yak54RC OP t1_j2ec7g5 wrote

what do you have for existing heating system

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jfg1984 t1_j2ef4vl wrote

Conventional gas forced hot water. Pretty good system, but nothing super high end. I mostly want a mini-split so I don't have to deal with window ACs, but I figure the supplemental heat would be good to have.

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gradontripp t1_j2ekvd4 wrote

Thanks for this. I’d expect if, say whenever you need to re-side your house, you add some “outsulation” (exterior insulation), that $145/mo will drop considerably.

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Yak54RC OP t1_j2enz3t wrote

Funny enough, my next major insulation project is exterior insulation. I’m just deciding on the exact amount and timeframe still. I did a small test at area on the side of my house foundation. https://imgur.com/a/BBqw2pb

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Stoicdadman t1_j2f699m wrote

I have been researching ground sourced heat pumps.

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Yak54RC OP t1_j2f85ju wrote

If you are building new and you have a massive house then I can see justifying the extra cost and complexity. The more I read and learn about air source heat pump the less appealing ground source looks. The efficiency percent of air source heat pumps already is good enough to make it financially viable. You just have to do the math and see if the payback different between ground source and air source makes sense.

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