jthanson t1_iv8qz2f wrote
We had a split heat pump system installed in our lodge hall in Buckley in 2019. It works very well and both heats and cools the building. The one bad thing about it is that we basically have to leave it in heat mode from November through June because it doesn't heat the building up quickly. For a space that's only used four or five times a month that may not be as efficient as the old gas furnace. However, we're not using any gas now which is good. All our heating and hot water is electric which works out well for us.
burneracct664453 t1_ivazmli wrote
Controls may help if someone can remember to throttle the heat remotely via a smartstat or somesuch, but you are totally right, heat pumps just don't have the capacity of a traditional gas furnace unless grossly oversized. Backup electric resistance heat can help boost temps quickly if the controls are set that way, but you wind up spending a lot of extra juice since they are about 1/3 as efficient.
Leaving spaces warmer can help keep structures dry in our soggy winter months, but there is an energy debit. Early on and adaptive recovery features in a lot of thermostats can let the space ramp up to temperature over many hours ahead of a scheduled setpoint change for spaces that are not used often without using backup heat.
For anyone listening, traditional setbacks with conventional systems like electric or gas furnaces don't make sense with heat pumps, they are designed to run for long periods of time when it's cold, and simply don't have the capacity to ramp temps up and down by say, 10°F. Outside my suggestion above, this is a "set and forget" technology.
jthanson t1_ivb0ca8 wrote
We basically keep the lodge hall at 65 F and then turn it up a few hours before meetings and events. Having a heat pump requires thinking differently about heating than having a furnace that can generate heat quickly.
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