I live in southeast Alaska, where heating issues can make or break your ability to pay rent or afford a mortgage.
Most homes are heated using fuel oil. We moved into an awesome old house last summer, and we were worried about heating costs. The landlord had a heat pump installed last fall. I'm sure we would have had some $300-$500 heating bills (per month) last winter if we were using oil, but the heat pump never cost more than $150 per month.
That was a relief, because we spent one winter in a drafty house with a malfunctioning boiler system. That was not fun at all, and we moved out just because of heating costs.
I'm hoping to buy a house sometime in the next few years, and the first thing I'll do is complete a thorough heating overhaul of the house.
Take a look at the presentations I listed above. Chlupp eliminates the furnace / heating system entirely.
It's one of his design goals. Minimizing your furnace requirements (but not eliminating them) gives you progress, but it remains a major expense (for installation and operation). Eliminating it entirely addresses a huge cost element for northern construction.
I don't live in Alaska myself, and can't speak to the full validity and credibility of his work, though it seems pretty solid. But I'm absolutely impressed with his attention to detail and the specifics of his methods and approaches.
Ground Loop or air to air heatpump? What brand and model?
(I ask because we just bought a house in montana and are thinking about a heatpump before winter...we have propane radiant heat now. We'd want one that would work with cold temps though it rarely gets bellow -10 F here.)
It's an air to air Fujitsu. I'll check on the model when I get a chance.
Most of our winter weather hovers in the mid 30's, day and night. We get occasional cold spells in the 20's, but it's rarely in the teens and I've seen single digits once in twelve years here. I don't think it's ever been below zero here.
It was interesting to get used to the heat pump just being on low all the time. Our monitor stove would come on in bursts, and you'd notice a steady heating/ cooling cycle throughout the day. The heat pump just puts out a steady, slightly warm airflow all day long.
I'm not sure how heat pumps behave in colder climates. Our landlord did not remove the monitor stove when he had the heat pump installed, and it was nice to know we could fall back on the monitor if the heat pump was not putting out enough heat. You might consider leaving the propane system in place this winter if you do try a heat pump. It might just give you a little peace of mind about not having an issue in the middle of a cold spell.
Feel free to send an email if you're curious to ask more.
Most homes are heated using fuel oil. We moved into an awesome old house last summer, and we were worried about heating costs. The landlord had a heat pump installed last fall. I'm sure we would have had some $300-$500 heating bills (per month) last winter if we were using oil, but the heat pump never cost more than $150 per month.
That was a relief, because we spent one winter in a drafty house with a malfunctioning boiler system. That was not fun at all, and we moved out just because of heating costs.
I'm hoping to buy a house sometime in the next few years, and the first thing I'll do is complete a thorough heating overhaul of the house.