Heating home with mini splits alone? (condo, homes, to buy)
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[quote=lrfox;66258247]Do they need the backup often? Between this forum and conversations with others, it sounds like there are only a handful of nights per year where they need the added support. Sitting in my warm home, that doesn't seem like enough to justify the secondary heat source. But I imagine that if it's 18 degrees out and my mini split is struggling to keep it above 50 degrees, I'll feel differently.
I would imagine the installation is more expensive and you obviously need more yard space (probably would be tough to do in the city). But the consistently moderate ground temperatures have to make them much more efficient.
That's great! Did you do anything to improve the insulation, replace windows, etc? Or do you get strong sunlight even in the winter?[/QUOTE]
No other improvements, house is 1850 stone/stucco, old single pane double-hung windows but does get strong sunlight..but house is painted white with a dark tile roof. I purchased the system from an internet wholesaler and had a local tech do the final connections. Maybe properly sizing the system is the key to success; I just think these systems are great especially in an old house with no room for any ductwork..
That's great! Did you do anything to improve the insulation, replace windows, etc? Or do you get strong sunlight even in the winter?[/QUOTE]
No other improvements, house is 1850 stone/stucco, old single pane double-hung windows but does get strong sunlight..but house is painted white with a dark tile roof. I purchased the system from an internet wholesaler and had a local tech do the final connections. Maybe properly sizing the system is the key to success; I just think these systems are great especially in an old house with no room for any ductwork..
This is tempting me to give it a shot. I have several little space heaters I could use if we did encounter a cold snap that pushed it to limit. I'll have to see if my wife is willing to take that chance...
Opposite coast, but we put a heat pump in our current place.
So far so good, heats the whole house on 15 amps of 220V or less. Prior home had a central electric furnace and it was on a 60amp breaker.
However, we haven't had a "noreaster" yet which will certainly test it. I think a backup is smart, wood or pellet stove, or something gas that can be manually lit if needed. One thing many don't realize, is most gas appliances and even the feeders on pellet stoves won't work without power.
[quote=Steve-C;66259209]
Quote:
Originally Posted by lrfox
Do they need the backup often? Between this forum and conversations with others, it sounds like there are only a handful of nights per year where they need the added support. Sitting in my warm home, that doesn't seem like enough to justify the secondary heat source. But I imagine that if it's 18 degrees out and my mini split is struggling to keep it above 50 degrees, I'll feel differently.
I would imagine the installation is more expensive and you obviously need more yard space (probably would be tough to do in the city). But the consistently moderate ground temperatures have to make them much more efficient.
That's great! Did you do anything to improve the insulation, replace windows, etc? Or do you get strong sunlight even in the winter?[/QUOTE]
No other improvements, house is 1850 stone/stucco, old single pane double-hung windows but does get strong sunlight..but house is painted white with a dark tile roof. I purchased the system from an internet wholesaler and had a local tech do the final connections. Maybe properly sizing the system is the key to success; I just think these systems are great especially in an old house with no room for any ductwork..
This is tempting me to give it a shot. I have several little space heaters I could use if we did encounter a cold snap that pushed it to limit. I'll have to see if my wife is willing to take that chance...
I forgot to mention that the house's heating system was 100% electric baseboards and no room for A/C ducting so the split system fit the bill perfectly..I'm still amazed that one "machine" can deliver cold OR hot air (without heating coils) when you want it..Good luck and report back when the wife says YES!
Location: Earth, a nice neighborhood in the Milky Way
3,794 posts, read 2,696,474 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffD
You can drill a vertical geothermal loop pretty much anywhere. No different than drilling an artesian well. Dandelion Energy does them in far Western Mass, Connecticut, and the Hudson Valley. Between MassSave and Federal tax credits, close to half of it is subsidized. Electricity is so absurdly expensive here that it's probably a fairly fast payback. You can also run it with a lot less solar since it's so much more efficient.
It is my understanding that vertical loops are a pretty expensive installation. MassSave looks like they do a good job outlining how they subsidize consumers. In RI, the state does not seem to transparently define what is available in terms of subsidies, and tells consumers to get that info from contractors. It is a pretty lame approach. I get the sense that Rhode Island ratepayers aren’t quite as generous with the subsidies.
So we tested it out this past weekend when overnight lows were in the low teens. I have to say, I'm blown away with how effective the heat pumps were at keeping the place toasty. We did not need to use an alternate heat source. We like it cooler anyway (temp typically set to about 65), but I cranked one to 75 to see if it would heat the space and it did (fairly quickly, too).
The house is about 80 years old, but it was extensively renovated over the past few years with efficiency in mind. So the doors, windows, and insulation are all quite new. I'm sure that helped. We have 4 fairly new (>2 years old) Mitsubishi units total - 1 for the open kitchen/dining/living room area, and one in each bedroom. The kitchen/dining/living area is higher BTU, but it was the biggest concern because it's the more open space. It was fine. I worried about the condensers freezing, but that was also a non-issue.
The fact that it worked well during a cold snap is great. But the next question is what my electric bill is going to look like considering how much less efficient they in the frigid cold.
Location: Earth, a nice neighborhood in the Milky Way
3,794 posts, read 2,696,474 times
Reputation: 1609
Quote:
Originally Posted by lrfox
So we tested it out this past weekend when overnight lows were in the low teens. I have to say, I'm blown away with how effective the heat pumps were at keeping the place toasty. We did not need to use an alternate heat source. We like it cooler anyway (temp typically set to about 65), but I cranked one to 75 to see if it would heat the space and it did (fairly quickly, too).
The house is about 80 years old, but it was extensively renovated over the past few years with efficiency in mind. So the doors, windows, and insulation are all quite new. I'm sure that helped. We have 4 fairly new (>2 years old) Mitsubishi units total - 1 for the open kitchen/dining/living room area, and one in each bedroom. The kitchen/dining/living area is higher BTU, but it was the biggest concern because it's the more open space. It was fine. I worried about the condensers freezing, but that was also a non-issue.
The fact that it worked well during a cold snap is great. But the next question is what my electric bill is going to look like considering how much less efficient they in the frigid cold.
That sounds like a good first test. Maybe we’ll get some temps around zero for second round testing.
That sounds like a good first test. Maybe we’ll get some temps around zero for second round testing.
Let us know how the bill works out.
The manual says the units are rated to operate at 100% capacity down to 5 degrees with "guaranteed operation" down to -13 degrees. I was skeptical about both claims based on what I've read/heard elsewhere. Thanks to the recent test, I'm less skeptical of the functionality at 5 degrees. But I'm still very skeptical of the "guaranteed operation" at -13. I wouldn't mind a single night that low to test it out.
The house still has electric baseboard heat, so we won't freeze to death. But the ultimate goal is to rip it out if the mini splits are effective enough. The one test was good, but I'd like to have a few more at lower temperatures. If they can manage a couple of days at 0, I'd be happy to rip that baseboard out and keep a few space heaters in the closed in case of emergency. The bill will be telling, but it's not as if the baseboard will save me money.
So we tested it out this past weekend when overnight lows were in the low teens. I have to say, I'm blown away with how effective the heat pumps were at keeping the place toasty. We did not need to use an alternate heat source. We like it cooler anyway (temp typically set to about 65), but I cranked one to 75 to see if it would heat the space and it did (fairly quickly, too).
The house is about 80 years old, but it was extensively renovated over the past few years with efficiency in mind. So the doors, windows, and insulation are all quite new. I'm sure that helped. We have 4 fairly new (>2 years old) Mitsubishi units total - 1 for the open kitchen/dining/living room area, and one in each bedroom. The kitchen/dining/living area is higher BTU, but it was the biggest concern because it's the more open space. It was fine. I worried about the condensers freezing, but that was also a non-issue.
The fact that it worked well during a cold snap is great. But the next question is what my electric bill is going to look like considering how much less efficient they in the frigid cold.
Curios how many kilowatts did you use in January - and if you don’t mind telling what is the house size? Or at least the average bedroom size?
4 heads sounds like a lot, unless the bedrooms are really large and spread out on different floors?
Curios how many kilowatts did you use in January - and if you don’t mind telling what is the house size? Or at least the average bedroom size?
4 heads sounds like a lot, unless the bedrooms are really large and spread out on different floors?
I'm not sure yet (still no January bill yet), I'll post back here when we get it (I expect this week). House is about 1900 square feet spread over 2 floors. Bedrooms are above average but not massive - I think 14 x 13, 14 x10, and 12x12. 2 bedrooms upstairs and 1 downstairs (with kitchen/living room). We have three condensers. One dual-zone setup for the upstairs bedrooms, one for the kitchen/living room, one for the primary bedroom which is on the 1st floor. We keep downstairs set to 67ish and upstairs set to 62ish.
Given how cold it was during that snap earlier this month, we could be in for a nasty surprise on the bill. Not looking forward to it.
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