I'm really happy that heat pumps are becoming a thing now; IMHO they're a crucial part of making our homes more efficient/resilient/adaptive in the face of climate change.
@williwaw Yep, they're not going to replace my oil boiler (house is too big, and this is a big install even) but they will mean I can use it a lot less since the house has a lot of rooms but only two zones. Also the bedrooms will have more individual climate control options. Our electric is 78% renewable so far and getting closer.
@samh I admit I was a little dad to move away from my old electric co-op from when I lived further north in Vermont (up in pretty serious rural poverty territory) but I've been really impressed with GMP too.
@jessamyn the coops can be hit or miss. Glad you're happy with them. And I'm stoked you're getting a mini split. Some day I'll add more insulation to my home and add one of those too.
Our house has a very open design, and was previously heated by a single natural gas "wood stove". It was old, and was really struggling to keep the house warm in winter, running 24/7 and still losing ground. We had two mini-splits installed last fall, and not only did they keep the house toasty warm, even with the increased electricity usage, it cost us less overall to heat the house than it did with gas. And now we have AC for the summer, and it has been SO NICE. North of Seattle here, so AC isn't really a must-have, but since we have it anyway, I won't say no. ;)
@redfox Me too. I figured I'd call them and they'd get me on their schedule for fall but they were like "Great how is two weeks from now?" and I was like "But I am not psychically prepared!" and it's been good. It's basically going to put separate heat/AC in all the bedrooms (I really like a non-muggy room for sleeping), put heat in one room that has NO heat in it (HOW) and then one mini-split downstairs in the TV room that will make that room nicer. Still got a pellet stove for the kitchen area and the front room will just be cold (it never gets too hot b/c big porch).
I love our mini-split! It's supplemental in our house in two unducted spaces, replacing the terrible electric baseboard heater in the kitchen addition (which is now my office). We also added it to the above-grade walkout room in the basement. It costs less to run both units in the winter than the baseboard did, keeps my office the perfect temp year-round, and (on dry mode) provides energy-efficient dehumidification in the basement all summer.
Ours our rated to provide heat down to -13F, even in our old and poorly-insulated house they kept both spaces passably warm on a very windy -10 day last December. The only downside - more a learning curve - is I've found I can't set the temperature back overnight in the winter like with the gas furnace. Recovery in heating mode is very slow, it's better to just leave it where I want it to be.
@cwhartman Oh that is good to know. I've got massive radiators upstairs which I often will set on "Stun" and then they stay warmish for a lot of the night. This will be a nicer way to keep individual bedrooms decent for guests. (next on the todo list is getting some insulation in these walls - one thing all the drilling determined is that I have two small walls with insulation and many big walls without it)
@jessamyn Sounds like our house! Previous owners had cellulose blown into the walls, but only a few random places and all underfilled. The IR camera on the walls was fascinating to see how poorly done it was. We had it done a few years ago (along with air sealing) which made a huge difference. But it's still an old house.
Not sure if it's a thing where you live, but we had an energy audit done through our local utility providers which made effectiveness recommendations without any conflict-of-interest in selling something. The best part was they heavily subsidized the recommended work.
@cwhartman Yep, I got a virtual energy audit done to basically talk through the different things that would really help around here and I think blown-in insulation was a big one. One of my walls had vermiculite in it. Ewwww. Subsidies in Vermont are more income-based so I only qualify for some (not complaining) but I think blown in insulation will be my next step, besides maybe a few new windows. Like I know a lot of people do windows and really they're not where you're losing heat/AC but mine are also drafty which I do think matters and having different screens (these can only be opened from the outside, whyyyyyy)
So of the six units I got one was faulty--there was a broken wire somewhere, needed The Guy to come back out and inspect/fix) andnow they all work and I'm getting them on the wifi and OH MY GOSH. Like, I didn't grow up with AC, don't totally understand it, really have never had it besides a bedroom window unit last year, so I'm trying to get my head around it while also feeling like I can THINK correctly because my office isn't 85 fucking degrees.
I'm really happy that heat pumps are becoming a thing now; IMHO they're a crucial part of making our homes more efficient/resilient/adaptive in the face of climate change.
https://greenmountainpower.com/energy-mix/
Ours our rated to provide heat down to -13F, even in our old and poorly-insulated house they kept both spaces passably warm on a very windy -10 day last December. The only downside - more a learning curve - is I've found I can't set the temperature back overnight in the winter like with the gas furnace. Recovery in heating mode is very slow, it's better to just leave it where I want it to be.
Not sure if it's a thing where you live, but we had an energy audit done through our local utility providers which made effectiveness recommendations without any conflict-of-interest in selling something. The best part was they heavily subsidized the recommended work.
So of the six units I got one was faulty--there was a broken wire somewhere, needed The Guy to come back out and inspect/fix) andnow they all work and I'm getting them on the wifi and OH MY GOSH. Like, I didn't grow up with AC, don't totally understand it, really have never had it besides a bedroom window unit last year, so I'm trying to get my head around it while also feeling like I can THINK correctly because my office isn't 85 fucking degrees.