Heat Pump Question (buying a home, to buy, inspector) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

mph101 · 11-24-2009, 06:04 PM

Heat pumps are not efficient as the sole heating source when the air temperature drops below 37 F.
I'm from Chantilly and would never consider a heat pump, never!
But here where I live in St. Petersburg Florida they are the main source of heating. Even so there are nights, sometimes many when the electric bill is dramatically high for a few nights of heat strip emergency heat coming on. In this climate they are the most efficient way to heat/cool a house as the majority here rely on electric and not natural gas.
Hasn't anyone who comes out to service your heat pump told you that this is a rotten choice for your heating ? It isn't a choice in your climate.
When heat pumps first came out they were putting them in new houses in NOVA but it didn't take long to discover they were useless in heating and effective in cranking the power bill sky high if you had a electric strip emergency element.

Muffy62 · 11-25-2009, 03:03 AM

After experiencing a house with a heat pump, we decided NEVER to rent or buy a house with one EVER. There is no comparison between gas heat and the heat generated from the heat pump. The heat pump does not keep a house toasty warm plus it will cost big bucks to run it especially in cold weather. During one winter, our electricity bill topped $600 and we still had to wear sweaters etc. Currently we own a 3200 sq. ft home, our gas bill is averaged and runs about $135/month. Our electric bill is around $100/month. It is one thing to pay the huge utility bill but heck, I would like to be warm if I had to pay it!!!

dansuz1 · 11-25-2009, 09:24 AM

I wonder where everyone is getting the idea that heat pumps don't work in VA? We had a heat pump in Indianapolis for 8 years. Winter in Indy sometimes dropped to -30 F. Our emergency heat never once came on. It's not supposed to. Our energy bills were always low and we always felt comfortable about the temperature.

I think it comes down to they type of heat pump. This wikipedia article is pretty neutral about positive and negative aspects of a heat pump (Heat pump - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). It does generally confirm some comments which say they don't work well in really cold weather, but most houses in my neighborhood had heat pumps and I never heard anyone complain about costs or quality of heat.

Some air-source heat pumps do not work as well when temperatures fall below around −5°C(23°F). (Emphasis added)

One note about programmable thermostats, heat pumps can't use the types found in most hardware stores. They require special devices that cost $100+ dollars, making the ROI difficult to obtain.

So, I think that either the OP's heat pump is really malfunctioning and the service person doesn't know what to do (or is hoping for a sale) or the type of the heat pump is not correct for this area.

Dan

FLgirl367 · 11-26-2009, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muffy62

After experiencing a house with a heat pump, we decided NEVER to rent or buy a house with one EVER. There is no comparison between gas heat and the heat generated from the heat pump. The heat pump does not keep a house toasty warm plus it will cost big bucks to run it especially in cold weather. During one winter, our electricity bill topped $600 and we still had to wear sweaters etc. Currently we own a 3200 sq. ft home, our gas bill is averaged and runs about $135/month. Our electric bill is around $100/month. It is one thing to pay the huge utility bill but heck, I would like to be warm if I had to pay it!!!

what did you set your heat at? i have a heat pump in NOVA and our electric bill averages to 125.00 a month. our high in the winter is 220.00 and our low in spring is 77.00. our high in summer is 110.00. i don't 'like' the heat pump, but i would rather have it over paying a gas bill, too. ( we have a 2600 sq feet not including our unfinished basement)

Muffy62 · 11-26-2009, 05:05 PM

The heat pump was in a home we rented -- it was about 1500 sq. feet and we set that thermostat at 69 in the winter. When the first bill came in, we lowered our thermostat to 67 and the bill was still astronomical. It was great in the summer but suck like heck in the winter. When we were looking for a house, we crossed off every house with a heat pump. You may think we are overpaying for the gas but I would never go back to a heat pump -- NEVER!!!

FLgirl367 · 11-26-2009, 05:52 PM

since there seem to be a variety of opinions, i think there is more at play here than just the heat pump. it is likely (1) quality of the heat pump and/or (2) quality of the house to retain heat. our house was built brand new in '07 by an excellent local builder and holds heat well.

Denton56 · 11-27-2009, 12:25 AM

My house has both, a furnace and a heat pump. The furnace heats the main floor and finished basement and the heat pump heats the upstairs. I have no idea why the builder did it this way but it seems to work well. We also have an AC unit for the main floor and basement.

Muffy62 · 11-27-2009, 04:29 AM

Are both working at the same time?

bangorme · 11-27-2009, 05:24 AM

My impression is that heat pumps are made that work in northern climates, but they are very expensive. See Heat Pump suits northern climates., EnerKon Corporation from Maine for a traditional air northern heat pump. Geothermal is the preferred northern method and is very expensive.

I'd install a little pellet stove and it would probably heat 90% of the homes here well enough to reduce the electric heat cost to virtually nothing.

We don't find the cost of heat bad here at all. Of course we only heat two rooms at 69 degrees using gas. The temperatures here are so moderate, why heat the bedrooms unless you are living in them? Get a nice fluffy down comforter!!!!!!

bangorme · 11-27-2009, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbogyrl

But is the heat pump as warm as the gas heat? I have been told that no matter how great the heat pump it is not as inexpensive or warm as gas.

True? False?

A heat pump will bring your house to the desired temperature, so in that sense, it is as warm as anything else. The problem is that if you want your house to be 68, a heat pump is content to blow air at 69 degrees, which can make you FEEL colder if you are sitting in the breeze. Kind of like the reversable ceiling fans that are supposed to save heat. Just the movement of air cools humans, so I never liked them. When I think of warm, I visualize sitting next to a cast iron woodstove, and that you won't get from a heat pump.