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Unless you live in California or Arizona, heat pumps are a mistake. They're arguably okay in Vegas.
I live in a place that gets snow about once or maybe twice a year. I'm looking outside my window right now and there's a couple inches of snow on the ground. Rather than a gas furnace, I have a heat pump.
A heat pump is basically an air conditioner that works in reverse. In fact, the same unit that does my AC is also my heat pump.
During the summer, I have to commonly cool my house from, say, 105, outside to 75 on the inside. That's a 30 degree differential. Sometimes it will get to a 110 or even a bit hotter, but that's still about a 35 degree differential.
The winter is a different story. The average temperature at night during this time of year is in the mid 20s. It's not uncommon for it to be in the high teens at night (about as common as 110 degree days probably). If I keep the house at 72, then this represents over a 50 degree differential.
When the temperature drops below freezing, these things become incredibly inefficient. I'm not sure if this is what happens, but I imagine when it's about 18 degrees outside, my heater is essentially air blowing through a heating element (the second phase is constantly on).
I live in a place that gets snow about once or maybe twice a year. I'm looking outside my window right now and there's a couple inches of snow on the ground. Rather than a gas furnace, I have a heat pump.
A heat pump is basically an air conditioner that works in reverse. In fact, the same unit that does my AC is also my heat pump.
During the summer, I have to commonly cool my house from, say, 105, outside to 75 on the inside. That's a 30 degree differential. Sometimes it will get to a 110 or even a bit hotter, but that's still about a 35 degree differential.
The winter is a different story. The average temperature at night during this time of year is in the mid 20s. It's not uncommon for it to be in the high teens at night (about as common as 110 degree days probably). If I keep the house at 72, then this represents over a 50 degree differential.
When the temperature drops below freezing, these things become incredibly inefficient. I'm not sure if this is what happens, but I imagine when it's about 18 degrees outside, my heater is essentially air blowing through a heating element (the second phase is constantly on).
I ran the wire and the relay box for it but have never connected the wire in the heat pump or at the main panel in the laundry room. It has been 2 years now.
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