Hey, I'm building a new house in the Seattle suburbs. It's a two-story ~3400 sq ft house. We were planning on putting in a standard furnace and AC but a heat pump is about $1900 more.

Anybody know if it'd be worth it to have the heat pump installed instead? I don't know much about them.

Thanks!

My understanding is that heat pumps are more efficient. I have one no regrets . I live just south of you 5 hrs .

You're probably best going with 2 units. 1 for upstairs and one downstairs. I have a heat pump and it's great. But don't know if it's best for your situation.

A Heat Pump will save you money, as they transfer heat vs. burning a fuel to create/produce heat.

A/C absorbs heat and transfers it outside.
Heat Pump absorbs heat and transfers it indoors.

Just has a few extra components to make it work in the opposite direction.

For me it would depend on what fuels the furnace. If Nat. Gas I would be prone to a high efficency furnace with AC coil and AC outdoor condensing unit vs HP. If elect. probably go HP.
A HP is going to be more expensive to purchase and install. And more expensive to maintain. They can be problematic, imho.

If you go HP educate yourself on how to operate them and follow that. If you don't you will be prone to big repair bill's and often.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
For me it would depend on what fuels the furnace. If Nat. Gas I would be prone to a high efficency furnace with AC coil and AC outdoor condensing unit vs HP. If elect. probably go HP.
A HP is going to be more expensive to purchase and install. And more expensive to maintain. They can be problematic, imho.

If you go HP educate yourself on how to operate them and follow that. If you don't you will be prone to big repair bill's and often.

I have never seen a heat pump to be problematic...I own 2 of them..they're basically a normal central a/c unit with a reversing valve and a few other small parts to send the freon in reverse so it heats instead of cools. The heat is excellent compared to electric strip heat in a central a/c air handler that stinks when you first use it.

I sold heat pumps as a dist. for years. We were processing compressor failure consistently. I mean it was a regular part of or business. I would say there was a 25% failure rate. And that was just compressors. Did not include reversing valves and boards and other items. That was quite a few years ago not. But still an issue.

A lot of failures were installer issues. But still a high failure rate period. Not a huge fan.
The AC condensing units issue had a fraction of the issue of HP's.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:

If you go HP educate yourself on how to operate them and follow that. If you don't you will be prone to big repair bill's and often.

How's a homeowner changing the thermostat temperature, lead to equipment failures?

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
I sold heat pumps as a dist. for years. We were processing compressor failure consistently. I mean it was a regular part of or business. I would say there was a 25% failure rate. And that was just compressors. Did not include reversing valves and boards and other items. That was quite a few years ago not. But still an issue.

A lot of MOST failures were installer issues. But still a high failure rate period. Not a huge fan.
The AC condensing units issue had a fraction of the issue of HP's.

Fix'd it for ya.

Most installers don't follow proper brazing technics, use N2, own a micron gauge or will put the time in evacuation to do the job right. Not to mention reusing improper line sets, checking for adequate airflow and charging the units properly.

Talk to your installing professional. Programable T-stats really became designed in large part around HP's for a reason. And they did not cure issues, that's for sure.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Talk to your installing professional. Programable T-stats really became designed in large part around HP's for a reason. And they did not cure issues, that's for sure.

Ok, I asked myself, and now he's asking you to provide facts to support your statement.

So as a installing dealer you do not give your customer any additional operational information for a HP than you give the customer who you sold and electric furnace or air handler? Just adjust the T-stat and your are golden. Ok, sounds good.

It is just simply my opinion that when comparing a HP to an AC condensing unit. One is more prone to issues vs the other. By a bunch. I understand it is a better and more profitable sale and service to sell them on the HP. I am not saying they are terrible. Of the two my choice is easy though.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
So as a installing dealer you do not give your customer any additional operational information for a HP than you give the customer who you sold and electric furnace or air handler? Just adjust the T-stat and your are golden. Ok, sounds good.

It is just simply my opinion that when comparing a HP to an AC condensing unit. One is more prone to issues vs the other. By a bunch. I understand it is a better and more profitable sale and service to sell them on the HP. I am not saying they are terrible. Of the two my choice is easy though.

Only thing to mention would be to set the temp and forget it. As large set-backs can take a while to recover. And using the backup (electric) or dual fuel (gas) is a more expensive option to gain a faster recovery.

It's not about selling HP's for more profit. It's about efficiency, comfort, reliability and longevity. The HP is more efficient. Longer run times leads to a even, more constant temperature. And as always, reliability and longevity comes from properly sized, installed and set-up equipment.

You're only adding a few items to an a/c to make it a HP. First, the reversing valve to reverse refrigerant flow, a defrost board to reverse operation to keep the outdoor coil from freezing up, and an accumulator to store excessive refrigerant during the heating cycle. As liquid refrigerant returning to a compressor can be detrimental.

BTW, I'm still asking for the information to support your statement.
How does changing the thermostat setting induce equipment failures?

I bought a heat pump about 10 years ago and have had a good bit of trouble with it. In fact, in the next few days, it's being replaced with a standard a/c and electric heat setup because I'm through trying to sleep in 80 degree room temperatures with a fan blowing on me when the damn thing quits working. Which has happened twice in the last 6 weeks. I should have listened to my HVAC contractor friend and never put the heat pump in to start with. He told me the energy savings wouldn't pay for the difference in up-front cost and repairs, and he may have been right.

I don't live in the area of the country OP is asking about, though.

Heat pumps don't really work all that well as a standalone heat source here in the Northeast US (I'm in PA) so I'd think it would be the same for the Northwest of the US as well?

My Dad did HVAC all his life and was never a heat pump fan and told me they were ideal for the South region of the US, but the winters are just too cold in the NE for them to be feasible as an only heat source. Maybe that has changed though with more efficiency and improvements in technology?

My home had a HP installed when we purchased it. I hated it!
HPs try to convince you that by blowing tepid air you will feel warm. It didn't work for me.
When the gas company finally offered incentives to hook up gas appliances I jumped at the chance.
Twenty plus years later I'm still happy that I decided to go with gas!

Yep, yep and yep. ;

To the op: I don't think a HP is a terrible choice. Just not my choice based on what I know. But again if you go that route make absolutely sure all the warranty (get the extended warranty. Depending on the eq. manufacturer might be included at no additional charge) paperwork is completed correctly. Submitted in a timely manner by the dealer and provided and verified by you. I cannot tell you how many times the dealer tried to bring in or submit warranty paperwork months or even years after the initial installation and the compressor was burned out. Homeowner was screwed all the way around. It was also pretty normal in my day. That the equipment (compressor) might get warranted, but other parts and labor was not. So in the event of a warranty claim the homeowner was still on the hook for a big repair bill even under a warranty claim. I would read the fine print, not go with what the dealer say's. He may not be around when you need him.

Good luck and congrats on the new home.

I have a heat pump and gas furnace.

Heat pump is fine on the west side of the cascades since we have cold snaps and not months of freezing temperatures.

The biggest concern I see is getting a proper install with correct sizing.

Cheers~

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
A Heat Pump will save you money, as they transfer heat vs. burning a fuel to create/produce heat.

A/C absorbs heat and transfers it outside.
Heat Pump absorbs heat and transfers it indoors.

Just has a few extra components to make it work in the opposite direction.

That is true, but heat pumps do not work efficiently when outdoor temperatures drop below about 30 degrees.

We have one house with the heat pump set up, and one with standard furnace and A/C. We are in northern Virginia. Given the choice we would not do another heat pump system. In fact, the system in our primary residence is heat pump, and we decided about a year after the conversion to install a wood burning insert in the fireplace.

We use the A/C part in the summer, and burn wood for heat.

A number or residents in our location do the furnace/AC thing.

A lot of the consideration should be the climate. If in winter the temperatures are often below about 30 degrees, I would not use heat pump.

2 story 2 units. You will save money in the long run. If your temp goes below 32 degrees in the winter alot, stay away from the heat pump. I have a 2500sq. ft home 2 story with a heat pump in
Texas going on 3 yrs and it is fantastic. Very cool in the house but in the winter if it goes below 32 heat pumps are not that great and we use a portable heater but just to warm up the bedroom.