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I live outside of Boston, about two hours south of Portland Maine. We have a LG Heat Pump installed in 2021, consisting of the following: LG/LG LMU360HHV Outdo

I live outside of Boston, about two hours south of Portland Maine. We have a LG Heat Pump installed in 2021, consisting of the following: LG/LG LMU360HHV Outdoor Unit 2 LG LSN180HSV5 Indoor Units 2 LG LMN079HVT Indoor Units We also have a natural gas furnace, now rarely used ... except when it gets really cold. During the deep freeze I wanted to see how low the LG could go before the gas furnace kicked in. The house is 100+ years old, with updated insulation in the basement and roof as of 2021 (required to get a no-interest loan on the heat pump in our state). On Friday, as the temp dropped, we set the units to 70 degrees F (21C). At 1 pm it was 15F outside (-10C) and the interior temp was 62F (17C). It was able to maintain that interior temp until 9:30 pm when the thermometer dropped to -3F (-20C) at which point the interior edged down to 60F and the furnace kicked in. The heat pump continued to work all night, albeit blowing lukewarm air. At 6 am it was still dark and the outside temp had dropped to -11F (-24C) and the heat pump was still working but the gas furnace was doing most of the work to keep the interior at 60F. On a local FB group, people shared their heat pump stories. A few only had heat pumps with no backup and reported the interior temp dropped to the 40s or low 50s (~10C). One person said that one of their two outside units froze during the night (I believe the result of condensation forming). Regardless of the type of heat, many people all over the city had burst pipes in their walls, ceilings, and basements, including several hospitals.

sbradford26 4y ago
We are in southern NH and have a single LG LMU480HHV for our house. Our house was built in 1973 and is ~1600 sq ft. The heat pump kept the house right at 64-65F when set to 66F through the night even when we hit -15F. Now I have backup heat strips but due to some config issue they are not currently working so that was all heat pump.
nemo44x 4y ago
> Regardless of the type of heat, many people all over the city had burst pipes in their walls, ceilings, and basements, including several hospitals. It's amazing how many people simply don't take basic precautionary measures when extreme cold is on the way. Something as basic as letting the faucets drip will prevent freezing. Shutting off the water and opening the taps works too if you don't want to "waste water". > A few only had heat pumps with no backup and reported the interior temp dropped to the 40s or low 50s (~10C). A good case for not using heat pumps if you live in a place that can have extreme cold snaps. I have a heatpump for 2 bedrooms but if it stopped working then opening the doors and letting the warm air from the furnaces in would be enough I think. I'd be skeptical of having only a heatpump.
- ilamont 4y ago
  The other problem with only having a heat pump is if the electricity goes out, which happened across the region (there was a windstorm at the same time as the arctic freeze which brought down trees onto power lines). We have one friend who lost power but thankfully had a working fireplace with fuel, otherwise they would have been in a world of hurt. The people who had burst pipes mostly seemed to be transplants from outside the northeast, including some from other countries, who have never been exposed to a situation like this or the basic precautions to prevent burst pipes. It's a hard lesson to learn, for sure.

sbradford26 4y ago

We are in southern NH and have a single LG LMU480HHV for our house. Our house was built in 1973 and is ~1600 sq ft. The heat pump kept the house right at 64-65F when set to 66F through the night even when we hit -15F. Now I have backup heat strips but due to some config issue they are not currently working so that was all heat pump.

nemo44x 4y ago

> Regardless of the type of heat, many people all over the city had burst pipes in their walls, ceilings, and basements, including several hospitals. It's amazing how many people simply don't take basic precautionary measures when extreme cold is on the way. Something as basic as letting the faucets drip will prevent freezing. Shutting off the water and opening the taps works too if you don't want to "waste water". > A few only had heat pumps with no backup and reported the interior temp dropped to the 40s or low 50s (~10C). A good case for not using heat pumps if you live in a place that can have extreme cold snaps. I have a heatpump for 2 bedrooms but if it stopped working then opening the doors and letting the warm air from the furnaces in would be enough I think. I'd be skeptical of having only a heatpump.

ilamont 4y ago
The other problem with only having a heat pump is if the electricity goes out, which happened across the region (there was a windstorm at the same time as the arctic freeze which brought down trees onto power lines). We have one friend who lost power but thankfully had a working fireplace with fuel, otherwise they would have been in a world of hurt. The people who had burst pipes mostly seemed to be transplants from outside the northeast, including some from other countries, who have never been exposed to a situation like this or the basic precautions to prevent burst pipes. It's a hard lesson to learn, for sure.