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I hear a lot of horror stories on HN every time the subject of heat pumps comes up. Things like high costs, units not defrosting properly in winter, etc. Most o
by freetime2 3y ago
I hear a lot of horror stories on HN every time the subject of heat pumps comes up. Things like high costs, units not defrosting properly in winter, etc. Most of these stories tend to be for central air conditioning units.
I think that mini-splits could be a much better introduction to heat pumps for a lot of folks. They are cheap, easy to install, and the units in my house have been running 12 years as our only source of heating/cooling with zero maintenance. (The manufacturer recommends replacing after 10 years, but they are still working fine). This is in an area where we get a lot of snow in winter, but temps almost never fall below -10c.
And you can keep your existing furnace as a backup or secondary heat source.
- exitzer0 3y agoMini-splits seem like they are the future for the value conscious and light-weight DIY crowd. These systems are quite simple in design and implementation while also offering a pretty effective way to control temperature in a zoned way in various parts of the house. They also can be had in 120V sizes making them far easier to accomidate for solar-powered households, etc.
- bamboozled 3y agoI run mine in a similar climate to what you’re describing. Air based, not ground or water. Absolutely zero problems at all. Either I have some magic heat pump or a lot of the horror stories are overblown or based on using out of date technology.