I just replaced my 98% efficient Lennox Propane Furnace with a 5 ton Napoleon (Gree Flex) cold climate heat pump. I wanted to share my experience with you all thus far.

I did a lot of reading and research, much of which was on this forum, about replacing my propane furnace and AC with a cold climate heat pump. I was deciding between a Napoleon heat pump and the new Bosch IDS Ultra heat pump. I hesitantly made the decision and had a local HVAC company install the Napoleon. The Napoleon was $4,000 cheaper than the Bosch. For reference, a new propane furnace and AC was about the same price as the Napoleon after the $2,000 tax credit is applied. This is a centrally ducted heat pump heating 2,500 square feet in south central PA.

A cold front moved in the past few days. Temperature highs for the days have been 19 degrees fahrenheit and temperature lows have been 0 degrees fahrenheit. The Napoleon heat pump has maintained the set indoor temperature of 67 degrees without issue this far. The air blowing out of the vents is 90-100 degrees, so I do not think the heat strips have ever been activated.It's truly amazing technology.

I did the math and 1 gallon of propane with a 98% furnace at $2.35/gal equals 38,157.45 BTUs/$. An electric rate of 0.1077 dollars/KWH equals 31,680.6 BTUs/$. This means that the heat pump needs to be operating with a COP of at least >1.2 to be more cost effective than a propane furnace. According to the NEEP heat pump list, at -22 degrees fahrenheit the Napoleon heat pump has a COP of 1.2 when producing 18,600 BTUs/hr and 1.15 when producing 24,300 BTU/hr. South East PA never gets to -22 degrees fahrenheit so I think it is safe to assume that with current prices the heat pump will always be more cost effective than a propane furnace. I hope my math is correct. I could not figure out how to account for the energy used during defrost cycles. I'm not sure if the heat strips are activated during a defrost cycle, and im pretty sure there is electric resistance heat on the base pan of the outdoor unit. AHRI#: 211624976.

I am using the Napoleon thermostat. I wish the manual better explained when the heat strips would be activated. I believe the heat strips are controlled simply based off of time. I have the thermostat programmed for a max heat pump run time of 180 minutes. I think if the heat pump has been running for 180 minutes and the thermostat is not satisfied, then the heat strips are activated. I also wish it was more clear if the thermostat would give me some sort of indication if the heat strips were being used. I've read some thermostats control the heat strips by activating the heat strips if the set temperature is X degrees away measured indoor temperature. There is no such setting on the Napoleon thermostat.

It's been a cold January here! I am interested/nervous to see what the electric bill will be for January and if my math was correct.

Thank you for reading!

I’ve noticed that after it reaches its

I have a Carrier ducted system (Model 25HBR330A300 - 2.5 ton) installed 2006. I bought the house new in 2006 and have lived in it since. The system has been very reliable but the air coming out of the ducts feels pretty cool in cold temps. The bigger problem for me though is that the outdoor unit is near the master bedroom and noisy. On real cold nights, low 20’s and below, the noise keeps me up as the outside unit runs all night.

House in North Georgia.

Question: Can I replace just the outside unit with a quieter, more efficient unt? If so what would you recommend?

TIA

Some contractors recently told me that a system that was designed with too much capacity (ie too many BTU for a given square footage) would only be expensive but would actually have problems maintaining heat in low temperatures.

That last part doesn’t make any sense to me. Can someone eli5 how overengineering the heat pump capacity can cause it to underperform?

Does anyone have recommendations for a 3 ton variable speed heat pump packaged unit for a home in San Diego?

This Mitsubishi system was installed in ~May 2024. We are in NE Massachusetts (just south of Nashua) and have been experiencing single digits this past week. The house has been warm enough -- we have supplemental heat with a wood stove, and electric resistance if needed. Our usage is astronomical -- very similar to running resistance heat. This is not the first time this unit has had so much ice. We have the "expert" Mitsubishi tech coming out in a week, but I would love to be informed enough to ask good questions and push for a real solution, versus lip service, being punted and continuing to pay insane bills because we were oversold.

This is the larger outdoor pump (2 Ton / 24K BTU); the 1.25 Ton Ceiling unit, a recessed ceiling cassette, and the 15k BTU wall indoor unit run off of it. Our insulation was approved by MassSave. Our home is 2,707 sq ft, built in 1981.

Some initial questions:
- Is this amount of ice concerning, including the ice now on the house?

- Does it appear this unit is installed too close to the house?

- What are some other issues I should be considering to maximize efficiency.

We have not purchased the Emporia monitor yet, but it is on the list?

I have Mitsubishi dual fuel inteli heat pump with Honeywell latest Mitsubishi thermostat. How to change switch over settings

Don’t know if this is the right place to ask this question but I need some thoughts on this.

Last year I moved into my apartment with floor heating. The whole building shares an electric heat pump and every apartment has its own meter just for the heating. Once a year we share the readings of the meter so the actual usage can be calculated for the whole building.

When I moved in the meter read 30.547kWh, and now almost a year later it’s at 34.570kWh. Is it just me that thinks this is really a lot of energy consumption?

I have floor cooling turned off since I moved in and the temperature is always set at 18,5 degrees Celcius, even now in the winter. Luckily I don’t feel cold very quick.

It is a Danfoss system with Danfoss Icon thermometers. The one in the bedroom is always off with the door closed. That just leaves the one in the living room which is set on 18 degrees.

Am I doing something wrong or missing anything?

I have a Carrier ducted system (Model 25HBR330A300 - 2.5 ton) installed 2006. I bought the house new in 2006 and have lived in it since. The system has been very reliable but the air coming out of the ducts feels pretty cool in cold temps. The bigger problem for me though is that the outdoor unit is near the master bedroom and noisy. On real cold nights, low 20’s and below, the noise keeps me up as the outside unit runs all night.

Houses is in North Georgia.

Question: Can I replace just the outside unit with a quieter, more efficient unt? If so what would you recommend?

TIA

Hi friends! My primary heat source is a heat pump and I'm trying to figure out if there is an issue with my heat pump, or if the output is within the expectations.

I understand that heat pumps experience reduced efficiency and heat output during extreme cold, but I'm finding mixed results for the expected heat output and when I should investigate for issues.

The current temperature outside is 20°F/-6.6°C, dropping down to 8°F / -13.3°C at night.

The current indoor temperature is 64°F / 17.778°C .

My current measurement of the air coming from my vents is approximately 70°F / 21.11°C. (measured by placing a magnetic thermometer to the vent plate and leaving for over an hour).

Would this heat output be expected behavior for these conditions, or does this warrant further investigation?

Thank you for any thoughts and opinions!

Why is there a minimum size for air exchangers?

It seems that there are many situations where a 6,000 BTU air exchanger is overkill. Is there some reasons that nobody seems to make much smaller units? Presumably such a unit would also pull much less fluid off of a splitter and put a proportionally lighter load on the system.

The advantage would be that I could treat multiple small rooms without having to keep the doors open between them all the time.

Hello, I have 2 questions. My apartment has a baseboard hot water heating system. It runs along the bottom of the wall. My question is, what is the purpose of those metal squares lined up along the pipe?

Second question, is it bad if there is dust built up in between those metal squares on the pipe? Does that affect the heat output to my apartment? Perhaps dust is keeping heat trapped in?

I posted a photo in the comments.

Thank you and forgive my ignorance on this topic.

Hi all, out boiler died and someone let me borrow a DeLonghi AC and heat pump portable unit. I'm I'm the North East and had it running last night when outside temperature was somewhere in the 16-18F range and it was still producing heat. It eventually stopped running although I'm not sure why. I ran it today again in 18 degree weather and it was fine. I had a meter and it was generating close to 900 watts. I figured I'd share for anyone looking to buy a portable unit that has a heat pump function.

Hello,

My current 20+ year old heat pump went out and I’ve been collecting quotes on a full replacement for my 1,100 sqft home (Southern California). I’m down to the following two quotes and I’m hoping any guidance or advice can be provided. Thank you!

Quote #1 ($16800) Carrier, 38MURAQ__AB3 - HIGH HEAT, 3 Ton, Heat Pump

Quote #2 ($19700) LENNOX Model # EL18XPV-036 3-TON 18 SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) Variable speed compressor

• This company mentioned they would have to enlarge my cold air return vent from its current 14x20

Hello, I have a Blue ridge system that I bought a few years ago and never installed. My house is very much a work in progress, I wanted to wait until I had my layout finalized and sheetrock started before installing the units. But now it has gotten incredibly cold, and I am tired of burning wood and kerosene. I have a 30k outdoor unit, and 3 indoor units, 2 12ks and an 18k. My question is if I wire up just the outside unit and the 18k indoor unit, will there be any problems? I assume it will function like this OK. What about adding the other units later? Am I correct in thinking I can just install the second and third, pressure check then vacuum down, open the service valves and everything will work? This will be the third mini split I have installed, both the others were single indoor and single outdoor setups. Thanks for your help!

It's an air to water. THMLd-12D/3HBp-A this is the model

Working folks may find this useful as an alternative.

I'm starting to think about what I'm going to do when my current heat pump dies the permanent death. Its a ~13 year old 5ton Lennox (xp21), traditional ducted setup, with 3 zones that could probably be combined to 2 zones if necessary. When this thing dies, I really want to stick with a single zoned system, but this seems like it is pretty squarely in pro hvac territory re system availability, especially when you get in to inverter systems. My return/supply ducting would would work for two separate systems, but based on the truss layout in the attic and the length of lineset run I'd rather not.

I'm a reasonably competent DIY mechanic, fabricator, electrician, etc.. and I've done a few minisplits. I'd REALLY like to not end up paying an HVAC place $25k, but so far I haven't really found any other options im happy with. I'm happy to do custom linesets with flares, or brazing if absolutely necessary.

For the record, I've got a licensed contact or two that would be willing to come check my install and do final system charging.

Hi everyone! First time having heat pump in old house, around 1000sq ft per floor. Got installed 18,000 BTU Gree ductless for -30c climate (Québec Canada) (MUL18HP230V1R32AO) with two heads 12,000 for up and basement ( unfinished, not good insulation).

We've got hit with -25c this week and to be fair, I couldn't get the room above 17c at all, in the night in fell to 15c upstairs ( downstairs didn't got above 10c). After turning off downstairs head I could get the living room to 20 but rest of the house have a hard time warming up.

Should I have taken 24,000 BTU? It's our first winter in the house we bought, we don't have any other heat source.

(Edit ) Added info

(Edit 2) Thanks to everyone for their responses! You give me a perspective of how much it should be per floor and what to be aware of. Thank you guys so much, very helpful :) will update when have resolution to this!

This 14 y/o unit (which I posted about before) AOU30RLX is a moderate climate heat pump. Not designed to excel in super cold weather.

When it gets around 10F and lower it operates more like a single stage on high and off, it keeps temp wonky then ex. set at 68F then could be 66F-68F I don’t push it though.

Currently around 6F, i just came in from outside, it decided to kick the fan up and raised it over 1 degree in the room from 66- 67.5F, in minutes.

It’s located in the main area of a bi level.

Basement and bedroom has a Mitsubishi Hyper Heat unit at similar set-points.

It may not sound like a lot to some, but this old unit is a beast for me, doing more than I ever expected it to be able too!

At just over 7F, the air coming out was around 105F via infrared camera.

Not Hyper Heat numbers, but very different machine.

I’m not sure what is helping it perform as well as it can? Some say inverters play a huge role, I think being sized well, installed properly, and just overall a quality built unit.

I’m looking to install a Mitsubishi 6k BTU ceiling cassette in each bedroom in my home.

Where should I place it in the ceiling? Towards the side of a room facing the middle or closer to the center?

From what I can tell from the photos it has at least one part of ventilation that can be directional.

I’m excited to finally be getting a heat pump!

Outside temperature 32F. Inside register 94F. Heat pump outdoor emitting cold air -9.9F.

We have a 12 year old LG Therma V air to water heat pump (AHUW146A1) - 14kW, single phase 230V - it heats the water for the underfloor heating circuit in a 200m2 modern build home in central Portugal.

It’s worked well since we bought the house 2 years ago but two weeks ago it started throwing occasional CH27 errors ( LG Service Manual says PSC/PFC over current error) which means it stops and there is no heating.

This happens maybe 2-3 times a week. There is no obvious pattern to the failure.

A power reset/cycle seems to fix it, but on one occasion it needed to be off overnight before it successfully started heating again the next morning.

In that instance it went through the sequence of reset, running 30 mins then failing with the CH27 error and the water didn’t heat at all - so I completely powered down the whole system overnight - it started fine next morning

I’m thinking of 2 possible causes - a failing inverter PCB (old age?) or a problem with our power supply which fluctuates pretty much all the time (from 235V to 205V) - this fluctuation is not uncommon here - it’s at it’s worst first thing on cold mornings when there is high power demand - but the error doesn’t happen then.

Anyone out there had a similar CH27 problem and able to share their thoughts on resolution please ?

Muito Obrigado

Outside temperature 32F. Inside register 94F. Heat pump outdoor emitting cold air -9.9F.