We did the energy audit and enhanced insulation through Mass Save in ’18, then replaced the old ‘70s era ducted heat pump with a Carrier Infinity system. The new heat pump functions well in low temperatures as Michael reports about his minisplit system. And the house is less drafty than it was, a benefit in both cold and hot weather. Our electric bills went down about 20% between the two investments, even though we now set the thermostat a little higher (getting old does that).
> On Feb 3, 2022, at 1:58 PM, Michael Moodie <[email protected]> wrote: > > We installed Mitsubishi minisplit heat pumps seven years ago and they have > performed really well, even in the depths of winter. Like Joel's Fujitsu's > they operate down to about -15 degrees. They can meet 100% of their design > heating output down to 5 degrees, about 80% at -5 and about 65% at -14. So we > start a fire in our fireplace insert when we're in the low single digits and > that little extra helps keep the house toasty. I just had the first > maintenance performed on them (after 7 years) two weeks ago and the > technician found everything working fine. > As to how much they cost to run, I haven't analyzed that closely because we > have solar panels and generated enough power in the summer to carry us > through the winter, thanks to net metering, so that we didn't have an > electric bill for four years. That ended when we bought an electric car! > The foundation of all this is good insulation and air sealing (filling all > the cracks and holes in roof, walls and windows/doors). The better insulated > one's house is, the easier it is to heat and the fewer solar panels one > needs. MassSave offers 75% rebates on insulation and will do free air sealing > in draft areas of your house. 75% rebates! > Fossil fuel systems are so powerful that they can overpower poor insulation > and poor air sealing in almost any home. (But at what cost to our climate?!) > Heat pumps don't work as well in such situations. But give them a reasonably > well-insulated and air-sealed house and choose a good installer and an > efficient heat pump and they will perform admirably. > Belinda Gingrich and I are on the Lincoln Green Energy Committee and are > starting a series of Zoom events about heat pumps. The first (February 27 - > stay tuned for the announcement on LincolnTalk) will be focused on > condominium owners, since they have special circumstances, but we'll follow > with others for single-family homeowners. > Regards, > Michael Moodie > > On Thu, Feb 3, 2022 at 12:48 PM Debra Daugherty <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > But does it consume lots and lots of kWh at those low temps? Our Bosch is > rated to go low, but I'm a bit wary of how much energy it would consume in > doing so. > > --Debra > > On Thu, Feb 3, 2022 at 12:41 PM Joel Freedman <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > We have Fujitsu heat pumps, which are designed to operate down to -15 > degrees. I believe the latest Mitsubishi models also operate down to below > zero temperatures. There have apparently been a lot of technological > advances in these systems over the past few years, and the latest generation > of heat pump units from major companies are designed to operate in climates > such as ours. > > ---Joel > > > > From: Lincoln <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> On Behalf Of Debra Daugherty > Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2022 12:27 PM > To: Mary Crowe <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > Cc: Lincoln Talk <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > Subject: Re: [LincolnTalk] a very interesting article...and comments are > important, esp. "Slinky55" > > > > What type of heat pump was that Mary? Sounds like one to avoid! We have a > heat pump but it only kicks in when the temp is above 35. We hope to see how > that goes and lower the switching temp more and more over time. Still using > natural gas furnace for the colder temps. Our heat pump is Bosch, which was > cheaper than the alternatives because they are still breaking into the heat > pump market. Mitsubishi parts. So far so good! > > On Thu, Feb 3, 2022 at 11:55 AM Mary Crowe <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > I put in a heat pump five years ago and it works well until temp goes below > 25 degrees. Unfortunately it has not been maintenance free ( wiring burned > out after 4 years and later when the controller went out I was left with no > heat until the part could be ordered and delivered.(weeks) In the dead of > winter my bills have definitely gone up. Someone needs to develop a more > efficient system that is more affordable. I love the idea but it has to be > reliable and affordable. AS many have said we need to build more solar and > wind solutions.My solar panels are great in the spring ,summer and fall but > dont help much in the winter.I use the Green Option for electricity and am > glad that Lincoln supports that option,. > > On Thu, Feb 3, 2022 at 11:10 AM Sara Mattes <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > …a part of ongoing conversations in Lincoln > > > > > ------ > Sara Mattes > > > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/ > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7C4d018f53e71040a720d108d9e73a5c1c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637795060138452834%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=qf82CGQ4%2FDlVABEYEqCM1OpyLVxP8u4OhkOyI77EuP4%3D&reserved=0>. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpairlist9.pair.net%2Fmailman%2Fprivate%2Flincoln%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7C4d018f53e71040a720d108d9e73a5c1c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637795060138452834%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=4PbWStu4OH0%2FmJgONFyUHAiHx7H78%2BtrDtZGVVSQ%2BKw%3D&reserved=0>. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpairlist9.pair.net%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Flincoln&data=04%7C01%7C%7C4d018f53e71040a720d108d9e73a5c1c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637795060138452834%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=pQke9eGIv8dK8AJ3Sq3aF5pT2Q2%2F8t7xxBN46ZRZJ5I%3D&reserved=0>. > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/ > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7C4d018f53e71040a720d108d9e73a5c1c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637795060138452834%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=qf82CGQ4%2FDlVABEYEqCM1OpyLVxP8u4OhkOyI77EuP4%3D&reserved=0>. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpairlist9.pair.net%2Fmailman%2Fprivate%2Flincoln%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7C4d018f53e71040a720d108d9e73a5c1c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637795060138452834%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=4PbWStu4OH0%2FmJgONFyUHAiHx7H78%2BtrDtZGVVSQ%2BKw%3D&reserved=0>. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpairlist9.pair.net%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Flincoln&data=04%7C01%7C%7C4d018f53e71040a720d108d9e73a5c1c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637795060138452834%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=pQke9eGIv8dK8AJ3Sq3aF5pT2Q2%2F8t7xxBN46ZRZJ5I%3D&reserved=0>. > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/ > <http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/>. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > <https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/>. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln > <https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln>. > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >
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