I'm not an engineer and only have my personal experience to share, but what I have observed bears out what Nick and others have been saying.
I have had two heat pumps for my condo unit - one installed around about 2011 and the other last summer. For the first heat pump, which had an auxiliary heat source to use when the temperatures got low, I found that whenever the outside temp was around 20 degrees or lower, the heat pump had a hard time keeping up, even with the auxiliary heat. I would come down in the morning to a chilly house, which would only catch up later in the day. The new heat pump, which was advertised to have the latest technology, has no auxiliary heat source, which worried me at first. But so far, it has performed perfectly, even on those recent nights when the temperature was below 20. And it is far quieter than the earlier model. It operates in two stages - when it runs on the lowest stage you can't even tell it is running. It only uses the high stage on the coldest days, and then you hear a low hum. I don't have enough data yet to compare energy usage, but I'm assuming that the fact that I'm no longer using auxiliary heat, which is very inefficient, will have a positive impact on my energy bills. So my experience backs up what Nick said about modern heat pumps. The technology has improved enormously, and what used to definitely be a problem seems to have been pretty much overcome. (If anyone is curious, the contractor that did my recent installation was NetZero (netzerohvac.net).) Leslie Turek. On Sun, Dec 28, 2025 at 8:43 PM Nick Gardner <[email protected]> wrote: > That is unfortunately outdated information. With modern cold climate heat > pumps, the heat pumps are more environmentally friendly than natural gas > heating at around 15f if you're on the Lincoln basic plan and have a 95% > efficient furnace. If you are on the standard plan, it's *always* more > environmentally friendly to run the heat pumps instead of gas. The > technology has greatly improved recently. Happy to go over the numbers with > anyone if they'd like, I'm a bit proponent of heat pumps. > > I do agree about power reliability, but battery backup solutions have > gotten a lot better recently as well. > > -Nick > > On Sun, Dec 28, 2025, 20:09 Arthur Buckland <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Thank you, Nick, >> >> You are correct that point 1 about the unreliable Lincoln electric grid >> is the most important >> >> But you might check your HVAC system: >> >> “Areas of the country subjected to temperatures 40 degrees and lower for >> extended periods are not ideal for a heat pump installation. >> >> Why? Well, as the temperature drops, heat pumps work harder to maintain >> desired comfort levels. This results in more energy use, driving up your >> utility bill. >> >> In addition, once the temperature drops below 40 degrees, most heat pump >> systems lose their heating efficiency and must switch to emergency heat >> mode, which utilizes electric resistant heat strips that use more >> electricity.” >> >> And you are correct, below 0 f. the heat strips are almost useless except >> to generate huge electric bills. It is like heating your home with >> non-oil-filled electric space heaters >> >> Also since Massachusetts generally has very efficient gas-fired/generated >> electricity on our grid, the extra electricity to generate heat from HVACs >> consumes vastly more green house gases than direct conversion from gas at >> our homes >> >> Heating with electricity below 32f is bad for the environment. >> With warm regards, wishing all a peaceful and healthy 2026 >> Art >> +1 978.873.3000 >> >> On Dec 28, 2025, at 6:26 PM, Nick Gardner <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> I'd push back against number 2 in particular. Cold climate heat pumps >> typically provide full output down to 5f and still operate at -13f. I and >> many others use heat pumps as a primary method of HVAC and have had no >> issue even on the coldest of cold days. >> >> -Nick >> >> On Sun, Dec 28, 2025, 18:17 Arthur Buckland via Lincoln < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Rosemary >>> >>> Erik Lyons - (978) 621-2642 >>> New business, hard working, local >>> >>> Max heating & cooling >>> Sam or Dan >>> (617) 453-8865 >>> Best in Boston >>> >>> Do not use HVAC for heating in Lincoln >>> 1. Lincoln’s electric grid is too unreliable (I think Eversource >>> cultivates tree growth over our old fragile power lines) >>> 2. HVACs are not designed for very cold weather which we occasionally >>> have >>> >>> If you insist on HVACs have a good wood- burning stove in the house >>> >>> With warm regards, >>> Art >>> +1 978.873.3000 >>> >>> On Dec 28, 2025, at 10:12 AM, Deb Wallace <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>> >>> Rosemary, >>> >>> Have you tried Haffner's formerly Concord Oil? They have been servicing >>> my furnace for decades and I have been very satisfied with them. >>> https://www.haffners.com/ >>> >>> Deb >>> >>> >>> On Sun, Dec 28, 2025 at 8:43 AM Rosemary Lloyd <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Hello Hive, >>>> We need to replace two gas fired furnaces (sadly, two reputable >>>> companies have concluded we cannot replace with heat pumps). Looking for >>>> recommendations for high efficiency furnace and a great company to procure >>>> and install them. Thanks! >>>> >>>> Rosemary >>>> -- >>>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>>> To post, send mail to [email protected]. >>>> Browse the archives at >>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>>> Change your subscription settings at >>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>>> >>>> -- >>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>> To post, send mail to [email protected]. >>> Browse the archives at >>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>> Change your subscription settings at >>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>> >>> -- >>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>> To post, send mail to [email protected]. >>> Browse the archives at >>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>> Change your subscription settings at >>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>> >>> -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > 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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