Seattle- Heat Pump/Gas Furnace vs AC/Gas Furnace
kimhoj
13 years ago
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neohioheatpump
13 years agotigerdunes
13 years agoRelated Discussions
AC + gas furnace vs, Heat Pump + furnace
Comments (5)All units are Bryant Furnace = 355BAV A/C = 127A Heat Pump = 226A Had to order today to take advantage of rebate offer that ends 8/31. Never could figure out how to estimate the cost of running the heat pump vs. the gas furnace and couldn't locate any on-line calculators/spreadsheets that would help. Figured I'd save a bunch with new 95% furnace over the old sigle-stage 80%, and the new 17 SEER a/c over the old single-stage 10. It's small house (1450 sf) and well insulated, and I didn't know if I'd squeeze enough additional savings with a heat pump to justify the extra initial cost of the pump plus whatever extra cost would be involved in replacing it sooner because of running it much more. When in doubt, play conservatively (at least where money is involved), so I went for the a/c unit. Wish I'd discovered this website a month earlier. Thanks to all those who responded....See MoreHeat Pump vs Gas Furnace
Comments (1)The humidity level in a home is based on the infiltration. How much outside air leaks in and is heated by any heating source. The first part of the heating season, the temp diff between in & out is minimal and homes will be humid. As the season wears on and it gets cooler out, the humidity in the house will drop naturally. Then the moisture will go away. But it isn't unusual to have moisture or fog in the first cold days of fall or after a big temp drop....See MoreHeat pump vs combination AC and furnace.
Comments (4)Thanks. The contractor seemed to indicate that the changeover to a straight heat pump would cost as much or more due to the age of the house and the built-in inefficiencies. I suspect we are looking at an A/C unit replacement because the furnace has not malfunctioned this summer. Hmm....wonder why not? Wait till fall then pay more to replace that as well. Trouble is they are trying to milk what they can out of the warranty company but at some point the company has to say NO...your system needs replacement and we don't cover that. Stand by for updates....See MoreAdding a heat pump or A/C to high-efficient furnace in Seattle
Comments (9)A question for those who know more - is there an issue of pairing the coil (size/brand/airflow requirement or capacity) with an existing furnace? When I recently had new furnaces and AC put in, the contractor said that the expected "spec'd" furnace model for my house (in a mild winter area) didn't have enough airflow for the higher sized A/C coil and condenser needed. It was easy enough for him to use an appropriate model without upsizing the furnace output but it was a consideration. Back in the day of single stage furnaces you would have the gas heat blast effect for certain homes because the air flow needs for the AC were higher and pairing of a large furnace to meet those needs would result in blasting heat / short cycling of the furnace. Little you could do to rectify that problem back then. Many would use manual dampers and have to readjust them between spring and fall. They would often times sell maintenance plans based on this problem. However, this climate can some years be hot one minute and cold the next. Switch so often that you're doing the tango between areas of your home and the thermostat. (manual dampers are not a solution for that reason.) Now 2 stage gas furnaces rectifies this problem by running in low fire. If the furnace heat capacity is oversized for the home to operate the AC air flow needs it won't matter as the furnace will never run long enough to hit stage 2 high fire. Problem is occasionally you come across people who like the heat blast of older furnaces and complain the new furnace doesn't put out enough heat. There are ways to over come this as well, but you have to communicate often times to discover what the actual complaint is about....See Morekimhoj
13 years agoweedmeister
13 years agoneohioheatpump
13 years agokimhoj
13 years agoweedmeister
13 years agodavid_cary
13 years agoneohioheatpump
13 years agoseatonheating
13 years agoimjustdave
9 years agomike_home
9 years ago
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