heat pump / dual fuel in cleveland ohio - your thoughts.

14 years ago

Hello everybody.

Just wanted to say I"ve been reading the garden-web forum for a long time about HVAC and really enjoy it. it motivated me. I've learned alot and got alot of good ideas. I hope everyone enjoys my post.

1. What I replaced and purchased.

I replaced my 17 year old 3-ton trane xl1200 12-seer air conditioner that was working just fine with a heat pump. I currently still have a 100K btu trane 90% gas furnace.

My primary reason was to save money on gas bills and have extra flexibility and comfort.

I researched and choose a luxaire 3-ton lx series 14.5 seer heatpump. I choose the model # lhjf36s41s1a heat pump because of its excellent heating numbers and its quiet operation. It was also a pretty good price. It has demand defrost, compressor filter, scroll compressor, 69db cool 71 db heat, 10 year parts warranty. I went with a 3.5 ton coil model # pc43c3xn1h since it is more efficient. I also got the txv valve. I got the new lineset and the honeywell wireless thermostat kit with outdoor thermostat. I have it setup to switch to gas backup/aux at 30 degress f. This new unit has the r-410a. The instaler did a vacuum on the new linset down to 320 microns.

2. The house.

I live in a suburb just south of cleveland ohio in a 1750 sq. ft. brick ranch with a full basement. It was built in 1967. No insulation in walls but very-good brick solid construction. 8-foot ceilings. It has nice new vinyl windows, good basement glassblock windows, 3/4 finished basement (which helps insulate). Over the past 3 years of me living here I did the following: I blew in 6 inches of cellulose in attic on top of 2 inches fiberglass bats already there. I added fiberglass insulation in gap between ceiling and plate in the unfinshed area. I even sealed any accessible leaks in ducts in basement with aluminum colored silicon. I also insulated behind inside of wall outlets of exterior walls (you would be surprised the cold air coming in them in the winter).

Your general thoughts?

Will this duel fuel setup save me money?

Any comments on the luxaire brand?

I notice when the heat pump kicks on it makes a little electrical thud. When the old a/c kicked on, its electrical 'thud' wasn't quite this loud. comments?

So far it works nice. The heat pump in my opinion actually seems to warm the rooms more comfortably than the furnace (no cool spots). The heat seems very even. It just got finished on 10/05/2009.

Electrical rates around here are about 11 cents per KW hour with all taxes and delivery.

Natual gas is cheap but its variable and I"m sure it will skyrocket again.

Oh yes, I got all this installed for a little over 3 grand. I helped the installer with all the work. I plan on taking the 30% credit since this equipment is on the list for meeting the qualifications for the rebate so after the rebate its barely over 2 grand.

thanks.

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Comments (3)

ryanhughes
14 years ago
You don't qualify for the 30% credit, because no combination rating exists for your matchup (no variable speed fan motor to enhance ratings, and no official rating in the AHRI database). The heat pump and coil alone are what you had purchased and installed, and those together won't get you the ratings for the tax credit. It may be on the list of products that can potentially qualify, but it all depends on their application. So, point being, whether you claim the credit or not, I don't think what you have actually qualifies.

You chose good equipment in my mind and I hope the system works well for you. Is the furnace also 17 years old? Luxaire = York pretty much (for example, for their lower end furnaces, they are shipped with no brand sticker and you have to put it on depending on what brand you want it to be). I believe those components should have a 10 year warranty and if they do, you're in good shape.

I applaud you on the level of research you seem to have done. It obviously paid off. Hopefully you got the memo that the installer is much more important than the brand of the equipment you're installing. If you think about it, they're all very similar in design and quality nowadays (of course, there are exceptions to everything).
tigerdunes
14 years ago
neohioheatpump

your dual fuel strategy is a good one.

Luxaire is part of the Unitary Products Group(UPG), a Johnson Controls Co. In fact, this is the same company that owns York. York and Luxaire are sister companies, similar to Carrier and Bryant.

However, Ryan is right. Your new HP with matching coil does not qualify for the tax credit and unless you have a var speed furnace, it will not reach the efficiency numbers it is capable of producing.

while nat gas is down in price, the monetary benefits will probably be very small this year.

How are you controlling the switch off temp from HP to furnace?

IMO
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neohioheatpump
Original Author
14 years ago
I choose to keep the existing trane gas furnace because its 90% efficient and it quiet and hasn't given me any problems. I think its also from the early 1990's. I figured I would only be using the gas heat from it occaisionally since I now have the heat pump.

I have the honeywell focuspro programmable wireless thermostat. The transmitter is in the basement attached to the furnace. It also has an outdoor wireless thermostat that interfaces with the system. I programmed it to lockout the heat pump at 30 degrees fahrenheit. I can lower or raise the lockout to whatever I want if gas and electric prices change.

The new honeywell focuspro wireless thermostat is really cool. It shows the outside temperature and humidity with a touch of a button. Its very easy to program and use its different features.

Buying this thermostat kit seems like the way to go if you are converting to a dual fuel system from just straight gas and ac. You can even add a third stage of heat with this thermostat (say 2 stages of heat pump and 1 stage of gas).

heat pump / dual fuel in cleveland ohio - your thoughts.

Comments (3)

ryanhughes

tigerdunes

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heat pump / dual fuel in cleveland ohio - your thoughts.

Comments (3)

ryanhughes

tigerdunes

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