Thanks for the info. I liked the look of the black enamel as it seemed more contemporary (but not too odd) but I noticed a whitish area on the enamel liner near where the flame had been once the fire was off. It was faint but I could see it from across the room since it was white on black and was concerned about how bad that would become over time or whether there was any way to get rid of it (cleaner, new paint, etc.). Has anyone had a black enamel liner for a few years to see how it holds up?

wmjdr I always hate to hear stories like this. some questions. when was system last serviced? this is your first heating season in this home? what size home? pls post model number of inside/outside units? what size heat strip? nat gas is not available for your home? a couple of things come to mind. 1.malfunction of condenser-it sounds like you are using/depending on heat strips too much 2.bad thermostat obviously the east has had extreme winter temps over the last month way below the average lows. you can expect more high electric bills if you ignore the situation. heat pumps for an all electric home is certainly a reasonable choice for your area/climate. post back when you find out what the problem is. IMO Good Luck!

WhatâÂÂs âÂÂ7.831â/kWh2.â A typo? Well this is a âÂÂno brainerâÂÂ. New construction and LESS than 8â/kWh - NOTHING beats geothermal! Your cost would be less than 2â/kW of heat delivered into your home with a COP of 4. The same geothermal system would also heat most of your domestic hot water as well. You may have already missed your best opportunity to have geothermal installed as inexpensively as possible by not having the bulldozer that cleared the land bulldoze trenches for a horizontal ground loop at the same time while the equipment and operator were ALREADY on-site. If you want to go geothermal you still have some interesting options. You could get the bulldozer back on-site, horizontal trenches could also be dug when you have an excavator on-site to dig the foundation or you can have the well driller drill the boreholes and install the vertical pipes when heâÂÂs there to drill the well. Even though I prefer closed loop, open loop may also be possible with the driller drilling a supply well for domestic water and geothermal while drilling a second well to responsibly return the water back into the same aquifer unchanged except for a few degrees in temperature, providing of course there is sufficient water of suitable quality. At this stage you can even plan the penetrations into the envelope either through the foundation wall or straight up from the ground into the future mechanical room floor BEFORE the cement slab is even poured! ThatâÂÂs what I would, every loop coming into the mechanical room with the headers indoors for easy flushing, commissioning AND easy loop isolation & analysis down the road should a problem occur. One thing is for sure. If you want to geothermal - NOW is the time to do it! BTW: You mentioned heating a 2000sq ft home for $4600 with propane and about 40% less or $1840 with pellets. You could probably heat the house for even less than 40% of what the pellets will cost. We heat our 2800sq ft home in Montreal with geothermal at 8â/kWh for about $500/yr. The temperature here tomorrow is STILL going down to below -0F without the wind chill factor! The backup hasnâÂÂt been on for at least several weeks. Thought you might want to know⦠IMPO SR Here is a link that might be useful: International Ground Source Heat Pump Association at Oklahoma State University

"Currently, there is a 3T unit now, so we know the ductwork etc can support a 3T unit." May I ask how you know this? Has a static pressure test been done on the existing duct system? The older system used a PSC blower, so if the ductwork was undersized/deficient, it would just move less air, resulting in less capacity and generally more stress on the equipment itself. The new variable speed air handler will actually ramp-up to move more air, which could result in a rather loud, less reliable system. Many homes are lacking in sufficient return/supply capacity for the equipment installed in them. A competent dealer can measure the supply and return external static pressure to actually determine if your ductwork is sufficient. 3 tons for 1000 sqft of average construction is crazy -- could likely cool the entire home, but of course living area (sqft) alone does not explicitly dictate the heat load (though sadly some contractors seem to think so -- generally 500 sqft/ton is the incorrect rule of thumb used). Many like to add a fudge factor to the load calcs to get the results they want, which provides no benefit to the consumer in terms of comfort or efficiency (the opposite). I would just caution you to avoid oversizing and review calcs with the dealers. It makes no sense to oversize a high-end, dual-stage system that will spend all of its time in low stage. The 2-ton installer is probably correct, and if they are reputable and will guarantee the system will perform to your design conditions, I see no reason not to go that route from upfront cost, comfort, and efficiency perspectives. You should tell them what you plan to keep the temperature setting at during the winter and summer. TD has recommended a good system above. Without reviewing the calcs myself, 2.5 tons is the absolute most I could sanely recommend for your upstairs. Please keep us posted; I look forward to seeing how this plays out. I would personally give great consideration to the contractor who performed the load calc and said that 2 tons was appropriate. But to be very clear I am not saying that this size system is appropriate; as stated, a load calc needs to be done correctly to determine that. But it is true that many companies have the tendency to oversize and everyone is afraid of undersizing (understandably!), so if a reputable company is suggesting a 2 ton system and will design it correctly and stand behind it, then that says something. 2 tons does "sound" appropriate and common for the average 1000 square foot living space, if not more than enough capacity. But it does depend on many factors, including your ductwork -- if it is poorly designed, leaks, and has little to no insulation -- which in itself would be something to look into. Ductwork is often overlooked but equally as important as equipment selection/sizing. Best of luck. This post was edited by ryanhughes on Fri, Nov 1, 13 at 23:19