Compare Heat Pumps - Broan FT4BI iQ Drive vs.Trane XL20i

[54regcab]

They tried load control switches in Oklahoma where the utility had control of the condenser. Didn't go over to well with consumers. They have switched to a new program where it's 100% price based, no mandatory control. The FPL peak/off peak may still make sense for you, you just have to run the numbers.

Dropping the temperature down at night to be comfortable doesn't hurt your bill as much as you might think. The A/C runs more efficiently since outdoor temps are lower, capacity goes up while power use goes down. Ductwork losses are less since the attic is relatively cool. If your house has a lot of thermal mass it might even be able to hold some of the cool until the peak of the day. If FPL allows you to monitor use hourly use online you could verify how it affects your power bill.

[54regcab]

Just pulled FPL's rate schedule.
What a mess, I can't figure out what they charge per KWH or even when the peak hours are !!

[dan sw fl]

Just pulled FPL's rate schedule.
What a mess, I can't figure out what they charge per KWH or even when the peak hours are !!

Noon- 9 PM
NO CAN DO ! !!
FOR NEARLY EVERY1.!.!!

http://www.fpl.com/rates/pdf/2012RateSummary.pdf

[Florida Joy]

They tried load control switches in Oklahoma where the utility had control of the condenser. Didn't go over to well with consumers. They have switched to a new program where it's 100% price based, no mandatory control. The FPL peak/off peak may still make sense for you, you just have to run the numbers.

.

Thanks dan sw fl for jogging my memory. Now that I recall, it was in a "past life" at another location that I opted for the FPL "On Call" discount... I was working as a retail auto parts store manager at that time, most days from noon to 9PM. So I didn't care if they controlled my A/C and water heater during those hours!

[Florida Joy]

Keep in mind the "21 SEER" rating is at 82 degree outside and 80 degree inside temperatures. Yes a TWO degree difference between outside and inside temperatures. The EER rating is VERY different at a more typical 95 outside/80 inside 15 degree difference. If it's 95F outside and the system is running continuously on high speed (which it should be in most areas) the EER number is closer to what you are going to see in the real world. I didn't see EER published for either unit you are comparing but very few air to air units are capable of EER of over 14. A 14-15 SEER unit gets and EER of about 13. Not much real world improvement for the high end units when the temps start climbing. 16+ SEER units get their higher rating by "downsizing" during part load conditions to reduce cycling losses. Cycling looses can also be reduced by selecting smaller equipment if you're OK with house not meeting setpoint when temperature are over 95 outside. You can move heat generating activities to off peak times to help keep cool.

For the money you are talking about with the high end systems you may want to look at geothermal. EER on Geo units can exceed 20, a substantial improvement over air cooled units.

As you all know, I chose the 3 ton, 20,5 SEER, 14.5 EER Carrier Greenspeed, which was installed on 11/08/2012. But I've had your comment about SEER being based on testing at 80*F indoor and 82*F outdoor rolling around in my head, so I decided to check the 25VNA product data for the equipment I chose. Here's what I found regarding published ratings:

Cooling Standard: 80_F (27_C) db 67_F (19_C) wb indoor entering air temperature and 95_F (35_C) db air entering outdoor unit.

25VNA Infinity Variable Speed Heat Pump with Greenspeed Product Data (25VNA-03PD).pdf

[54regcab]

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[Florida Joy]

Your unit has an EER of 14.5 at the 80 indoor/95 outdoor tempature specified. EER is BTU ouput divided by watts used, you get 14.5 BTU out of your unit for every watt it uses. Check out the expanded cooling data on page 19. At 95F outside and 67WB inside your unit puts out 35,000 BTU while using 2.41 KWH. 35/2.41 = 14.52 EER.

Look again at the expanded cooling data for 85outdoor/67wb MINIMUM (since your unit will be running on low speed at cooler temps) 14.82BTU @ 0.71KW. Divided out thats 20.87, pretty close the the 20.5 SEER rating. IMHO expanded cooling data is MUCH more valuble than simple SEER/EER ratings, glad they listed it in the manual

BTW, now that you have had your unit for awhile, how are you liking it?

Thanks! I've been studying the expanded cooling data and it pretty much explains why I've been able to run cooling/dehumidification (this is Florida, you know) almost every day & night for over 2 months now (and low heat on a couple of mornings) with almost no use of electricity!

I absolutely love my Greenspeed!

[54regcab]

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[jpsmith1cm]

54regcab

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[Florida Joy]

This is the Ask Our Pro's forum. In order to post a response here, you must have verified qualifications and have been approved by the AOP Committee. You may ask a question by starting a new thread.

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What's up with this? As I recall, 54regcab has been posting as a pro member with an asterisk since I joined in August 2012. How did he get demoted to regular guest?

[jtrammel]

I'm not sure, I was wondering the same. All he does is installs Tstats for a power company. It may be for bashing contractors for over sizing equipment without the knowledge to back up the allegation, which I agree with him on many of the over sizing issues. This is merely speculation though, gossip if you will.