New Home in Connecticut W/Heat Pump and Furnace??

[superbike0]

Hi Guy's, Thanks for the heads up on my first post about a quiet furnace with maintance in mind.

I had to do some research on Heat Pumps before I made this post, I don't know anyone around my area of Connecticut that has one installed, that makes me a little leary.

Heat pumps sound like a great way to go with a furnace as my backup thru the cold winter months. I have to do so more homework on these.

My idea to go with Propane is, I can bury the 1000lb tank in the ground, One less item in my walk out basement, I can use it also for my fireplace and stove also. Oil isn't out of the question, Im just trying to figure out options.

I would like to keep the system Simple yet efficent.
I will spend the $50 bucks and do a Load Cal myself just for my own knowedge.

Anyone out ther from New England area using a Duel Luel system??? Pro's/Cons??......No, Not convics!
Brian

[Jultzya]

Heat Pumps can save you tremendous amounts of money while operating above the BP (balance point).

For more HP (heat pump) information, please search "heat pumps" on this site. There is a tremendous amount of information already posted to this site on that subject.

[Freezeking2000]

Thats a great way to go!

[dan sw fl]

Gas Rate $__.__ MCF
Electric Rate $_.__ per KW

Heat Pump H.S.P.F. ____

Problem 70 % solved.

[chevling]

i would not reccomend a heat pump around CT, since most of the winter (once it starts) is below 35 degrees.

[shaum76]

best option for you would be a 90% or higher furnace and 10 to 13 SEER A/c

propane or oil - bad idea
unless getting Nat. gas is a problem

but if you plan to stay in this house for a long time
look into Geo-thermal - best option for the long term

[dan sw fl]

Originally posted by chevling
i would not reccomend a heat pump around CT, since most of the winter (once it starts) is below 35 degrees.

Generally, C.O.P. at 17'F is about 2.7.

Heat pump may be the most economical NOW given INITIAL natural gas rate increases.

I am not aware of the specific electric or natural
gas rates in CT.

[superbike0]

I wish Natural Gas was around the area, but it's not.

There's about 120 days which the temp average is I believe 25f.........BBBrrrrrrr.......Why do I live here!

So, Wouldn't those days be for my backup furnace and not my heat pump???

Brian

[smokin68]

Connecticut sure is cold....that's why I moved south.

The whole key to your situation is the balancepoint of your house/heatpump. This is the temperature at which the heatpump can no longer maintain the setpoint of your thermostat without help(btu's) from the backup heat, propane in your case. So first you need a load calculation done, then you can choose a heatpump accordingly. I no longer am from the cold climate,so i can't help you with how well they work there, but people are installing them, so if sized accordingly they do the job. It just takes a while to get used to the heat, as they don't blow you away like a furnace,they run around 100 degrees out of the duct.
Good luck and think twice before you bury that propane tank...that could cause future headaches/expenses.

[superbike0]

More and more builders are installing the l.p. tanks here under ground, It's probabley easier for them to do so, but it's not them paying the fuel bill's. I think L.P. is around 2 bucks a gallon.

If "You" (hvac pro's) were building a new house in a cold climate, with not breaking the bank on a complex system, would you still go Oil?????

I don't have access to Natural gas.

Thanks,
Brian

[casturbo]

Give oil a fair shake here, modern oil burning equipment is clean and safe. The safest form of fossil fuel in my opinion. Shopping around for fuel saves hundreds, and since there are many many oil companies vying for your business, your choice of a reputable company is plentiful.

Don't bother with a heatpump in Connecticut, they aren't worth the cost, end of story.

A quality hydro-air system with radiant floor warming is probably the least expensive alternative means for heating and cooling, but copper baseboard for just heating works very too, then central air can be added at a later date if you so choose.

[johnsp]

Casturbo is right. In the NE, we heat for more then 50% of the year so why not get the best system for heat? Radiant floors and basebaord would be the most confortable and efficent. You can bury a new fiberglass oil tank or just put in a Roth saftey tank in the basement. Remember that a gallon of oil has over 1/3 more BTU's a gallon of LP. If you 're set on a gas dryer and stove then there are some fantastic 90%+ effcient gas boilers on the market. You then can keep the AC system simple and have the ductwork optimized for cooling only.

[superbike0]

Oil isn't out of the question, I didn't relize that it produces more energy than L.P.

Can you direct vent an oil furnace??
Brian

[peytonc2682]

Here is a link that may help you to decide if you should go with propane or a heat pump. You will need to know the propane price and your electric rate. I did it for my area and propane is much more expensive.

http://calc.usepropane.com/calculator/

[hydronicsman]

If you have money to spend on components that have a very small window of operation here in CT, and don't mind making things more complex, then yeah, do a heat pump. I can't remember how many I have taken out to convert to hydro air..

Not recommended. Nor is propane.

[superbike0]

Got it, Heat pump is out of the question.

Im thinking Oil right now, Good Furnace, correct sizing,

Any troubles with power venting a Oil Furnace??

[johnsp]

If your heart is set on hot air, I suggest you go LP. I was hoping you wanted a boiler and radiant or baseboard/rads at the very least. I'd stay away from power venting a furnace or boiler. Just too much noise. You can direct vent oil. But I suggest you have a side of the house with few windows and no wood siding that would be difficult to clean.

Since you need domestic hot water also, I think a boiler is a better way to go. An indirect WH can be heated by your boiler bo there's only one burner/flue to worry about. You also can do hydro-air: put a hot water coil in an air handler giving you warm air just like a furnace. Plus you can do radiant floors in hard to heat tiled areas like the bathroom and kitchen.

[traron]

superbike0

I live in southern CT and just had a Hydro Air system installed this past spring. It is great! Have a Weil Mclain Oil fired boiler, with a 50 gal indirect fired HW heater, two 3 ton air handlers (one each for the first and second floors) and two 10 seer condenser units. The system is quiet and I had a great contractor install it. I would definitely suggest Hydro Air in CT. Good luck with your job.

[casturbo]

There are many direct vent oil boilers. However, direct venting any fossil fuel powered device is not without disadvantages venting into a conventional chimney does not have. But if you pick your side venting location wisely (considering the direction of prevailing wind) it can work OK.

Oil gives by far the most BTU of any fossil fuel. It gives considerably more energy than propane. Nearly 140,000 btu per gallon is what oil puts out....so basically, burning just one gallon of oil per hour could heat a 4000 sq ft house in the dead of winter.

Don't install a warm air furnace system....go hydro-air instead. Same type of heat, but loads more comfortable and you'll have a durable boiler in your house, hopefully cast iron too.