Woodstove backups, Heat Pumps?

[begreen]

I feel almost embarrassed that we have a heat pump but never use it for cooling. Well, almost never. I did turn it on a couple years ago one hot summer day to cool down my wife.

 

[mellow]

Wish I had that problem begreen. Summer is when mine get used the most, if they had an emergency cooling option I am sure my wife would have that running some of those 100 degree days.

 

[Highbeam]

I feel almost embarrassed that we have a heat pump but never use it for cooling. Well, almost never. I did turn it on a couple years ago one hot summer day to cool down my wife.

This winter has been great for heat pumpers so far. So warm, it was just under 60 degrees last night. Hard time of year to heat with wood since only a little bit of heat is needed.

 

[begreen]

Yes, this may be the longest year we've gone without a fire.

 

[moey]

The cheapest way to do it is if you have a large pond on your property. They can run the piping at the bottom of your pond and you eliminate the huge expense of drilling. I've got a 12 acre swamp right beside me but it is a restricted wetland zone. Never fool with environmentalists who work for the gov't.

Most folks I had come out and quote preferred digging trenches as being the least expensive. Ponds require a lot of labor for installation. Ever try and get a HDPE pipe to sink? They do have a little bit better performance in most cases though the water conducts much much better then dirt and stays warmer often.

 

[DBoon]

I was really soured on "heat pumps" for many years after having one in a condo. It seemed to mostly blow cold air, cost a lot to run, and the backup heat was on a lot.

I installed a Fujitsu RLS2H (15,000 BTU rated, usable heat down to -17 degrees F) in an ~1800 square foot (unoccupied) home that I am renovating. It uses electricity from my 5.3 kW solar array. Last year was the coldest winter in a long time in Central NY - consistently below 0 degrees F, 8000 heating degree days, and that little unit saved me about 400 gallons of heating oil using about 4 MWh of electricity. It produced very nice heat down that I could feel when outside temps were below zero. Would I rely on this for my primary heat in my climate? No, but it is a good backup system, great for shoulder season, and certainly a very reasonable "keep the house at 60 degrees F while away" heater if you primary heat was from a wood stove.

If you go this route, make sure you get the Fujitsu or Mitsubishi units that are rated to -17 degrees F.