Looking for some feedback on my heating strategy for next winter. The goal is to have the heat pump run less to save money while also improving the heat in the house. I live in Virginia.
House was built in 2002 and is tight, for the most part. 3500 square feet including basement. Open floor plan with vaulted ceilings on the main level. You can see the second story from the living room. Lots of open space.
Vaulted ceilings are hard to heat. Heat still rises. You are heating a volume of space in which there is no living area. Effectively, you are heating the equivalent of a much larger floor area than you report.
Living room will get an updated propane insert direct vent rated at about 40,000 BTUs. Current propane costs are about 3.50/gallon. Cost of unit and install around $5500
One has to factor the efficiency of the unit, propane prices, and the cost of electricity, but a rough estimate is that simple electric resistance heating is cheaper than propane at prices around $3.00 per gal. Down to around 10 deg. f modern high efficiency heat pumps will be about a third less cost than electric resistance heating. At $3.50 per gal. of propane you are going into the hole big time. Even heating oil is cheaper.
Basement will get the biggest wood stove I can find, somewhere in the 80,000 BTU range.
Have you thought about a wood fired furnace? They can tie into your existing duct work, and will require less attention than a stove. A stove is a source point heater and it can be easy, difficult, or even impossible to get the heat out of the basement and upstairs. There must be dozens of threads on this in these forums.
Adding ceiling fans where appropriate.
Probably necessary. The only alternative is to use a ducted air system and get enough return air pickup points high on the vaulted ceilings.
Set back thermostats, heat pumps, and extreme cold are not necessarily compatible. Heat pumps can be remarkably efficient, but if the thermostat calls for a lot of heat or the outside temps are low enough it will turn on the heat strip - basic expensive electric resistance heating. What is worse, when heat is called for around dawn, the outside temperatures are at their lowest, and the heat pump is called on to raise the temperature however many degrees you have set it back. It can be actually less expensive to just let the heat pump run all night as needed in some cases.
New heavy (but nice) blinds for the living room windows, which are large.
Heavy blinds in and of themselves may have a R value of 0. You need either insulated blinds, cellular shades, insulated curtains, or some combination. This may be the most effective place to help your heating costs. The best double glazed windows have an R value of around 2. The better cellular shades give your an additional R 3, cutting your heat loss through the glass to less than half! Insulated shades are available as high as R 5, but they get pretty spendy. But imagine going from a mere R 2 to R 7 - cutting your heat loss by almost 70 %. Be aware also that insulated curtains have to be installed properly or you simply create a chimney behind which air circulates.
I am a big believer in reducing heat losses through windows and doors. Not only does it save on energy consumption, but it makes your living space so much more comfortable by reducing drafts and cold spots near windows. One does have to be aware of the potential of condensation problems on the windows which is both unsightly and damaging, but again, proper installation can minimize the issue.
So, in sum, I would spend my first dollars on insulation, including effective window treatments. Next I would upgrade the heat pump - possibly even go ground source. There is no set of circumstances that would get me to install a propane insert, but if you want one just figure on getting it for ambiance.
