New heat pump
- Thread starter Zeus
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Never heard of one either. Is it is a "hyper heat model" optimized for low temperature operation?
Back in 2006 when we were in the market for a HP system, Samsung was the only brand stocked locally. I was impressed by the quality of workmanship. No idea how well they stand up, but they've been making mini-splits for a while.
It's rated down to -5 im testing this unit in my master bedroom if I'm impressed with it I'm gonna get the hole house done with a new unit they have that's suppose to be good to -25 .with my weather probly won't use my new harman anymore. I didn't want to jump in with both feet at the cost of these units til I tried things. If everything goes well I'll have the hole house done and my master will have its own zone.
What's important is how many btus it's putting out at -5F. And what the room or area's hat loss is at that temp.
Most units will put out some heat down to the rated temp. Will it be useful? maybe not.
Hard to say without knowing your heating loads. Your 'trying it' approach is good.
To keep the outdoor unit out of the snow, its good to mount them on the side of the house, or on legs.
Hard to say without knowing your heating loads. Your 'trying it' approach is good.
To keep the outdoor unit out of the snow, its good to mount them on the side of the house, or on legs.
Thanks for the info guys,Ill be sure to let you guys know how things go with this unit, it seems to cool very well and even, all corners of the room seem to be at the same temp. I will keep you up to date as winter comes,those are the answers I'm looking for. I'm sure I'll hit you with more questions later I've only had it for a week.
I would expect to need supplemental heat at very low outdoor temps. How much depends on how well insulated and sealed the room is and how much glass area it has.
Keep the Harmon ! The heat pump loses efficiency and the amount of heat it puts out definitely drops as the temps drop. The temperature of the air coming out of the unit also drops. Its still warm but not hot. The unit also defrosts more often as the temps go down. My experience is that if its sunny out I can run it down 20 deg F, If its snowing out I usually run it over 30 deg F. I usually use a cheap electric space heater for spot heating below those temps. The other thing to keep in mind is down at those lower temps set it at one temp and forget it. It will take hours to heat a room up from a colder temp.
Make sure the outdoor unit is mounted quite high off the ground on the side of the house where the prevailing winds do not blow. Its good to put a slanted roof over the unit to keep snow from getting into the unit making sure the roof is spaced well above the unit so there is plenty of air flow. Some companies sell snow baffles that shield air flow in from the sides, I think if its located correctly they are not needed but if it becomes and issue they look easy to add.
Make sure the outdoor unit is mounted quite high off the ground on the side of the house where the prevailing winds do not blow. Its good to put a slanted roof over the unit to keep snow from getting into the unit making sure the roof is spaced well above the unit so there is plenty of air flow. Some companies sell snow baffles that shield air flow in from the sides, I think if its located correctly they are not needed but if it becomes and issue they look easy to add.
The room has been all redone from the studs new insulation ,Windows,door. So I'm hoping for the best,only draw back is the ceiling is high time will tell.
I have Mitsubishi Hyper Heat rated down to -12 F. It starts to de-rate below zero. Down around -10 the air coming out is not very warm and unless its cold and dry its runs the defrost cycle quite often which is noisy. The utilities in Maine were giving rebates on mini splits and I think they only accepted Fujitsu units.
Note the amount of heat in the air for the unit to grab is just plain low, no matter what brand you buy it doesn't change the physics. If you want to design for low temp operation then you are looking at far more expensive more complicated ground source heat pump. It pulls heat out the ground which is usually 40 to 50 degrees, great idea but required drilled holes or heat transfer loops plus the air handlers and ducts make them expensive to install.
Be careful some salesmen confuse how low a temp a unit can run with how low a temp it can produce useful heat. I think Fujitsu advertises that their unit doesn't shut down like the Mitsubishi units (at -12F) but the reality is it may run but is not producing viable heat.
Since you are in PA this is probably all academic as I expect it rarely gets down that low.
Note the amount of heat in the air for the unit to grab is just plain low, no matter what brand you buy it doesn't change the physics. If you want to design for low temp operation then you are looking at far more expensive more complicated ground source heat pump. It pulls heat out the ground which is usually 40 to 50 degrees, great idea but required drilled holes or heat transfer loops plus the air handlers and ducts make them expensive to install.
Be careful some salesmen confuse how low a temp a unit can run with how low a temp it can produce useful heat. I think Fujitsu advertises that their unit doesn't shut down like the Mitsubishi units (at -12F) but the reality is it may run but is not producing viable heat.
Since you are in PA this is probably all academic as I expect it rarely gets down that low.
Good info there one more rookie question how often do you have your heat pump serviced or checked over?
Not yet. I have an older mini split AC unit that is 10 years old and still running great with no service, my heat pump is about 5 years old and its fine. As long as its installed correctly there really is no service except cleaning the filters in the inside unit. The inside unit sits up high so its less prone to getting crap in it. Effectively its the same parts as a refrigerator, no real serviceable parts. I expect the outdoor unit coils could get crapped up at some point if its in a dusty area. A lot of folks mount them on pads on the ground and that is an invitation to get hit with a lawn mower or loaded up with grass clippings. Mine is about 4 feet off the ground hanging off the wall attached to a unistrut bracket screwed into my framing. The tubing is run under a special snap on vinyl "gutter" so its not exposed.
The reason I went with Mitsubishi is they have great rep for reliability, but do cost a bit more. I did my own install and paid a tech to charge the unit so I have lost the long term warranty that a dealer offers. I have talked to several service techs and they all say if they are installed correctly, the vast majority of repairs is to due to external abuse by the owner which is not covered by the long term warranty. The majority of failures is due to something hitting the unit or the hoses. They can ice up in winter and if it happens there is not a lot you can do except wait for warm day. Fujitsu offers a pan heater and I think some Mitsubishi units may offer an optional one. It just keeps the pan under the outdoor coil warm enough that any water dropping down on it will flow out the drain. It has only happened once on mine and expect I caused it by hitting it with a snowblower discharge.
If they stop working, the service tech checks the pressures and swaps out the unit at some high markup, they dont open them up to work on parts as they arent really designed to be serviced. The cost to have them installed is usually double the cost of the unit so they can offer a nice warranty assuming that most of the time the problem is billable due to abuse. The other thing that can take them out is a voltage spike from the utility or power quality issues, this is not specific to mini split, any appliances and equipment in the house have the same vulnerability. I have a midnight solar whole house surge suppressor https://www.altestore.com/store/enc...MIraLKob6F2wIViWSGCh2h3Af2EAQYAyABEgJJq_D_BwE to deal with spikes from the incoming utility line if they occur.
I have heard that mice and rodents can sometimes get in the house via the tubing run between the indoor and outdoor units. Definitely make sure that the gaps around the tubing are sealed off as its also a potential source of infiltration.
Definitely run a dedicated circuit to the minisplit and make sure you dont have any issues with your incoming line (if you have an old 60 AMP service I would definitely check to see if you have an voltage sag when you hit it with a big load). Mini Splits have variable speed motors in them so they dont draw any significant surge current but worth checking.
The reason I went with Mitsubishi is they have great rep for reliability, but do cost a bit more. I did my own install and paid a tech to charge the unit so I have lost the long term warranty that a dealer offers. I have talked to several service techs and they all say if they are installed correctly, the vast majority of repairs is to due to external abuse by the owner which is not covered by the long term warranty. The majority of failures is due to something hitting the unit or the hoses. They can ice up in winter and if it happens there is not a lot you can do except wait for warm day. Fujitsu offers a pan heater and I think some Mitsubishi units may offer an optional one. It just keeps the pan under the outdoor coil warm enough that any water dropping down on it will flow out the drain. It has only happened once on mine and expect I caused it by hitting it with a snowblower discharge.
If they stop working, the service tech checks the pressures and swaps out the unit at some high markup, they dont open them up to work on parts as they arent really designed to be serviced. The cost to have them installed is usually double the cost of the unit so they can offer a nice warranty assuming that most of the time the problem is billable due to abuse. The other thing that can take them out is a voltage spike from the utility or power quality issues, this is not specific to mini split, any appliances and equipment in the house have the same vulnerability. I have a midnight solar whole house surge suppressor https://www.altestore.com/store/enc...MIraLKob6F2wIViWSGCh2h3Af2EAQYAyABEgJJq_D_BwE to deal with spikes from the incoming utility line if they occur.
I have heard that mice and rodents can sometimes get in the house via the tubing run between the indoor and outdoor units. Definitely make sure that the gaps around the tubing are sealed off as its also a potential source of infiltration.
Definitely run a dedicated circuit to the minisplit and make sure you dont have any issues with your incoming line (if you have an old 60 AMP service I would definitely check to see if you have an voltage sag when you hit it with a big load). Mini Splits have variable speed motors in them so they dont draw any significant surge current but worth checking.
It looks like lots of units are eligible for rebate in Maine. This is a handy list for anyone in the market, though I'm not sure how current it is.
https://www.efficiencymaine.com/docs/Eligible-Mini-Split-Heat-Pump-Criteria-and-List.pdf
edit: says updated 3/28/18
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I would think that NW PA would be as cold as northern NH more or less, not tropical like me.
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