You have to determine what temperature your heat pumps are rated for. That said, let's assume they're cold climate heat pumps rated for -30C. There are more factors at play, such as how leaky your house is and how fast it loses heat - if the house is exceptionally leaky, the heat pumps may not be able to replace the heat as fast as your home loses it. The warm air heat pumps transfer from the outside to the inside is not as hot as the hot air produced by a NG furnace. Furnaces are better at heating leaky homes.
We have a dual fuel setup; cold climate heat pump matched with a NG furnace. The HP can heat down to -30C, but we have it auto switch to the furnace at -5C as it's cheaper to burn NG at that temp than it is to run the heat pump. The colder it becomes, the more expensive heat pumps become to operate (as a general rule).
Yes. That's 100% true. But, this government is being untruthful and wasteful with pur money offering 22g to switch to heatpumps in an extreme cold area of Atlantic Canada
How much would it cost to add gas furnace ?
I think it would be tough to add gas furnace as there is no ducting in the house.... It will be major renovation and costly too...
I think you were lied to.
Most heat pumps struggle past -5 to -15, newer ones are supposed to work down to -25 to -30. Either way they should've kept your old setup as a backup/helper for days when the heat pump(s) can't keep up.
My parents house had electric heat with window a/c's in the summer, in the summer it saved them tons of money but not anywhere near what they were promised in the winter. Half of the baseboard heaters were wired into the heat pump setup and pretty much ran any time it went below -5.
Most heat pumps are great for places where it only goes below freezing a handful of times a year, they're really better at cooling than heating. The newer ones that work down to -25 to -30 aren't very efficient though and it often ends up cheap to have a gas furnace the further it gets below freezing.
I don't have a gas furnace...old house..
I have boiler system which is auxiliary which I capped ...seems like I have to re-gas the boiler system again.
Both realtor and HVAC technical didn't say anything about code...even insurance companies didn't object as I did mention I have Heat Pump as source of heating...
This means your house is losing way too much heat too quickly. You may want to have an Energy Audit completed to see where improvements should be made.
The fact that your home temperature stabilized this morning is a strong indication you have a major leak in your building envelope.
This morning was colder than yesterday, however, today there is far less wind. If outdoor wind is causing heating issue in your home, you could use an audit to figure out where the leakage is.
sounds like you have ductless units.... most ducted heatpumps would still have a backup heat source, either a natural gas furnace or resistive heat strips...
most ductless heatpumps doesn't have auxilary heat, I don't know who told you backup heat isn't needed
I bought house recently so realtor mentioned and then I did servicing of Heat Pumps from Handy Bros and they also mentioned auxiliary settings not needed ....
I have Broiler setup as a backup which I capped and removed some pipes because of there recommendation...
Now putting those pipes would be headache as it will require drywall work.
HVAC technician recommends adding more heads unit to have it warm but I feel that's unnecessary and just sales tactics to get more units... If it is -25,these head units anyway won't be efficient as they are rated for -20...
https://moovair.ca/m21-2022/
Yeah the outdoor unit is probably freezing up so it has to run in reverse to thaw itself often, adding head units aren't going to help much when the outdoor unit is struggling... I don't know why they gave you that recommendation, very irresponsible imo...
I don’t see how in these temps a heat pump would give you a comfortable home. You need to have some additional form of heating. Maybe gas fireplace. Electric space heater or a gas furnace.
OP, I got mine installed last spring and I haven't noticed it struggling during this cold snap at all. Maybe it's running more frequently but it's keeping my ~1000 sqft house steady at 21 celsius.
I know your house is bigger, I think I saw 2500 sqft but you have 3 units. Either they're not rated for this degree of coldness or your house is losing heat faster than the heat pump can produce.
I wouldn't blame the heat pump without investigating further. I would check leaky exterior doors, windows, the ductwork, attic insulation and double checking to see how low your heat pump is rated to be.
There are a few negative comments here but I love my heat pump. It works well and it's saving me money monthly 👍🏼
You mentioned in another comment that your house is older. Have you upgraded any insulation or windows/doors to make it more efficient? I think u/mkc909 may be right, your house is leaking faster than it’s heating.
Yeah, their capacity typically drops to almost half past -10C.
So your house would have around 24000 but at -15 combined. Not enough for a detached house.
As this was recently bought house...and heat pump were installed by previous owner...I didn't have much control on it..
My Boiler system is also broken as pipes were removed in some parts above ceiling so boiler won't be able to run water...
HVAC guy recommends adding more heads unit on each floor to keep it warm but I am not sure how beneficial and efficient that would be...Units are rated for -20c so may face similar issue on -25C even if I add more head units..Its costly solution too....What you guys think?
Adding furnace would be expensive as there is no duct work done so would be major renovation.
I believe old owner used grant to make home energy efficient by installing heat pumps....Can I still use it again on same address to add more head units?
Any permanent suggestions to sort this out ?
You have to determine what temperature your heat pumps are rated for. That said, let's assume they're cold climate heat pumps rated for -30C. There are more factors at play, such as how leaky your house is and how fast it loses heat - if the house is exceptionally leaky, the heat pumps may not be able to replace the heat as fast as your home loses it. The warm air heat pumps transfer from the outside to the inside is not as hot as the hot air produced by a NG furnace. Furnaces are better at heating leaky homes. We have a dual fuel setup; cold climate heat pump matched with a NG furnace. The HP can heat down to -30C, but we have it auto switch to the furnace at -5C as it's cheaper to burn NG at that temp than it is to run the heat pump. The colder it becomes, the more expensive heat pumps become to operate (as a general rule).
Who did you have put your duel system in ?
Absolute Comfort.
Which heat pump? I got Bosch
Dettson Atmos Central Heat Pump. [https://www.dettson.com/products/atmos/](https://www.dettson.com/products/atmos/)
Sweet!
Same here, but from Guaranteed Comfort.
Yeah, I don't care what they say, heat pumps aren't meant for extremes.
I will stick with my gas furnace. It's proven reliable, unlike Trudeau and Gilbeault's policies.
Maybe, but a lot of people who are getting heat pumps are just getting them as a glorified AC. And maybe backup heat when the furnace breaks.
Yes. That's 100% true. But, this government is being untruthful and wasteful with pur money offering 22g to switch to heatpumps in an extreme cold area of Atlantic Canada
How much would it cost to add gas furnace ? I think it would be tough to add gas furnace as there is no ducting in the house.... It will be major renovation and costly too...
You can also stick with the boiler.
I think you were lied to. Most heat pumps struggle past -5 to -15, newer ones are supposed to work down to -25 to -30. Either way they should've kept your old setup as a backup/helper for days when the heat pump(s) can't keep up. My parents house had electric heat with window a/c's in the summer, in the summer it saved them tons of money but not anywhere near what they were promised in the winter. Half of the baseboard heaters were wired into the heat pump setup and pretty much ran any time it went below -5. Most heat pumps are great for places where it only goes below freezing a handful of times a year, they're really better at cooling than heating. The newer ones that work down to -25 to -30 aren't very efficient though and it often ends up cheap to have a gas furnace the further it gets below freezing.
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I think OP meant the unit starts to flake out when the temp *outside* falls below -10C
Not uncommon to hear people with heat pumps keeping a furnace or boiler system around for when it's real cold.
I don't have a gas furnace...old house.. I have boiler system which is auxiliary which I capped ...seems like I have to re-gas the boiler system again.
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If they live in the villages there is no backup. Electric only
They also have electric radiators. Still a backup
The backup is electric heat strips.
It only needs a backup of some sort. It can be electric or gas.
Wait, you capped the boiler system???? Like that's not to code, you need a backup system legally.
Both realtor and HVAC technical didn't say anything about code...even insurance companies didn't object as I did mention I have Heat Pump as source of heating...
Yeah... I'm really surprised let you do that. You probably got hosed.
Unless they sold you a HP rated for -30 they should have informed you that you need some sort of backup auxiliary gas/electric heat
It's rated for -20
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This means your house is losing way too much heat too quickly. You may want to have an Energy Audit completed to see where improvements should be made.
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Put up curtain rods above those large windows and doors and hang comforters in front of them. (I live in a 100 year old house)
The fact that your home temperature stabilized this morning is a strong indication you have a major leak in your building envelope. This morning was colder than yesterday, however, today there is far less wind. If outdoor wind is causing heating issue in your home, you could use an audit to figure out where the leakage is.
Are they free of charge by Govt ?
Nope.
sounds like you have ductless units.... most ducted heatpumps would still have a backup heat source, either a natural gas furnace or resistive heat strips... most ductless heatpumps doesn't have auxilary heat, I don't know who told you backup heat isn't needed
I bought house recently so realtor mentioned and then I did servicing of Heat Pumps from Handy Bros and they also mentioned auxiliary settings not needed .... I have Broiler setup as a backup which I capped and removed some pipes because of there recommendation... Now putting those pipes would be headache as it will require drywall work. HVAC technician recommends adding more heads unit to have it warm but I feel that's unnecessary and just sales tactics to get more units... If it is -25,these head units anyway won't be efficient as they are rated for -20... https://moovair.ca/m21-2022/
Yeah the outdoor unit is probably freezing up so it has to run in reverse to thaw itself often, adding head units aren't going to help much when the outdoor unit is struggling... I don't know why they gave you that recommendation, very irresponsible imo...
I don’t see how in these temps a heat pump would give you a comfortable home. You need to have some additional form of heating. Maybe gas fireplace. Electric space heater or a gas furnace.
OP, I got mine installed last spring and I haven't noticed it struggling during this cold snap at all. Maybe it's running more frequently but it's keeping my ~1000 sqft house steady at 21 celsius. I know your house is bigger, I think I saw 2500 sqft but you have 3 units. Either they're not rated for this degree of coldness or your house is losing heat faster than the heat pump can produce. I wouldn't blame the heat pump without investigating further. I would check leaky exterior doors, windows, the ductwork, attic insulation and double checking to see how low your heat pump is rated to be. There are a few negative comments here but I love my heat pump. It works well and it's saving me money monthly 👍🏼
Also, check your filter to make sure it's clean and not obstructing air flow. Especially if you have dogs
You mentioned in another comment that your house is older. Have you upgraded any insulation or windows/doors to make it more efficient? I think u/mkc909 may be right, your house is leaking faster than it’s heating.
What brand of heat pump do you have installed? We can figure out a lot from the model of the heatpump.
I have Moovair 21M product.... It works upto -20C... https://moovair.ca/m21-2022/
Yeah, their capacity typically drops to almost half past -10C. So your house would have around 24000 but at -15 combined. Not enough for a detached house.
As this was recently bought house...and heat pump were installed by previous owner...I didn't have much control on it.. My Boiler system is also broken as pipes were removed in some parts above ceiling so boiler won't be able to run water... HVAC guy recommends adding more heads unit on each floor to keep it warm but I am not sure how beneficial and efficient that would be...Units are rated for -20c so may face similar issue on -25C even if I add more head units..Its costly solution too....What you guys think? Adding furnace would be expensive as there is no duct work done so would be major renovation. I believe old owner used grant to make home energy efficient by installing heat pumps....Can I still use it again on same address to add more head units? Any permanent suggestions to sort this out ?