Every home needs a heat pump
Some of you may be thinking I have lost my marbles if you read my previous blog about heat pumps, and I only like them in certain situations. Well hear me out on this one, and you too will see why I love the concept of a heat pump in every home.
My biggest gripe with heat pumps is they lose output capacity as the outside temperature falls. As it gets colder outside, we need more heat, not less. Therefore heat pumps rely on electric strip heat (think huge electric space heaters) that are expensive to run. The second biggest drawback I have with heat pumps in older Ohio homes is, the house needs a bigger heating unit than cooling unit, and a heat pump is also the cooling unit. So it might be the correct size for cooling, but not heating, or vice versa. But what if technology has advanced through some of those drawbacks? What if we now have options to to pair these new, more efficient heat pumps to our existing furnaces?
The great news is, we have, and we can. I'm sure by now almost everyone has heard the term “mini split”, and we immediately think of the Mr Cool type units we hang on the wall and they heat and cool a room. Those types of systems have been around for decades, and are terrific. And through those years, manufacturers have improved upon those designs and expanded the capabilities of the systems to move past single room wall mount units.
Let me please introduce you to the Mitsubishi Hyper Heat heat pump system. If you think Mr Cool is the Cadillac of heating and cooling a room, then Mitsubishi is the Rivian of the market! My single biggest drawback of heat pumps has always been the diminishing output as the temperature drops. Thankfully, Mitsubishi said “challenge accepted” and developed the Hyper Heat unit. While most heat pump systems may only produce 40-50% of their rated capacity at 5*, the Hyper Heat has full output. Better yet, the Hyper Heat still produces around 70% of its capacity at -13*. And for any friends way up north, Mitsubishi is currently doing R&D on a heat pump that will produce heat around -40*.
My second biggest drawback is we typically have a need for a larger heating unit than a cooling unit. That left us with an overside a/c unit, which is a monster itself. But with variable capacity units, we are able to overcome that. Variable speed units are able to run between 20 and 100% of capacity. If we need a 4 ton heating unit but a 2 ton cooling unit, the Mitsubishi system can slow down to match the difference!
So you might be thinking “well Ben that is great and all, but we don’t want to install all these wall mounted units all over our house, we already have a traditional system”. You are absolutely correct, and I wouldn’t want to install those all over your house either. I would much rather use your existing infrastructure than go through the logistical nightmare of running line sets and electric all over your house. Yes you heard that correctly, Mitsubishi has systems that use your existing ductwork, and still has the same heating and cooling capabilities as the wall mount units. If you are in a house with a standard heat pump and air handler with electric strips, Mitsubishi has an air handler to install back in its place. And because it has full output down to 5*, you can count on lower electric bills in the bitter cold of winter, as you will be using less electric strip heat.
Now half of you are thinking “Ben I have a gas furnace, my winter heating bill is reasonable, and I love the hot air that comes out of the vents on those frigid days. I hear a lot of people complain the air from a heat pump is not hot. I really do not want to rip out my gas furnace for an all electric heat pump.” And you are absolutely correct in your thinking. And I would never suggest ripping out a gas furnace. I myself have a gas furnace, paired with a heat pump, and we absolutely love it. A gas furnace paired to a heat pump is a match made in HVAC heaven. We call these types of installs dual fuel, as we use a combination of electric and gas to heat the home. When we pair the two together, we are able to take advantage of each unit's strong suits. We use the heat pump in mild weather when it is able to hit efficiencies over 300%, and then switch to gas as it gets cold and take advantage of the high output and hot air of the gas. We can even go so far as to find the exact temperature to switch between the two for maximum savings on your utilities. For customers with oil heat, we can’t offer Mitsubishi at the time of this writing, but still have dual fuel options for you.
With the ability to claim tax credits up to $3200 for installing high efficiency heat pumps paired to high efficiency furnaces, now is one of the best times ever to consider upgrading to a Mitsubishi heat pump.
