Hope the Heat is Keeping UP

[alldodge]

Installed a new 16 seer heat pump this summer, and with the temps dropping below 30F the heat pump would be going into electric coil mode. Good thing also installed 2 vented propane gas logs. Turned HP down to 66 and the logs to 68. This way the HP does not turn on and the logs take over.

When it heats back up above 30 I'll switch.

What all ya'll doing to keep warm?

 

[sam60]

Still on the old 10 SEER heat pump, no fireplace. Oil over electric under the work bench.

 

[aspeck]

Geothermal ... and loving it!

 

[alldodge]

Geothermal ... and loving it!

Now that is the way to go. almost went that way but would cost a bunch to install, and payback might be longer then I have left

 

[dwco5051]

Geothermal ... and loving it!

Same here but I also have a wood burner on the first floor and a circulating fireplace in the second floor living room. Heat pump only kicks in a couple of times a day if I let the fires go out. I am heating and cooling about 3400 square feet of living space along with two refrigerators and two freezer. House is total electric and my electric bill is about $1400 a year. My shop and garage are on the same meter so the block heaters for the diesel truck and equipment get used this time of year. I have 25 acres of woodlot and if I could figure out how to air condition with wood it would be even less. I have switches for my aux heat so the resistance heat never kicks in, My wife likes it warm so the great room stays about 75 F.

 

[alldodge]

same meter so the block heaters for the diesel truck and equipment get used this time of year

Have a block heater on my pickup and if I plug it in, it draws about 3rd of what the house does running all the time. Didn't know that until the Electric Co added a meter just for the shop (Truck parked) and noticed how much the heater was drawing.

Given that you use truck and equipment heaters it could cost you half that

 

[dwco5051]

Have a block heater on my pickup and if I plug it in, it draws about 3rd of what the house does running all the time. Didn't know that until the Electric Co added a meter just for the shop (Truck parked) and noticed how much the heater was drawing.

Given that you use truck and equipment heaters it could cost you half that

Stuff doesn't get used every day so I plug them in about 45 minutes before I am ready to start. Then you have to wait for the hydraulic oil to get warm after starting. My Amish neighbor has a 60 or so year old log skidder with no hydraulics, just gears cables, clutches and levers. A half a can of spray ether and as soon as it starts and smooths out he is ready to work.

 

[dingbat]

Burning oil..

Went thru178 gallons since 11/13.
7 day, 7 event programmable thermostat cut 25% off the oil bill.

Looked into geo but the payback wasn’t there. We only have 1 month where the average low is below freezing so conventional heat pump will suffice.

 

[boatman37]

Our town owns the electric department and uses it as a taxation tool so we pay about 17c/kw hour. Our average electric bill is about $150 in the winter and about $350 in the summer so we try to limit electric usage as much as possible we live in a cape cod about 1500 sq. ft., brick with blown in insulation and new windows, furnace, etc. Some in our town have $500 electric bills in the summer. Anyway, we have a gas log fireplace that we run all winter that heats most of our first floor but the furnace will kick on occasionally (probably more with this deep freeze). Another thing I do (and my wife hates) after we cook in the oven I leave the oven door partially open to take advantage of the free heat coming from there. There are no little kids in the house so why not??? lol

 

[southkogs]

I've got a split system with gas downstairs and a heat pump upstairs. For the pretty mild winters we have for the most part it's sufficient. This week it's probably working itself out as we're pretty cold (for TN), but normally it's fine.

Would love to do geothermal, but I don't think I can in my area (in the city).

 

[jimmbo]

30 would feel very warm, short sleeves and short pants weather for me. Right now it is -33 outside, not counting wind chill

 

[bigdee]

27 degrees outside. Thermostat set on 63, air coming out of registers is 88. 4 ton heatpump holding its own. I will raise thermostat thermostat 2 degrees every time it cycles off until I reach 67 to keep the 2nd stage heater coil from kicking on.

 

[Tnstratofam]

We're lucky we have natural gas for both the house and the shop. 10 year old furnace in the house and a 20 year old furnace in the shop keeps us warm and toasty.

The admiral thanked me the other day for keeping her warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Owning my own Heating and Air conditioning company does ad some pressure to keeping things comfy for the Admiral.

I tell my customers that a well insulated home is your first start to energy savings and staying comfortable.

 

[82rude]

I'm in the same boat as jimmbo,its a balmy -20 today .Heat with gas which is fairly cheap compared to elect which would put me in the poorhouse.Garage is heated by epa woodstove which is fed lots of maple and oak.

 

[jkust]

It's a pretty standard winter here in MN, -13F now with -33 windchill at my main house and -15 and -33 windchill at my lake house. -13 f is really not that cold yet compared to what January will bring. And even then whatever the coldest temp is at home or my lake house pales in comparison to the norther third of MN. At home we have natural gas burning furnace and have been keeping all of the gas fireplaces on or at least on thermostat mode to keep things at least at 70 degrees. The main house is close to 6000 square feet and really is a bear to keep at a consistent temp over three floors because of the useless two story spaces that used to be desirable.

I keep the heat on all year at the lake house which is a propane gas furnace and had planned on making the 2 hour trip up there to check on things and make sure the furnace is still operating but didn't have the time and so we decided not to head up there plus there's no appreciable snow yet for the sleds. We've got the electric heater boards up there as a secondary heat source as well but need to figure out how to put them on a wall thermostat to actually act as a back up not just the built in thermostat that just has a potentiometer and not temp settings to set from. Again, the lake house is also large with the typical lofty open spaces and not enough HVAC heat runs for the size so can also be a bear to keep consistently warm. They are supposed to be finally putting internet through up at the lake house in 2018 so will have the ability to monitor and control the temp remotely hopefully as we recently replaced the furnace with a modern version that has a lot of connectivity features that have gone unused so far. That is to say that the furnace has a specific thermostat controller/not a retail style model that comes with the package.

 

[alldodge]

Our house was build by my great aunt and uncle as their retirement home in 1969. They didn't want to ever have to paint so the inside is all paneling. The paneling means it leaks air like a sieve. We've redone the great room sealing everything up, but now need to do hall, BR and pantry. At least the exterior is brick.

 

[WIMUSKY]

-30 at 8 a.m. WI

 

[alldodge]

-30 at 8 a.m. WI

Burrrrr

Last time I saw temps like that was in the USCG aboard an ice breaker at McMurdo Sound Antarctica, and it was summer time

 

[jkust]

Sitting at a -35 right for fees like temp now with -16 ambient temp...theater room in walk out basement having a hard time getting above 70 ahead of the vikings game so far. Good thing for heated floors...need to open the heat vents a little bit more too.

 

[bassman284]

-30 at 8 a.m. WI

A balmy -7 in east central Iowa Head south, young man.