Heat Exchanger Extraordinaire! If you're building or upgrading your heating and air conditioning system, you really need to have a look at this system.
In the summer, the heat pump moves heat from inside your home, to outside. In the winter, the heat pump moves heat from the outdoors to the inside. I won't get into the mechanics, but trust me, this stuff works, really well!
In our climate, which gets really cold at times, the heat pumps do rely on a back up propane system because at a certain point, it's really hard to extract heat out of freezing air (although it can be done to a certain degree).
I just sold a really big home that used this system and the average electric bill, year round was $104. The propane usage included the hot water system, but was less than half of what a conventional propane forced air system would cost for a similar home. That's a lot of money saved, especially last year. Other benefits:
- Provides a more even room temperature mostly eliminating the "burst" of hot air
- The air produced by the heat pumps is less dry, better humidity in the home
- Instead of thinking of getting a 95% efficient gas furnace, the air to air heat pump is 275% efficient
- Cooling is the reverse direction of the heat pump, and goodness knows we like cooling in the summer
- Some Electric Co-Ops offer rebates per ton of system installed
- The State of Montana offers a $500 tax credit for the installation of the system
- The Federal Government offers a tax credit up to 30% of the cost of the system up to $1,500 if it's Energy Star rated
