[VAC] Re: Furnace and A/C: Heat Pump Option?

["Dr. Gerald N. Johnson, electrical engineer" <geraldj@xxxxxxxx>]

The life of the heat pump/air conditioner tends to be shorter because
the compressor works most all year round. Also there are several valves
required to reverse its function that don't add to the reliability.

The heat pump with outside air below 38 or so produces no more heat than
a simple resistance heater. And the resistance heater lasts longer and
is quieter.

The propane gas furnace produces heat at about 1/3 the cost of electric
heat. Perhaps not as good as that these days with high LP prices.
Including furnace efficiency of 80%, it costs me $1.25 right now to get
78,000 BTUs into this house with propane. That price paid for electric
heat (resistance this time of Iowa) would get me only about 30,000 BTU.
But they'd been clean and quiet. Propane in small tanks is more
expensive, electricity in campgrounds not adequately metered, and at the
moment probably not often charged for at the true cost. That tends to
blur the economics.

Electric heat doesn't work well when boon docking, its not an effective
(nor is air conditioning) use of solar panels and batteries. Propane can
work in the boonies without wires.

Gerald J.