Home heating question

[KarenB]

Background info:

-We heat with oil, hot water baseboard heat, also use oil for hot water. Old furnace, but still pretty efficient, cleaned and checked yearly. We keep the house at 68 degrees tops in the winter.

-We have central air, been out of service for 10 years. Ducts running in the ceiling. If used, we would set it about 77 degrees.

-Live in central PA, small ranch approx 1200 sq feet.

We know we need to replace the AC, mainly for resale of the house if that ever happens and summers have become hotter and more humid. DH and I both dislike AC, but for the reasons given, we need to replace it. We got a few estimates and decided who to use based on the estimate and recommendations.

However, it was mentioned that a heat pump may be the way to go. Both Ac and heat through the ceiling ductwork, oil heat kicks in when it gets too cold, and would still keep the hot water heated by the oil furnace. Difference between the two is $2000.

I am really torn on which way to go, just AC replacement or add the heat pump, and would appreciate any suggestions you have on this “fun” topic.

 

[Miffy]

This topic isn't fun, but it's necessary.

If this were DH and me, we'd go for the heat pump. Your heating costs will go down unless you live in an area where electricity prices are sky-high, because right now you are using probably the most expensive method of heating: oil.

And if you're thinking of selling your home in the future, then the heat pump is a no-brainer. It's the most desirable and most eco-friendly heating and cooling solution.

We researched this last year, but our heat is fueled by natural gas and we don't have ductwork, so we'd need mini-splits in 4 rooms (our house is also 1,200 sq ft) and the cost to upgrade to heat pumps for the entire house far outstripped the cost of getting a new gas boiler, which is what we ended up doing.

By "far outstripped" I mean by $20K, not $2K. If it'd been $2K, we would've gotten the heat pump system. And we're in Upstate NY, so it gets cold here. The heat pump system of choice for cold-weather areas seems to be Mitsubishi, although other systems apparently work as well now.

Almost all of Norway uses heat pumps, if you need any reassurance that it'll work in very cold weather.

ETA: That $20K more for the heat pump system included all the tax breaks and government rebates. Without them, it would've been even more.

 

[tvguy]

Supposedly, heat pumps are the most efficient way to heat and cool. But I know nothing about oil heating. Sounds like a pretty dirty way to heat.
I grew up in a house with a traditional air conditioner and a natural gas furnace in a mild climate. I have lived in a house with a heat pump for 41 years and we are very happy with them. But, we live in an area that has mild climate, where electric rates are low, and natural gas prices high. No idea what oil would cost here, I suspect some older homes may have it here.

 

[tvguy]

This topic isn't fun, but it's necessary.

If this were DH and me, we'd go for the heat pump. Your heating costs will go down unless you live in an area where electricity prices are sky-high, because right now you are using probably the most expensive method of heating: oil.

And if you're thinking of selling your home in the future, then the heat pump is a no-brainer. It's the most desirable and most eco-friendly heating and cooling solution.

We researched this last year, but our heat is fueled by natural gas and we don't have ductwork, so we'd need mini-splits in 4 rooms (our house is also 1,200 sq ft) and the cost to upgrade to heat pumps for the entire house far outstripped the cost of getting a new gas boiler, which is what we ended up doing.

By "far outstripped" I mean by $20K, not $2K. If it'd been $2K, we would've gotten the heat pump system. And we're in Upstate NY, so it gets cold here. The heat pump system of choice for cold-weather areas seems to be Mitsubishi, although other systems apparently work as well now.

Almost all of Norway uses heat pumps, if you need any reassurance that it'll work in very cold weather.

ETA: That $20K more for the heat pump system included all the tax breaks and government rebates. Without them, it would've been even more.

Wow, those prices for heat pumps are crazy. My last system cost me $13,000 for a 2,010 square foot single story house. My daughter paid $10,000 for a heat pump for her 919 square foot, one story house. A big part of the cost here in California is the cost to do duct leak tests, and repairing any leaks. The law required that. In my case, the 220 wiring had to be replaced, as the original was aluminum not copper, and copper is required now.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I expect a heat pump would/could help with your eventual selling of the house (which you mentioned). We've had a heat pump (also in central PA!!) for more than 30 years and have been very happy with the reliability and effectiveness of keeping us warm and cool. No oil deliveries in the middle of winter....!

 

[KarenB]

Thank you! This is great information. Oil fluctuates each year. We purchase all of our oil in the summer, then it is on reserve for when we need it. It is cheaper this way. Prices throughout the past 5-10 years have varied from $2.30 to $4.99 a gallon. Just heating our water (which is what we would do with a heat pump), we could probably get away with a tank, maybe 1 1/2 tanks a year. We filled up the oil tank in April, ran the heat a bit in the spring, heated water since then and we still have over half a tank left.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Check on tax credits - I had a heat pump put in last year to replace the geriatric oil tank. Because the heat pump is an energy efficient improvement, I qualified for an energy efficient improvement tax credit to the tune of $2000. Pretty sure AC would not qualify for such things. I'm in MA, I don't know if that tax credit was federal or state, but worth looking into.

We did mini splits because our ductwork was old & much less efficient than the mini splits, so we'd have needed a much larger unit that would have significantly increased costs. The mini splits were a great decision because we can customize settings in each room (basically, one bedroom gets AC a lot, one almost never, and the "main house" only when someone is there and it's 80+ outside).

I really like our heat pump. It's nice and quiet and adjustable. It cools down a room super quick! It is our sole heat source so it is the Mitsubishi rated down to -15F or something crazy like that, although it never gets that cold here. Couldn't figure out why the AC wouldn't work the first time it was hot enough to turn it on... ended up having to throw the breaker off then on again and it has worked perfectly since.

 

[jimmymc]

I recently did some research into this, and heat pumps are very efficient. People tend to oversize them because of the worst case scenario, but having a few space heaters or an electric blanket can really help get your overall heating costs down.

 

[The Mayor]

We chose a mini split heat pump three years ago and haven’t regretted it once! We live in MA where winters can be cold and summers hot and humid. I estimate that we have saved around $2,000, per winter, the last three years in oil. We use our heat pump for heat (supplement it with the oil heat when the temps get in the teens) and AC in the summers. Now we have the wall units and the fact that you have all the duct work is a bonus for you as that was a very expensive option if we wanted to go that way. Now I’ll also add that our city electric is municipal so that saves us a lot a compared to National Grid or Eversource. Our highest electric bill this summer, running the AC pretty much 24/7 during July was $140.

I don’t think you’ll regret going with the heat pump over a traditional AC unit.

 

[cvjw]

We have one of each - a heat pump, a regular central air unit and a mini split. Three level house. We use electricity for the heat pump unless it gets freakishly cold here in Georgia. We previously had 2 heat pumps, which couldn’t seem to heat or cool our house.

The new units are all less than 5 years old. We paid less than $10,000 for all three. Our electricity bill is usually around $100 per month, except in the hottest and coldest months of the year, when it could reach $200.

I wouldn’t really recommend one over the other. All 3 seem to work great.

 

[_19disnA]

I would also speak to your neighbors who have similar sized homes to see what they did when a replacement was necessary. A lot of this depends on where you live (i.e. how hot/cold it gets), size/age of your house, what you already have and how well insulated your home is. Newer homes tend to be better insulated. Adding a very efficient HVAC system to an old home with poor insulation and/or drafty windows will provide disappointing results no matter what type of system it is.

 

[LuvOrlando]

If you are doing it to prepare for resale I would go with an everyday HVAC from Lowes to simplify things for buyers, we sold in Pa recently and to compete with new builds I found resale buyers want straightforward apples to apples.

It might be a thing people get hung up on if it is between your home and another home with a traditional system. For us it is about the dry air the AC provides for health issues. I actually had a person ask if the house EVER had cats, I said yes 20 years ago but carpets have been replaced twice since then, people are finicky.

I do know someone who put it in but that is there forever home.

 

[VictRom]

When we sold our place a few years ago, we had to consider what buyers might expect, and keeping things simple with a traditional HVAC system definitely seemed like the safer route. People can be really particular, like that one buyer who asked about the cats! We had similar questions about past pets, and it felt like no matter how much you try to make everything perfect, some buyers still get hung up on small details.

 

[_19disnA]

We sold our home a few years ago working through a realtor, so we never interacted directly with potential buyers. Realtor would sometimes provide feedback/questions from those who were potential buyers. Some were good questions, but most were not. It seemed like some were trying to justify in their own minds why this wasn't the house for them or thought they could invent issues as a negotiating ploy to offer a lower price. Unless you have definite plans to sell within the next couple of years, I would install an HVAC system that best fits your needs/budget and worry less about what some potential buyer might think.

Eventually, buyers looking for an existing well-maintained home selling for a reasonable price in a desirable area is what will close the sale.

 

[kdonnel]

Unless you have definite plans to sell within the next couple of years, I would install an HVAC system that best fits your needs/budget and worry less about what some potential buyer might think.

This is solid advice.

I have heard the same advice when applied to remodels as well.

You should do the work for yourself, not someone else. You generally don't get the return you expect on the money spent.

 

[_19disnA]

Redoing things like the roof or HVAC adds value to your home and avoids a large potential expense for the next buyer. Interior remodeling tends to be mostly cosmetic in nature and doing it with the idea you will be able to sell your home for more than the cost of the remodel is not a good plan.

There are so many different styles/grades of cabinets/counter-tops/flooring/appliances/fixtures that for something like a kitchen or bathroom, you are mostly wasting your money unless whatever you are replacing was rundown or had obvious issues. The new owner may not like your choices and rip it out to redo to their own style.

 

[NFLDERS]

We were a forced air electric furnace home. Then we had a Geotherm system installed. This is our 22 year with no problems. We enjoy the air conditioning (which we didn't have before Geotherm) and not needing to burn wood. More importantly our heating costs were cut 2/3!

 

[weewuvvdisney]

We installed a heat pump with an electric furnace. Living in Quebec, we do have some very cold days. The heat pump works to -25 celsius and then the electric furnace kicks in. Furnace is not on much at all. Our heating bills have dropped dramatically and I wish we had done it years ago (maybe 10ish) when we replaced our original oil furnace for our second oil furnace. When we bought the house (1998), we were paying .27 a litre, as of this winter it is $1.49 a litre. Added bonus, we have AC for when it's too hot & humid.

 

[White Cat]

Background info:

-We heat with oil, hot water baseboard heat, also use oil for hot water. Old furnace, but still pretty efficient, cleaned and checked yearly. We keep the house at 68 degrees tops in the winter.

-We have central air, been out of service for 10 years. Ducts running in the ceiling. If used, we would set it about 77 degrees.

-Live in central PA, small ranch approx 1200 sq feet.

We know we need to replace the AC, mainly for resale of the house if that ever happens and summers have become hotter and more humid. DH and I both dislike AC, but for the reasons given, we need to replace it. We got a few estimates and decided who to use based on the estimate and recommendations.

However, it was mentioned that a heat pump may be the way to go. Both Ac and heat through the ceiling ductwork, oil heat kicks in when it gets too cold, and would still keep the hot water heated by the oil furnace. Difference between the two is $2000.

I am really torn on which way to go, just AC replacement or add the heat pump, and would appreciate any suggestions you have on this “fun” topic.

With out a doubt the heat pump. And better insulate the house.