We are doing something similar. We have a 4 ton AC and natural gas heat.
We have 3 single zone and one dual zone Mini split. These are all solar powered.
We have not run our 4 ton AC or our natural gas heat in over two years.

We have completely covered our HVAC with solar power for a couple years now. That makes the mini splits very sweet indeed.

We have not run our central A/C for 2 or 3 years . In addition to the 2 MS's , there is a window shaker in the kitchen and the spare / guest bedroom . These window shakers get lesser use .

My computer room gets used more & also has a window shaker .

When it gets cold enough to need it , the gas furnace is turned on . So , it does get used part of the winter .

I have thought of replacing the rest of the window shakers with MS's . But they are still working ( and paid for ) . May do so if MS's come down enough in price . MS's would save some energy dollars , but due to shorter run times , that cost savings would be less then with the current MS's .

This de-centralized set up allows for zoning the house , as needed .

No PV or wind contribution . 100% on the grid .

God bless
Wyr

Heating oil is about the price as diesel fuel. Since it's basically the same thing..
Over in Lexington, a lot of the rich folks have massive oil tanks buried in their yards.
(Their homes over over-sized by 5 to 8x typically).
I've heard tales, those oil tanks are the reason that so many Lexingtonites drive diesel cars..
Click on Diesel, to see the area price.. Boston Gas Prices - Find Cheap Gas Prices in Massachusetts
It's about the same as Number #2 Heating oil..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_oil

Sanyo moved..
 

Yesterday my neighbor came over and helped me with the heavy lifting..
My wife helped with the rest of the install..
She was quick on the remote during pump-down (done with vac pump assist).

Now we have an open slot for the new Gree!! :D

Installing a Sanyo
 

For us north of the boarder Furnace oil is about $3.00 USD / US gal. Gasoline is about the same but oddly varies quite a few cents from station to station. However its sold in liters which varies the price per tank full quite a bit.

We had made the switch to Geo-thermal 8 yrs ago and have been enjoying the systems a lot. We also had installed solar water heating. The comfort has been amazing. Summer months the air-conditioning is left at 23 Deg C. with no setback. The cost to operate is so little. Heating is much the same. Set it and forget it.

I remember furnace oil being close to $6.00/ Gal here and feeling cold in the house but more so the butt clinch feeling as one approached the thermostat to call for more BTUs.

The investment for the systems was sizeable however it has paid off huge. We have no natural gas service here and I'm sure I would have went Solar Hot w-Geo-thermal anyway.

With a more moderate climate I understand that a Hy-brid system may be more financially sound method of staying warm. 2 or 3 mini splits for the summer and shoulder seasonal heating requirements and N. gas or oil for the deep freeze.

Electricity costs have doubled here since we installed the Geo but we forged on with becoming more efficient. LEDs and better appliances. Over the last 8 yrs our usage of KWHs has remained the same. Infact this year, so-far is less. I keep a spread sheet on the costs.

Now this reduction of kWh's is also odd as we've added 2 electric vehicles to the mix.

Like pinballooking or very soon we'll have solar PV installed. The down-side is we cannot connect for Net-Metering or any sort of programs. We have to use it ourselves. So BE IT.

The technology of vapour compression machines is awesome. Riding on electrons the same. Heating using the sun better yet. To come yet, collecting electrons and storing them in a lithium basket to later use for geothermal operation or charging a vehicle

It was only a few years ago it was not technically possible to accomplish these things just a dream. Now MAYBE expensive but completely practical.

Randen

Having worked around the Telco industry , we have had dealings with standby generators and their fuel storage .

In my mind , a down side to large diesel / fuel oil storage is the potential problems associated with long term fuel storage .

If it is available , I would think propane / butane would be about the best choice , in term of long term storage . Little or no problem with fuel contamination due to the sealed nature of a propane / butane system .

My late father in law used propane / butane for space heating . With 2 large tanks , he could purchase fuel in the summer when prices were at their lowest . That would last through most / all of the winter . If he had to buy more in the winter , at higher prices , it would be a lesser quantity .

I have a cousin that does much the same .

I was raised on a farm until the middle of the 5th grade . Dad had a large propane / butane tank to serve the house . His John Deer 720 tractor ran on propane / butane , also . He told me propane / butane cost $ .06 - $ .08 a gallon , at that time .

Many farmers had conversions on their pickups . They were suppose to pay road tax on the propane / butane they burned in their trucks . You can draw your own conclusions .

We only had the car . It was gasoline only .

God bless
Wyr

Looks great . :-)

Will the new line set be the same size as the old line set ?

Let me guess . You valved off the liquid service valve . Turned on the MS on cool . Watched the suction line pressure & when it hit zero , you closed that service valve and your wife turned the MS off .

If you did this , the refrigerant ends up inside the compressor , safe and sound . With no loss and no venting to the atmosphere .

I seem to remember you having energy monitoring instrumentation & monitoring the consumption of the old MS . If you monitor the new MS , please post a comparison between the energy consumption of old vs new .

I am guessing you size the MS HP more for heat than for cool ? Giving you more than enough cooling capacity . I doubt this over capacity is a problem with inverter drive equipment .

Our original MS in the living room is only a 13 seer unit . Running it in HP mode , I shut it down when the OAT hit 25F . At that temp , I guessed it was running long enough , between cycles , that it would be cheaper to fire up the gas furnace .

God bless
Wyr

I have been reading & watching youtube videos on battery technology . Evidently the electrical utilities would like to have economically viable / practical storage to help even out the difference between on peak and off peak demand .

Apparently lithium battery technology has not gotten to that point , yet .

What kind / brand / model of EV did you end up with . We purchases a 2012 Nissan Leaf this last June .

I installed a GE WattStation Level 2 EVSE .

God bless
Wyr

The pump down process is complicated by the need to connect a gauge set..
I used a vac pump to clean out the air in the gauge set, before hand..
Here's the method..
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothe...project-4.html
Bottom of the page I think..

nailed it..
 

Thanks for the interesting post Randen.. This part:
"With a more moderate climate I understand that a Hy-brid system may be more financially sound method of staying warm.
2 or 3 mini splits for the summer and shoulder seasonal heating requirements and N. gas or oil for the deep freeze."

That's the mode to get into. If you don't have a ton of money to spend on PV and/or a GSHP..
A couple of good M/S can to do 94% of the heavy lifting, for a few dollars a day..
Then go to the expensive Back-Up-Heat when winter gets too cold..

However, some people that have mild summers, good insulation and cheap gas heat..
Well, they can just sit back and save some money to buy a dream system
when they have the need and the money to spend..