View Single Post
Old 09-05-18, 10:54 AM   #9
u3b3rg33k
Apprentice EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Rustbelt, USA
Posts: 114
Thanks: 5
Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Elcam84 View Post
Your usage is around 1100kwh a month which is close to being inline with a house of around 1800sqft house here in TX where its much hotter for much longer.

That was allot of laundry you were doing. Its just the two of us (until daughter moves back in to save $ for a house ugh) and we really don't do much laundry. But when she moves back in we will be doing a massive amount of laundry usually 3x to 4x or more than what we have between us.

Your biggest issue is running that window unit instead of a conventional condenser. Here I can get condensers or packaged with a furnace/coil or air handler pretty cheap on craigslist. Less than my friends cost at the supplyhouse.
$1800 for a 16 seer 2.5 ton condenser and air handler. He also has just the condenser for 1k. 3 ton is 2k for both units(electric heat).

Some may prefer a heat pump but i have had poor results with them. My parents have one that i installed and it like the neighbors runs forever and sucks down power while barely heating. I put in the biggest heat strips the unit would take so when it gets below 35 they switch over to them as below that point the heat pump is not efficient. Since doing that the house has been more comfortable and their elec usage has dropped. The heat pump wastes more power blowing air around than heating it.
something is wrong. a heat pump should be more efficient than strip heat until 0F or lower. if it stops working at high temperature like 35F, well... wow?

for example:
https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/fi...40616-1135.pdf

COP of 2.0 down to -13F. that means for every $1 you spend on strip heat, you get $2 of heat with that heat pump.

the average heat pump you buy now will have a COP >1 until it shuts down due to low outdoor temp. switching over to strip heat at 35F = you need your unit serviced/replaced.

I would look at something like the Bosch BOVA 5 ton outdoor inverter unit. it will modulate compressor capacity from 25%-110% to maintain a 47F/108F indoor coil temp regardless of outdoor temp or AHU airflow. seen it online for $2400.
u3b3rg33k is offline   Reply With Quote