Quote:
Originally Posted by Vlad
Unfortunately the heat you gain from condensing water (from air) is your temporary gain.
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Vlad,
I understand that you're a refrigeration mechanic, but I don't know if you have worked with the more recently made mini-split heat pumps.
They have evolved very rapidly and have developed many design efficiencies that, as far as I know, are not yet found on larger whole-house heat pump systems.
You might be surprised how many of the problems you mentioned, have already been solved.
I have a small (9,000 BTU) Sanyo ASHP mini-split which has about the same level of technology as the average mini-split in its class (nothing too fancy here).
It has no resistance coils at all. I am using it in a climate that is very similar to your climate. Last winter we had nearly a week when the temps went down to about 12 F. It worked just fine during this time. It used about 50% more power during that cold snap than it does on typical days, but I was quite comfortable through it all.
Yes it is true, a GSHP will be more efficient, especially so when the temperature outside goes very low.
Regards,
-AC_Hacker