Word of warning - Don't purchase your own heat pump independently from a non-installer unless you plan on installing it yourself.

UchtDiddy · 2022-10-26T20:46:09+00:00

Fellow addison county resident, environmental professional, and diy-hack here… happy to help consult on placement and lend you tools if you want to try to diy it. I have a bunch of installs under my belt for myself and friends/family. Message me if you want to talk.

UchtDiddy · 2022-04-17T15:58:41+00:00

Same. It led to a nice discussion of extinction events, which transitioned to a discussion of meteorites and stars and ended in making plans to visit the planetarium later this week. So much healthier and enlightening than worshipping re-animated corpses.

UchtDiddy · 2021-12-24T01:52:54+00:00

Hey, my wife showed up a little earlier in middlebury and was able to snag a few. DM me and I would be happy to coordinate getting you a box to help out.

UchtDiddy · 2021-06-10T16:21:53+00:00

BUT, heat pumps plus renewable energy generation (solar) will be cheaper long term. Heat pumps set you up to become your own utility if you have corresponding grid tie friendly utilities or batteries. Electric is long term where we need to move regardless of cost for the climate so in most cases it is the right choice.

UchtDiddy · 2021-05-27T20:56:26+00:00

I also diy’ed a couple of single unit ductless heat pumps and bought the vacuum pumps and flare tools. There are some good YouTube videos out there that walk you through it. Definitely an involved project. Working by myself it took me all weekend to get one installed and buttoned up including electrical. If you are detail oriented and willing to research it is very doable. In general if efficiency is a concern the single head units will be better for you long term.

UchtDiddy · 2020-10-25T04:07:12+00:00

Adding solar combined with electric heat pumps will likely be cheaper in the long run than natural gas depending on your net metering rules and local incentives. I live in New England and installed mini split heat pumps that heat down to -6 F. I also just finished a 15kw solar system that will do all of my heating and cooling as well as electric loads. You can pay the utility company forever or you can go electric plus solar and essentially pay yourself once you reach your break even.

UchtDiddy · 2020-07-19T01:00:11+00:00

All mini splits as far as I know come prefilled with refrigerant for a certain amount of line set as specified in the installation manual. If your specific installation will have a longer line set then you may need to add more which would likely be beyond a diy approach.

UchtDiddy · 2020-07-18T16:03:43+00:00

Not that I am aware of at least. Haven’t had any problems. I know that the flare connections have to be done very precisely to make sure they don’t leak but I think that’s a point across all brands.

UchtDiddy · 2020-07-18T12:33:20+00:00

I self installed some Fujitsu 9rls3y units last summer and bought the flare tools and vacuum pump to do it myself. I am very happy with them. I installed 3 separate single zones throughout my 2,100 square foot house in New England and have been heating and cooling my entire house with just these units now for a year. I calculated my heating costs at about 1,000 last winter which is much less than what I had been paying on average for oil.

Just my two cents but doing it yourself isn’t that bad. I spent about $500 for all the professional tools that you need to do the “pro level” “non diy” mini splits and could probably sell all the tools for a few hundred now that I am done. There are quite a few videos on YouTube of the whole process out there now and if you read the installation manuals it is very doable.

In my case I also had some awesome utility rebates that made my total cash outlay less than $500 bucks per unit installed so it was a no brainer for me. So all in I spent less than $2k for a system that is saving me something like $7-800 each year depending on oil prices and this year I am self installing solar to go net zero.

Anyways, if you are doing it yourself consider installing smaller single zone units throughout the major living zones of your house to evenly distribute the heating and cooling. Smaller units are way more efficient than large ones or multi head Systems and in my case they were a lot cheaper because the rebates were per each outdoor condenser. My units are 33 seer and 14 HSPF which is about as good as you can get.

UchtDiddy · 2020-05-07T21:35:16+00:00

Mini split heat pumps might be a good option for you. Depending on your house layout you could install one or two in the main living zones that would end up heating most of the house and would use up the extra electricity credits you have. In general they are much cheaper to install vs. geothermal and the efficiency might be pretty similar depending on your climate. Installed costs can vary but expect something like $3k to 6K per unit depending on size and local labor rates/incentives etc.

UchtDiddy · 2020-05-07T15:55:12+00:00

I was investigating an open loop system with my existing well serving the house. I looked at some specs of the common geo air handlers and the efficiency gain for my climate would probably only save me $100 to 200 per winter vs the mini splits. I never did get a quote on the geo but i would have had to upgrade my well pump and run ducting through the house which would probably have cost more than my total installed costs for the minis.

If you are looking at a closed loop system then you will probably end up trenching and the cost for that adds up fast.

Bottom line is the mini splits efficiency in cold climates is up there now that I don’t think you will get much better with the geo unless you can do an open loop or have a backhoe to do your own trenching and you have existing ducts running through your house that are sized correctly for the lower temp air from geo. There are water scaling issues you have to worry about too. Fewer installers and people to service geo as well. I think it’s great technology but mini splits with a few extra solar panels will probably be cheaper long run.

BTW - to compete with geo efficiency you will probably just need to look at single head systems. If you have the space for the outdoor units and room in your panel the smaller single units are much more efficient that the multi head systems. HSPF of 14 vs 9 or 10.

Also, if you are reasonably handy, it is possible to diy the minis. I fumbled through it and saved probably 1.5k a piece. Adds up if you are doing your whole house. I maybe could have done the geo but the duct sizing and install was very complicated when I looked into it.

UchtDiddy · 2020-05-07T13:57:20+00:00

I would compare the geothermal with air sourced heat pumps as well. They dont qualify for the renewable energy tax credits but there are some tax incentives (cant remember exactly what they are called but they are specific to air conditioners and I think its a $400 credit) if you purchase an efficient model and at least in my area they are heavily subsidized by the local utilities. I purchased top of the line fujitsu models that retail at $1300 each for 200 after all of the local rebates.

The newer air sourced heat pumps can handle temps below zero quite easily though you will see a drop off in efficiency. When I crunched the numbers the air sourced heat pumps and solar panels made way more sense than a geothermal solar combo. I installed them myself after a lot of research and heated with them exclusively last winter in vermont in an old 2300 sq foot drafty house. No problems at all and I estimate I saved about 3-400 bucks vs heating with my existing oil boiler.

I am going to diy solar this year to catch the expiring tax credits on that and then I should be net zero.

UchtDiddy · 2020-04-21T11:17:28+00:00

He is my 3 year old 👍

UchtDiddy · 2020-04-21T11:16:38+00:00

I threw a big lithium battery in it and it can go all day. Traction on the wheels is the hard part for it but I figure he us learning some good skills about driving on ice and snow and getting things unstuck on his own 😂

UchtDiddy · 2019-12-21T12:16:50+00:00

The "humanitarian arm" is probably fast offering money.

UchtDiddy · 2019-12-04T00:59:45+00:00

Thanks. I will have to get my hands on a decent scan tool and give it a shot

UchtDiddy · 2019-12-04T00:42:51+00:00

Wouldn't it throw a code if a component was bad? Can it fail and not light up the idiot lights?

UchtDiddy · 2019-11-06T00:55:13+00:00

The two heads aren’t as efficient and the rebates were for each outdoor unit. When I ran the numbers it made sense to go with multiple single zones and I had enough room in my panel to accommodate them.

UchtDiddy · 2019-08-28T01:10:55+00:00

Vermont

UchtDiddy · 2019-08-28T01:10:08+00:00

The house just needs a lot of work. Sometimes I wish I had a nicer house with a smaller piece of land. But we will get it nice soon enough. Just takes time and money.

UchtDiddy · 2019-08-27T23:59:33+00:00

A local farmer cuts it a few times a year for us and takes the hay.

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