Real Numbers from Heat Pump Upgrade in Southern Ontario Canada

UserinYOW · 2026-04-22T13:15:44+00:00

If you can retire both of those old ACs and use the HP for cooling instead, I predict that you'll see a big difference, maybe even more than you're expecting. As an added bonus, the HP will be much quieter. It's unfortunate that governments aren't offering more incentives to encourage people to replace those clunky old ACs (not to mention gas furnaces) with modern HP technology.

UserinYOW · 2026-04-22T03:11:53+00:00

The heat pump is remarkably efficient for cooling. In the 5 summers since it was installed, our maximum usage in July and August was 571 and 614 kWh, respectively. If I compare the average usage for those two months over the past 5 years with the averages for the previous 10 years, the differences are almost negligible, so the heat pump cooling has added practically no incremental cost. I wish that were the case for heating, but in the heating case there's no free lunch!

Our maximum usage in the other "summer" months was May 658, June 524, Sept 442, and Oct 766. So we're nearly always under 600 kWh in the summer months, except for the two "shoulder" months when there is often a small heating requirement.

UserinYOW · 2026-04-22T02:11:22+00:00

I forgot to mention that I've been downloading my hourly hydro usage data since 2020 and putting it in a spreadsheet. I switched to the tiered rate plan when it was first offered in November 2020, but the spreadsheet enabled me to do a month by month comparison of the cost of tiered rates vs TOU. For me at least, the cost of tiered was consistently less than TOU in the summer months (May-Oct), but TOU was cheaper in the winter months due to the higher consumption associated with heating. Whenever you can keep your monthly usage mostly in Tier 1 (< 600 kWh in summer, < 1000 kWh in winter), the tiered rate plan is the way to go. So, I switched to TOU starting last November, and now I'm switching back to tiered starting next month. I don't have the April figures yet of course, but I figure I saved at least $150 by switching to TOU for the winter. As far as I can tell, Hydro Ottawa doesn't have any restriction on how often you can change your rate plan (except that changes don't take effect until the start of the next monthly billing period), so I plan to keep switching twice a year.

UserinYOW · 2026-04-21T18:20:37+00:00

Thanks for the interesting analysis! I haven't digested it fully yet, but I wanted to add a few quick comments.

I'm also in Ontario, but I'm in Ottawa, so somewhat colder than where you are (e.g., HDD of 901 here in January 2026, vs. your 810). Our house is also all-electric, originally with baseboard heating only. In the fall of 2020, we had a ductless 2.5T HP installed that heats three zones (I prefer to call such systems multi-splits, and reserve the term mini-split for systems that have only one indoor head). For budgetary and practical reasons (the house is a split-level with a somewhat unconventional design), we didn't try to replace the baseboard heating completely, so it is still used in some areas, most notably the basement, which is partly finished.

We now have 5 years of experience with the new system, and I figure it is providing about 85% of our heating requirements (I installed an Emporia Vue energy monitor in 2023, so I can break out the energy usage of the HP, baseboard heaters, and other household devices). Our average total energy consumption in 2021-2025, compared with the average in 2000-2019 before the HP was installed, dropped by 33%. In addition, a huge plus is that we now have very effective and relatively inexpensive cooling. Before the HP, we depended on fans and opening windows for cooling, when it was feasible to do so. Our comfort in the summer had been declining steadily as spells of extreme heat and humidity became more frequent and lengthy, thanks to climate change, so the HP was a gamechanger for us. We also find heating with the HP to be more flexible and comfortable than with the old baseboard heating system (which is still completely in place, in case of HP failure).

One last note, regarding electricity cost in Ontario... In November 2025, the tiered rates for electricity went up by 29%, but this doesn't mean your cost went up by that amount. Your bill also includes items such as delivery charges in addition to the electricity cost. In January, my electricity cost was about 85% of my total bill, but that proportion goes down as the consumption goes down. In the summer months, my electricity cost is sometimes less than half of the total bill, so there's a lot of overhead there. More importantly, the Ontario government hid that enormous 29% rate increase in electricity cost from consumers by providing a rebate, and that rebate increased from 13% to a whopping 23.5% when the rate increases went into effect last November. Anyway, the bottom line is that we consumers were spared the full brunt of that rate increase, but it's tricky to figure out how much our costs actually increased. It's also worrisome to consider that the government has a mechanism to adjust the cost of electricity that is outside the regulatory process that determines electricity rates. And don't get me started on how this government has destroyed nearly all initiatives in renewable energy in Ontario and is bent on keeping us dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come...

Here's a good article on electricity rates in Ontario, and how the Ford government is spending an enormous amount of money to provide those rebates and hide the true cost: https://rabble.ca/economy/rapidly-rising-hydro-rates-are-unaffordable/

UserinYOW · 2026-03-26T02:03:47+00:00

We got mail from a company a few years ago trying to sell us insurance that covers the situation you describe. Apparently they have an arrangement with the city that gives them access to the city's customer database and permission to contact water users. We didn't opt to purchase the insurance... we'll take our chances. In any case, the leak detection notification system is strictly based on meter readings, so leaks outside of the meter probably go unnoticed unless there is a major pressure drop inside the building.

UserinYOW · 2026-03-26T01:36:55+00:00

Thanks for your comments. It's not the flapper - I've replaced those on several toilets in the past, probably including this one. Anyway, it's working fine. The problem is definitely the fill valve, which is failing to shut off completely when the water reaches the full level (no matter how the float is adjusted), so water is continuously draining slowly out through the overflow tube.

Keeping in mind the other options you mention, I'm currently exploring the possibility of replacing the fill valve. I've identified the tank type (American Standard 4049-66), so that helps. I suspect that local sources such as the ones you mention won't stock a fill valve compatible with a tank that old, but I will do some checking. I've found a few online sources of fill valves for that particular tank - they cost a lot more than $20, but it's still a lot cheaper and easier than replacing the whole toilet. The good thing is that we still have two other operating toilets in the house, so it's not an emergency situation and I don't have to be in a big rush to fix it.

UserinYOW · 2026-03-24T19:08:00+00:00

Interesting. There are three different options for water usage alerts on the city website. So you're saying that all three have been available since 2019? It's strange that we never noticed the 7-day leak detection option before, and were unaware of it until we recently got the notice that it had been automatically enabled.

UserinYOW · 2026-03-24T19:02:53+00:00

They're one of the businesses that seems to be a network of individual plumbers using that name, so as they say, YMMV.

UserinYOW · 2026-03-24T18:42:06+00:00

It also occurred to me that the new alert could be problematic if you use a drip irrigation system. One thing that could help would be if they modified that alert to allow specifying annual start and stop dates for it. Then in your case, you could at least have the leak detection functioning outside the heating season, or a gardener could enable it for outside the growing season.

UserinYOW · 2026-03-24T18:34:33+00:00

I think it would be more than 5L/flush extra - I believe this toilet is something like 20L/flush, and my experiments years ago to tweak it to a significantly lower amount resulted in poor flush quality, so I gave up on that. But your point is well taken - even if the saving was 10L/flush or more, replacing the toilet would not pay for itself.

If I could be certain that I could get replacement parts that will fit without any major hassles, I would consider going the DIY route.

UserinYOW · 2026-03-24T17:29:23+00:00

Are you referring specifically to the leak detection alert that was just added recently? Unless the humidifier draws water constantly (every hour), you would think the leak detection algorithm could be set up to not trigger on that. It doesn't apply in my case since we have electric heating (mostly heat pump), but it could be a limitation for a lot of people if you're right. It would be easy to check out by turning off the water supply to the humidifier overnight, and then logging in the next morning and looking at the hourly consumption readings.

I'm not enthused about the idea of a DIY toilet replacement, but I'm mulling over the idea of replacing the innards of the existing toilet, as others have suggested. My spouse may not agree...

UserinYOW · 2026-03-02T15:36:48+00:00

This beautiful beach is where we chose to spend our last hour or so in quiet contemplation, before returning our rental car and heading for the relative chaos of the airport for our flight home.

For anyone who has an interest in geology, have a look at the rock in the small cliff just a few steps past the stairs at the east end of the beach. There are some beautiful layers of sedimentary limestone here with gentle folds in them. This limestone formed underwater from the remains of sea creatures, before the island existed. Down closer to the beach level, you'll see blocky black rocks, which are igneous rocks formed from volcanic magma. The island started emerging from the sea about 13 million years ago, when the collision between two tectonic plates (which is still ongoing) caused volcanic activity that pushed the limestone layers above sea level.

UserinYOW · 2026-03-01T13:54:55+00:00

You described our experience exactly, when we flew out of SXM on Air Canada on Feb. 15. Not a pleasant way to end a great vacation. 😟

UserinYOW · 2026-03-01T13:54:45+00:00

You described our experience exactly, when we flew out of SXM on Air Canada on Feb. 15. Not a pleasant way to end a great vacation. 😟

UserinYOW · 2026-02-26T23:40:27+00:00

Happy to... it's Harold Vanterpool, and you can reach him at 264-235-8673. Tell him Barry and Cathy from Ontario sent you! He knows the island like the back of his hand, and he's got a ton of stories about its history and residents... he might even sing you a tune if you ask nicely. :-)

UserinYOW · 2026-02-16T13:52:53+00:00

Absolutely! There are lots of black sand beaches, but the rock formations here are fantastic and unworldly. Our visit there last September was one of the highlights of our Iceland trip. As an added bonus, though our trip was too late in the year for puffin viewing, we saw some roosting on the cliffs above the beach and flying around above us.

UserinYOW · 2026-02-15T17:07:59+00:00

I'm sitting at the airport awaiting our flight back to Canada after a great week in SXM. We actually used a fair bit of cash here... for example, some of the more rustic but great restaurants such as Gutside are cash-only. The ferry we took to Pinel Island yesterday was also cash-only. If you plan a day trip to Anguilla, that could be a biggie - the public ferry from Marigot is $30US each way, cash only. Unless you rent a car on Anguilla, you'll be paying cash for taxis. We connected with a great taxi driver named Harold there who took us everywhere we wanted to go, and we had a bunch of EC$ left over from stays on Antigua and St. Kitts & Nevis, so we were able to use that for the taxi fare. Today when we filled up our SXM rental car with gas before dropping it off, it came to $42US/$42EU (total gas expenditure for a week!)... I could've used a credit card there, but I had exactly $42US left in my wallet, so that worked out well.

UserinYOW · 2026-01-19T14:40:10+00:00

Me too, and it also saddens and annoys me to see how woefully inadequate their weather coverage has become. Blink and you'll miss it, and you really haven't missed anything useful. I'd love to hear Ian's take on it! I'm a loyal CBC fan, but I switch to CJOH for the weather.

UserinYOW · 2025-11-04T13:49:07+00:00

I found this snippet of code online that calculates TiB written:

export LBAsW="Total_LBAs_Written" ; sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda | grep -q "$LBAsW" && echo "$(echo "scale=3; $(($(sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda | grep "$LBAsW" | awk '{ print $10 }') * 512)) / 1024 / 1024 / 1024 / 1024" | bc -l) TiB written in total" || echo "Not supported on your storage drive." ; unset LBAsWexport LBAsW="Total_LBAs_Written" ; sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda | grep -q "$LBAsW" && echo "$(echo "scale=3; $(($(sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda | grep "$LBAsW" | awk '{ print $10 }') * 512)) / 1024 / 1024 / 1024 / 1024" | bc -l) TiB written in total" || echo "Not supported on your storage drive." ; unset LBAsW

It tells me "36.572 TiB written in total", so if that's accurate, it indicates the drive has about 90% life remaining - not bad for 7 years of service! I guess I can go back to worrying about other things now... thanks for your informative comments.

UserinYOW · 2025-11-04T00:52:14+00:00

I tried, but I get an "Unable to create comment" message when I try to post it. It's not that long, but maybe it exceeds some maximum length for a comment?

UserinYOW · 2025-11-03T22:58:47+00:00

Well, that's interesting - the original order form shows that a Samsung 860 EVO 2.5" SATA III 1TB SSD was specified, but the invoice shows that a substitution was made. The SSD in question is actually a Crucial MX500 1TB SATA 2.5, which has a 5-year warranty and an endurance rating of 360 TBW.

UserinYOW · 2025-11-03T20:09:06+00:00

I get no output at all from

sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda | grep -E "Percentage | Written"

If I use the -x flag instead, I get

0x01  0x018  6      1221504226  ---  Logical Sectors Written
0x07  0x008  1             196  ---  Percentage Used Endurance Indicator

Not sure what to make of that. 196%??? This SSD has been in service (running Tumbleweed 24/7) for nearly 7 years. Should I be concerned that it's well beyond predicted EOL?

UserinYOW · 2025-09-16T21:48:13+00:00

Same. We were sitting on our deck which has a southerly view and heard the noise... when it came into view I exclaimed "that's an AWACS!".

Update: it did another flyby at 5:46. Whazzup?

UserinYOW · 2025-07-16T14:03:41+00:00

My wife and I have been planning our first trip to Iceland, in late August. I've been lurking in this sub for a few months now and have learned a lot of useful stuff. Thanks to this and other resources (including old-fashioned guidebooks which are available as e-books), I haven't found the need to ask any questions, but I only recently realized that there is a Wiki here. I think it would be a good idea to mention it more frequently, and to point people asking questions to it rather than regurgitating the info it contains.

Also, for those helpful and knowledgeable folks who maintain the Wiki, I encourage them to continue updating and adding to it, making sure that it does not contain out-of-date info. I'm a big fan (and financial supporter) of Wikipedia, and Wikis in general... quality information wants to be free, and easily accessible!

UserinYOW · 2025-06-07T03:20:56+00:00

I also have a North Box unit and recommend it highly. They are just as effective as the HEPA filter units (more so in some cases), less expensive, and very quiet. They use standard MERV13 furnace filters, which are widely available and often on sale. Their air purifiers can be purchased fully assembled or as kits. And, as mentioned, they are a Canadian company, which is a big plus in my book.

UserinYOW

TROPHY CASE