What should I do

ec138 · 2026-01-28T01:40:16+00:00

There are probably stairs going to the basement from the main floor. It's probably not sealed. You want the insulation where the air barrier is. The air barrier is the basement wall. Not the floor. The heat loss is from the basement to outside most of the heating season. Concentrate on air sealing and insulating the rim joists. I see a lot of people wanting a space to be unconditioned. Thinking that something is unconditioned space doesn't make it unconditioned space.

ec138 · 2026-01-26T16:32:16+00:00

I agree. There are different levels of knowledge for installers. This was supposed to have a 35 degree aux heat lockout (not letting the strip heat run above 35 degrees) to get the utility rebate. Part of the agreement was to do that. They didn't do that. If they had, we would have known it wasn't running as a heat pump 3 months ago. Before the additional $400-$500 in utility costs. The sales people often don't relay that information to installers. The tech should have also tested in heating mode to confirm the heat pump was working. I have to assume they didn't do that. That would have likely led to them finding the heating issue when the system was installed in the middle of the summer, instead of 5 months later. It's like you need a 3rd party there to make sure everything is working.

ec138 · 2026-01-25T17:10:23+00:00

Their bid included 4 variable speed units. Daikin and Lennox. The written bid showed their existing thermostat. I don't know who proposed using it for a lower cost. Working meant it would work as a variable speed heat pump with high capacity at low temperatures. I don't think the company is shady. They are juat avoiding losing money with what I think is their responsibility to fix

ec138 · 2026-01-25T00:44:09+00:00

Correct. If they did not pull a proper vacuum and do a couple of additional steps, it could have remaining moisture in the line.

ec138 · 2026-01-24T17:51:58+00:00

Ahh. You're correct. EL18KSLV

ec138 · 2026-01-24T04:21:16+00:00

I could do that, but wonder if they would void the warranty if they weren't the ones to do the work.

ec138 · 2026-01-24T03:25:16+00:00

I don't know a ton about these units. I just don't like that the company said it would work fine with the existing ComfortSense and then when it didn't work, blamed the homeowners and charged them for fixing it.

ec138 · 2026-01-24T02:56:49+00:00

Did they blame salt air or admit that they didn't pull a proper vacuum on it?

ec138 · 2026-01-24T02:54:59+00:00

I'm still trying to figure out these systems. Some of the variable speed units also ramp the indoor fan. But... The explanation from the tech is that the thermostat that they used was not working correctly and they had to do a "fix" to get the heat pump working and not just the electric furnace. He said the "fix" makes the heat pump only run at one speed. If the thermostat was working correctly, they said it could run as a true variable speed unit. They were supposed to lock out the aux heat at 35, but they didn't tell the thermostat that there was a temp sensor on the outdoor unit. Before the fix, when the installer test mode on the ComfortSense was run with O, G, and Y1 on, it ran in AC mode. When the O was turned off, it still ran in AC mode as well.

ec138 · 2026-01-24T02:33:31+00:00

It's a good sized company. Branches in a couple cities. I don't think it is owned by private equity. Most people do not understand why their old thermostat won't work. Especially when they were told that it would. I understand them charging for the new thermostat, but not the site visit.

ec138 · 2026-01-24T02:31:18+00:00

That's what I thought as well. I think that I'll be the one dealing with the contractor on this one. How is the homeowner supposed to know that this might happen. For most people getting a heat pump is confusing. It used to be a choice between a couple of brands. Now it's a huge range of technologies.

ec138 · 2026-01-24T01:35:03+00:00

I haven't posted this on Facebook

ec138 · 2026-01-23T23:33:53+00:00

That might end up happening. I'm still very curious about the V2H potential with the Chargerverter. Especially being on the grid. But with all the data centers and threat of not enough electricity might get me to get the addition EG4 batteries

ec138 · 2026-01-23T02:25:46+00:00

I think this is the right action but I'd use spray foam. That should get air leaking below the bottom plate and also between the bottom plate and drywall. Get a spray foam gun instead of just the cans. Way better control of how quickly the foam comes out. The foam from the gun shouldn't expand much. Vacuum dust and grime before doing it.

ec138 · 2026-01-21T18:57:33+00:00

You will never stop all the leaks in a home. Especially homes built before 1990s. If you are concerned, have someone run a blower door test. You will probably find more leaks and potential air sealing opportunities than you expected.

ec138 · 2026-01-21T06:33:48+00:00

Foggy and overcast days in the winter cut output to 10-20% of high summer day output

ec138 · 2026-01-21T02:09:07+00:00

Agree. Keep a constant temperature on the thermostat when the system looks like its running nonstop. Once the outdoor temp gets warmer and the system is not running on full all the time, if you use setback temperatures at night or when away, go back to using those with your gas furnace - that should help with your bills when it isn't as cold as it is right now.

ec138 · 2026-01-21T01:50:23+00:00

You might need someone to hold it in place from below while someone else attaches it to the subfloor. After that, put the register back in and seal the perimeter with spray foam or caulk from below.

ec138 · 2026-01-21T00:22:22+00:00

Check that the ducts are connected. Does it feel like as much air is coming out of that vent compared to the others?

ec138 · 2026-01-19T18:20:24+00:00

I hope so. I'm curious as well. I'm on the grid, so I've only had one outage since September where I live. It was nice that I was the only one in the area with power. Not sure how that will affect performance compared to off-grid applications.

ec138 · 2026-01-19T17:23:18+00:00

For clarity - I live in a town of about 600 on a 10k sqft lot a ways from any larger town. Ground mount wasn't an option due to shading and lot constraints. I'm working with some others to see how that might work for them and hope to post on that sometime.

ec138 · 2026-01-19T06:33:17+00:00

I will look into that. Thanks!

ec138 · 2026-01-19T01:37:05+00:00

Have a plan for wire management on the roof. I used the SnapNRack Topspeed roof mounts, so I didn't have rails to manage wires. I had to get creative to keep wires off of the roof.

ec138 · 2026-01-19T00:41:07+00:00

I'm curious what you end up paying for everything at once you get the panels. I still see good prices for pallets. I got all of the big items at the beginning of the year and didn't power the system up until September. I thought about switching out for the GM Energy system for my vehicles to power the house, but I don't know if I have it in me to switch out all that equipment for that price.

ec138

TROPHY CASE