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[Heath Roberts <htroberts AT gmail.com>]

On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 10:37 PM, Tarus Balog <tarus AT opennms.org> wrote:

Go figure - both of my heat pumps (upstairs and downstairs) died this weekend. The repair was going to be pretty expensive, so since the units are 20 years old I decided it was time to get new ones. We cannibalized one to get the other working, so I have AC in half the house, but now I am looking for heat pump recommendations.

Consumer Reports apparently doesn't have a heat pump report, so does anyone on the list have recommendations for review sites? Also, personal experiences with a particular brand or installer are welcome.

The quality of the design and installation have a lot more to do with all the things you'll care about (efficiency, reliability, and longevity) than the manufacturer. Make *sure* whoever replaces the systems does what's called a "Manual J" calculation (with real math, not "rule of thumb," square footage, or assuming the existing system was sized correctly), and look at two-stage systems (they have 'high' and 'low' operating modes, so it can run in 'low' mode on the 90% of days when it's moderate, and only kick into high when you really need it). A lot of sales people will balk at the manual j, but under/over sizing the equipment will cost you much more over its lifetime in lost energy than paying for the calculation.

I'd tell you who I use, but I think you're down in Chatham Co, so you're out of their service area. 

I think these guys have an informative web site: http://www.alpinehomeair.com/kitbuilder_new/

and these guys are okay for price comparison: http://www.1source2buy.com

but HVAC is a very protectionist business, and I think you'll have a hard time finding good comparable apples-to-apples price data.

Get two or three quotes, if you can (residential contractors tend to be busy this time of year), and see who sounds reasonable.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd appreciate a note back to the list with your experience, after you're done.

-- 
Heath Roberts
htroberts AT gmail.com