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QUESTION:I have a house in the design stage and will soon have to deal with a HVAC
company. The house will be located in San Ramon, Ca. Now that gas is no
longer regulated, it is not a done-deal that gas is cheaper than
electricity. San Ramon, while in the San Francisco Bay Area, does need
cooling. Since cooling is required and the environment doesn't get very cold
(generally in the 40's to upper 30's during winter nights), a heat pump
sounds like the way to go. However, my gut feeling is a gas furnace with AC
will be more reliable in the sense that the gas furnace is virtually
maintenance free (in my experience) while AC is pretty flaky. All that said,
is there any data regarding which method (gas/AC versus heat pump) is more
economical to operate.
Regarding heat pumps, I've noticed only Lennox bothers to state a noise
level. However, is a Lennox really quieter than an Amana? For new
construction, the price of the unit isn't that big of a deal. I rather have
performance and minimal headaches. I've already read enough the internet to
determine you can't find the most trouble free heat pump. There is no
consensus of quality out there, and none of the manufacturers has mtbf data
on the net.
ANSWER: However beware that with a gas furnace/heat pump combination you get what is
called an "add on" heat pump system. With that set up the heat pump can
never run simultaneously with the gas furnace and energy savings are lower.
With an "all electric heat pump" the auxiliary heat is electric, the air
handler is designed such that the indoor coil is upstream of the heater
elements and both systems can run simultaneously when required. This is more
efficient than locking out the energy efficient heat pump every time back up
heat is required. This is a considerable energy savings issue over the life
time of the equipment however is probably less of a concern in California
than in say Canada. The reliability of a system is dependent on not just the
manufacturer but to a great extent on the quality of the installation and
the service and maintenance that is provided.
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