<p>Has anyone had an air source heat pump installed recently? </p>
<p>Mine is on the fritz and i’m starting to research replacements. its 20+ years old, so i’d imagine that any new system would be more efficient. </p>
<p>are there any particular brands to avoid? from what i can tell, since I’m in the north, i should be more concerned about the HSPF ratings as well as the COP ratings as opposed to just looking at SEER.</p>
<p>i also see they now make variable speed air handlers - anyone know if they are worth the extra cost? i’ve also read ones with variable speed compressors in the condensers are better in cold climates - though these seem pretty expensive. I don’t have the money to convert to ground source. </p>
<p>I’m definitely on a budget here… wasn’t exactly planning on this expense! my house is kind of small - the current system is only 2 tons, so I imagine the new system should be the same size. depending on costs/financing I may very well just throw some window a/c’s in the windows, use my backup oil heat for the winter and replace this puppy after income tax/bonus time next year. </p>
<p>Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Up north we had a furnace, not a heat pump except at a vacation condo. There it was costly to heat when it was too cold for the heat pump. Variable speed motors are more energy efficient.</p>
<p>We have a Trane system at our beach house that has lived for 22 years! We put two (dual zone) Trane systems in our regular house for that reason. The new ones are variable and the monthly heating and cooling went down over $100 after the systems were changed four years ago. I suggest you join the following forum and give your location and ask the experts. There are many professionals on there that have helped me a lot. If links are not allowed it’s DIY chat room dot com. They have an HVAC section.</p>
<p><a href=“HVAC | DIY Home Improvement Forum”>http://www.diychatroom.com/f17/</a></p>
<p>thanks. I have a Trane now Osprey. It’s had a nice life. I’m going to get a new set of eyes to come check it out this week. The condenser seems to be working OK - it’s the air handler that is causing a rucus. It just randomly keeps deciding not to deliver any air. It’s had two service calls in the last week.I just think it might be to the point where I have to ask myself is it really worth fixing?</p>
<p>This heat pump worked pretty well in the winter, till about a year ago where it started having some issues with it. I think any of the new ones will be much better with the heat. </p>
<p>We switched to a Trane and are very happy.</p>