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Old 10-10-2019, 05:17 AM   #11
jeffk
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Almost 30 years ago, I installed a heating/cooling system that was heat pump based. It was amazing, when it worked. It was heat and a/c but also hot water and in the summer, heated the pool as well. It worked down to about 10 degrees, which 30 years ago was pretty good. It was all electric and was VERY cheap to run.

The problem was the switching and complexity. It turned out the various demands of the system were not easy to balance. For example, hot water required high temps and resultant higher pressure. There were heat exchange coils required for the pool and hot water tank. Every now and then, a value would "hang up" and the system would not switch properly from one function to the other. Then the heat exchanger at the pool burst and water got into the system. The compressor had to be replaced. The system was freon based and water in it caused rust. Then the valves were much worse. Only one guy, the original installer knew how to work on it and he became "hard to get a hold of". After fighting it for 3 years I had it junked and a traditional system installed.

Now I will only deal with well established systems supported by broad ranges of installers.

I too worked in high tech. What I know is that a good chunk of what is promised or "understood" just ain't so. It not that the people are being deceptive. It's that their enthuthiasm gets running too far ahead of them. PROVEN capability in the REAL WORLD is the key. If ten thousand people are using a system and there aren't too many negative reviews, then it's probably OK. And as said by others, a reliable support system is critical.
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