Share Your Home Electrification/Efficiency Improvements

[Phatcat73]

Correct. Model 3 on order and I recently started working from home which I anticipate will use more energy.

[RegGuheert]

Correct. Model 3 on order and I recently started working from home which I anticipate will use more energy.

Yes, you will use more energy at home, but I suspect you will save more than that amount of energy by foregoing the commute (unless your commute was very short).

[Phatcat73]

Actually I'm currently driving a Ford Escape hybrid which will be passed down, while the wife typically drives the Leaf and we share it on the weekends. So we're adding 1 more EV later this year. (waiting on Model 3 AWD info prior to pulling the trigger)

[RegGuheert]

Actually I'm currently driving a Ford Escape hybrid which will be passed down, while the wife typically drives the Leaf and we share it on the weekends. So we're adding 1 more EV later this year. (waiting on Model 3 AWD info prior to pulling the trigger)

Are you trying to say that the Ford Escape hybrid doesn't consume energy when you commuted to work in it?

[Phatcat73]

I'm saying that I will be using more electricity by adding another EV to the household. The Escape is a gasser.

Although I work from home I still intend on driving it about 6000 miles/year.

[iPlug]

...In your case, I certainly wouldn't install a gas furnace, but if you have enough electricity at your panel, you might want to add in a resistive furnace. That way you can have heat if/when the outdoor unit has issues.

Any home air sourced heat pump brands you recommend or suggest to avoid?

This year we might be preemptively replacing our 16 year old central air-conditioner and completely ditching the 16 year old gas furnace as you suggested.

We would consider the most efficient Trane as previously mentioned, but this brand might be among the priciest. The Rheem RP20 series is 20 SEER/11HSPF, so would like to cross shop that as well.

[RegGuheert]

Any home air sourced heat pump brands you recommend or suggest to avoid?

This year we might be preemptively replacing our 16 year old central air-conditioner and completely ditching the 16 year old gas furnace as you suggested.

We would consider the most efficient Trane as previously mentioned, but this brand might be among the priciest. The Rheem RP20 series is 20 SEER/11HSPF, so would like to cross shop that as well.

I'm very happy with the 11+-year-old Trane unit that we have currently. The only problems I have had so far are the following:

1) The dual capacitor in the outdoor unit failed and had to be replaced. (It cost me about $25.)
2) A 5A automotive-style fuse blows when the batteries in the thermostat get low. That one only cost me a few fuses, but it took quite a bit of time to figure out what was going on.

OTOH, I hated the York unit that was replaced by the Trane.

[iPlug]

I'm very happy with the 11+-year-old Trane unit that we have currently. The only problems I have had so far are the following:

1) The dual capacitor in the outdoor unit failed and had to be replaced. (It cost me about $25.)
2) A 5A automotive-style fuse blows when the batteries in the thermostat get low. That one only cost me a few fuses, but it took quite a bit of time to figure out what was going on.

OTOH, I hated the York unit that was replaced by the Trane.

Thanks,

We're working on getting a few quotes over the next couple of weeks. One installer who does Trane just wrote back "...Attached is the proposal that is our best effort at getting to what you asked for. We no longer install the Trane XV20i, due to equipment performance on previous installs. We can install the XL18i..."

So looks like others have had good results with your unit, but pushing the envelope further into a higher efficiency Trane sounds like might be an issue.

Over the next few weeks we will try to price out:

Lennox XP25 (SEER 23.5, HSPF 10.2)
Rheem RP20 (SEER 20, HSPF 11)
Carrier Infinity 20 Greenspeed (SEER 20.5, HSPF 13)

[iPlug]

We're scheduled to replace our old AC and gas furnace with a Carrier Infinity 20 Greenspeed (SEER 20.5, HSPF 13) air sourced heat pump in two weeks.

A Costco affiliated company was set to install a Lennox XP25 (SEER 23.5, HSPF 10.2) unit and upgrade us to a variable speed pool pump later this week, but they deployed some bait and switch tactics with the pool pump, so we had to cancel that install.

[SageBrush]

My Carrier AC unit died two weeks after the warranty period and the manufacturer refused any assistance. I won't buy from them again.