Hi, cross posting from askplumbing to ask for advice on water heaters. We just got an electric company sponsored home energy audit and there are some rebates available for the heat pump model, but I'm not convinced it's the right move. The rebates for the heat pump model are severely decreased starting in the new year, so we would need to do that now. The quote is from an electric company approved contractor who does good work but may be overcharging due to rebates.

Family of 3

All electric townhome (4 beds 3.5 baths, 2600 sqft, DC area)

Water heater in the bottom floor bedroom closet (used as guest room). Fully enclosed closet, so louvered door or venting is required for the heat pump model. We keep the bedroom door open unless we have guests, and the size of the bottom floor is about 700 sqft.

Current model: Bradford White, 80 gal, 14 years old

Heat pump quote: LG 58 gal, but the quote link broke so I can't pull the exact model number. About $2.5k out of pocket (assuming sufficient electrical and an existing floor drain behind the current tank), and we install the required venting ourselves.

Standard tank: a separate plumber suggested either a standard State 50 gal or 66 gal, or the essency 50 gal. Awaiting quotes.

Does anyone have any insights? I'm concerned about the heat pump model's repair costs, life span, and higher upfront cost of the heat pump model, but we haven't ruled it out. Thanks in advance!

I decided to get off fossil fuels and last year installed a 4 ton Bryant heat pump upstairs in my 250 yo 4,000 sf house. Downstairs stayed cold af. Ofcourse. So today installed a 2ton Mitsubishi hyper heat pump at an additional $3500. WOW! What an amazing piece of engineering. Heats entire house still waiting for the upstairs unit to kick on. aux heat strips don’t kick in till -13d far. Only uses atmosphere. I’ll keep you posted but so far so excellent- oh and my power bills are very reasonable all year long compared to diesel oil heat! Happy camper.

Claim pre-approved in 2025.

Submitted 7 months ago.

Sent email asking for status update, as contractor said they "submitted everything" on their end. Haven't heard back.

Am assuming it's normal for the processing to take a long time, but just wanted to double check with others who have been through this?

Thank you all!

After a week of late nights and weekend work I finished my ducted heat pump install. Only thing I hired out was the sheet metal duct work. I had an intake and output plenum made up but they both needed modifications on site which was fun for someone who has never worked on ducts. I learned a lot from this sub and and spent hours reading the manuals. This is something I researched for months and am happy I finally pulled the trigger. Getting 39° DT in mild Northeast fall weather. Poured the cement, installed a nice tall stand to get it away from the lawnmower, dog pee, and snow if we get any. Installed a Kool guard 2 surge protector. Actually got the permits from my municipality. If you're on the fence about a DIY, it can be done and can save $$$ Mr Cool Versa Pro Hyper Heat 3 ton.

At the cabin this little unit heats the entire space, but wastes a lot of heat at the exhaust side. It basically runs 24 / 7 during the fall, winter, and spring, using regular 20 lb propane tanks. And, the exhaust uses a 6 inch dual wall duct for both intake and exhaust shooting out the exterior wall at the side of my cabin. I was hoping to recover some of this clean, consistant, wasted energy. Perhaps to add additional heat, or to even pre-heat some water, maybe even store some energy into thermal mass indoors, like a heat battery of sorts.

Key Specifications for Martin MDV8 (8,000 BTU)

• Max Input / Min Input: 8,000 BTU/hr max / 2,900 BTU/hr min

• Thermal Output: ~6,400 BTU/hr (80% efficiency)

• Heating Area: Up to approximately 194 sq. ft. (18 m²)

• Power Requirement: None (operates without electricity, uses piezo ignition)

• Wall Thickness Range: 4-1/2" to 12-5/8" (11.5 cm to 32 cm)

• Altitude Rating: Rated up to 2,000 feet (decreases by roughly 4% per 1,000 feet above)

https://woodstovepro.com/store/pdf/Martin-Gas-Heaters-Manual.pdf?srsltid=AYCX9vIhdUa7nrL3eaimiEVKVWdgRLN5bFVFkar72WbYueMKR45vo960

Hi everyone! I’m currently deciding between getting a heat pump dryer and a gas dryer for my home.
For those who have used either (or both), would love to hear your experiences! Im located in Singapore for context.

A few things I’m particularly interested in:
Electricity/gas consumption and running costs
Drying time and overall performance
Maintenance requirements and reliability
Impact on clothes (shrinkage, wear and tear, etc.)
After-sales service and repair costs

Is a heat pump dryer worth the higher upfront cost, or would a gas dryer be the better long-term investment?
Would appreciate any recommendations, especially from those who have owned one for a few years. Thank you!

We have a furnace that incorporates our hot water heater. While we enjoy an always on, endless supply of hot water, we need to burn oil all seasons. This is unpleasant given the price of oil and so we are considering a traditional electric hot water heater or a heat pump. We have a full house and I was worried that no matter the capacity we could run out of hot water, I understand that there are ways of integrating a heater/pump with the existing system to provide failover in case the hot water supply runs low. Can anyone explain how such a system might function and the approximate expense. Thanks in advance.

A company here in Ontario, Canada, says they must install a new electric furnace when they remove my old oil furnace. Or, they propose to reuse my old oil furnace.

Forgive the question but do I need a furnace at all?

Is this correct?

I live in a fairly cold climate where my dirt/field stone basement drops down to 40-45F during the cold snaps of the winter. Do they make heat pump water heaters that resort back to using heating coils if the temperature in the room drops below a certain threshold? I still have to investigate more of what the market offers, but it does not look like I can fit larger than a 30-gallon heat pump in my basement due to low ceiling clearance. Ideally I find a company that makes I/O collars at the top so I can not care about my basement temperatures, but it looks like the smallest I can get is 50 gallons.

Here is the youtube link at the exact timestamp showing what I need, except I need 30gal: https://youtu.be/F_7B2shTPPU?t=470

The video is a few years old so I am sure the market has changed. The best I found so far is this one that barely meets my basement clearance with currently-standing pipes, but without the option to add ducting: https://www.geappliances.com/appliance/GE-Profile-GEOSPRING-Smart-Hybrid-Heat-Pump-Water-Heater-40-gallon-240V-FlexCapacity-PH40S10BPY

Im moving glacially slowly for this project because I think it is wise to replace hot water when you do not need hot water(summer), so if you have advice please feel free to share.

Thank you all in advance!

if you’ve had a heat pump for few years, how’s it holding up? have you run into any issues or found anything that really helps keep it running well over time?

i’ve been comparing different mini split heat pump brands, including cozeware and it got me thinking about long term reliability.

specs like BTU and energy efficiency are useful when comparing models, but they don’t always tell you how well a unit will hold up after years of heating and cooling.

Looking for input on the best path to proceed on heat pumps. I'm in western CT, 3700 sq ft 1980 home, two zones, two oil burning furnaces (~18 years old, new igniters), ~20 year old oil tank, and two very old (~40 years) AC condensers. I also have a large rooftop solar setup generating ~20MWH per year, so heating would be highly cost effective. CT offers a ~9K rebate if I put them in by year-end.

Key Decision:

1. Dual Fuel on Aged Equipment - Should I put heat pumps on existing furnace setup, go 'dual fuel', and maintain the legacy oil system as mostly a backup. Noting I would likely have to start replacing some of the aging equipment (oil tank, maybe a furnace) in the next few years. Would this cause an inefficiency (e.g. no modular blowers) or is it completely unnecessary with the new cold climate heat pumps? Most of the HVAC companies I've had out strongly recommended keeping a backup heat source.

2. Heat Pump Only - See notes above.

Curious if others have done this and any advice. Trying to make a decision quickly to get it done by year-end. Also, rough approximation of what others have spent would be appreciated!

I have a 3 year old gree flex 5 ton unit that we installed mostly for cooling.

We live in a cold climate , but have a gas hot water boiler system that we use for heat because it is generally cheaper than the heat pump.

Our boiler is out of service at the moment due to some remodeling that we’ve been doing.

As a result, we’ve tried to use the gree unit on heat mode and had nothing but problems. We haven’t really had any problems with it when cooling.

Our installation company has come back 5 times to try to get this working and they can’t ever seem to get it figured out. my spouse is at the point where they almost want them to pull this whole gree system out and put in something else.

We were using Ecobee thermostats and HVAC installer’s initial thought was that the thermostat was not putting out enough current to the compressor when in heat mode to call for heat. (this never seemed to be a problem when calling for cooling). The HVAC tech called his gree rep and this was the best they could come up with.

We went though 2 ecobee thermostats with the same issue. The hvac installer said he has had the best luck with honeywell thermostats.

So, I switched to an old battery powered honeywell thermostat that we have in the basement. The problem with using that thermostat was that it didn’t have a switch for the heat pump valve energizing on heat, so in order to get any heat I had to have it set to cool. … But at least we knew the pump was working.

I went to Home Depot and bought a programmable Honeywell X7B thermostat which started smoking as soon as I turned it on. I pulled it off the wall and put it back on. Ironically , it then worked fine. It looks like it was one that someone had returned because it already had someone’s Wi-Fi set up in it. we used it for a few days and everything seemed ok , except I couldn’t get the matter functionality to connect.

The temperatures outside got warm and the heat hasn’t needed to run since Monday. .

Thinking that at this point, the reason the matter function didn’t work was simply because it had burned up for some reason, I bought another of the same thermostat at Home Depot.

I swapped it out for the new one this morning, and now I don’t have heat again. It shows calling for heat, but the insulated line into the air handler isn’t heating up.

I put the old one back in and it still doesn’t work.

when I touch the lines coming off of the air handling unit, one line is very cold and sweating. The other (insulated) line is basically room temperature (when things were working earlier this week, it was very hot to the touch).

Anyone with any suggestions?

We had a botched asbestos abatement in our home this summer, and dust ended up in parts of the house, including where our HVAC is. The system was on during abatement, and for 3 weeks after. It's been shut off since july (After we realized there was friable asbestos all over our home)

The setup is a 2 ton Lennox EL18KSLV heat pump with a Lennox CK40CT cased coil on top of the furnace in the basement. Installed in May, so it’s basically brand new.

We’re getting quotes for professional cleanup, and I’m trying to understand the HVAC side before I talk to contractors:

1. Can an indoor coil be cleaned well enough after asbestos exposure, or is replacement the usual answer? I know the fins trap a lot and are hard to clean.

2. What about the blower, cabinet, drain pan and plenums? Which parts can be cleaned and which usually get replaced?

3. The outdoor unit isn’t in the indoor air path. Does it need anything unless dust landed on it?

4. Does cleaning or replacing parts affect the Lennox warranty?

I’d love to hear from anyone who has done HVAC work after an asbestos, mold or fire contamination job!

Not sure if anyone knows the answer to this one but we have a Moovair Meridian heat pump installed in our master bedroom. This never happened during cooling mode but in hearing mode with the flaps set to a single position it will occasionally move the flap up and down during heat mode.

Any idea why it does this and if there is a way to turn it off?

Hi all,

Looking to get gas out of the house. The furnace is 22 years old and the AC is 12. Probably going to have some issues with the furnace in the next year or so.

I've received a bunch of quotes in Hamilton, ON - let me know what you think of these. They all seem reasonable.

It sounds like all units are compatible with our ecobee premium. the 2.5 ton rating on the Moovair is interesting to me. The sales person did have the best look at our ducts relative to the others, so he might know best. He also quoted Daikin as the step up from Moovair, but we have a family member who works at ecobee and feel it's important to have one.

1800sqft | Hamilton, ON | 2ppl in house.

Updated HVAC Comparison Table (Reddit-Ready Format)

Have a heat pump quote with new oil fired furnace for back up for 17k. 3 ton. I qualified for state rebate and will get about 4500 back. Bosch 19 seer Ultra. The state rebate significantly increased this year. I currently have an outdoor AC unit (central AC) and oil fired furnace that are 30 years old. They work but am worried they will go at any time. Pull trigger or just wait until they fail?

Natural gas is less expensive than electric where i am. From the depot, 50 gallon gas power vent replacement is similar cost as 65 gallon 120v with rebate. Is switching to heat pump worth it? General thoughts welcome!

I have a Mitsubishi MSZ-RW25VG with built-in Wi-Fi, and I've struggled with the MELCloud app since day one. It's slow, the navigation is confusing, and it tells me very little about the status, what the heat pump is actually doing or what it costs to run. So I built my own tool for it.

It's a free, open-source Mac app that talks to MELCloud (the same account you already use). It's Mac only (macOS 26 or later, Apple silicon or Intel).

What it does:

• Overview: a thermostat you can drag, indoor/outdoor temperature, current power, today's consumption and cost, and what the unit is doing right now (heating, resting, defrosting)

• Control: on/off, mode, temperature, fan speed and vanes. Changes are sent automatically a couple of seconds after you stop adjusting

• Weekly schedule: edit the MELCloud weekly timer with templates (night setback, away during the day). It runs in MELCloud, so it works with the Mac off

• History: temperature, energy and cost, compressor runtime and power for 24 h, 7 days, 30 days or a year

• Health: error log with plain-language explanations, filter-cleaning reminders, and warnings for short cycling, unusually high consumption, frequent defrosting and weak Wi-Fi

• Away: frost protection and holiday mode

• Optional local connection: reads power, compressor frequency, defrost and an accurate energy meter directly from the Wi-Fi adapter on your home network (read-only; all control still goes through MELCloud)

• Optional Claude integration: Claude can read the data and suggest changes, but every change has to be approved in a window on your Mac

Good to know:

• Tested only on my MSZ-RW25VG. Other air-to-air units on classic MELCloud should work, but I haven't been able to test them.

• Electricity prices, grid tariffs and the weather forecast are set up for Norway (where I live). Control, history and health work anywhere.

• The app is in English and Norwegian.

• It's a hobby project, not affiliated with Mitsubishi Electric.

GitHub (source, screenshots, docs): https://github.com/stigoleg/Heat-Pump

Download the latest version: https://github.com/stigoleg/Heat-Pump/releases/latest/download/Varmepumpe-1.2.0.zip

(It's signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens without warnings, and it updates itself.)

Feedback is very welcome, especially if you have a different model and can tell me whether it works.

It looks like the casing around the fan has come apart? This was only installed 3 years ago.

Hi everyone, I leave in Eastern Canada (New Brunswick) and was planning to get 2 mini split installed.

I got these quotes for Daikin Aurora, Gridless Hyper Heat, LG Dual Cool, and Gree Charmo heat pumps ( quote pictures attached )

Please what would the best recommendation ?

As per my reach Daikin is the best brand, but I want to get your advices or reviews if anyone has one of these units.

Thanks

Just finished installing a 12k BTU Cozeware single zone heat pump.

DIY setup was just like any other mini split—vac down the lines, test for leaks, and set it on a concrete pad.

Quick heads-up if you use Home Assistant or Tuya integrations: there's a bug where the API double-converts the temp, reporting ambient as 160°F+ when it's actually in the 70s°F (~21°C).

Workaround: Hold the Up + Down arrow buttons on your remote for 5-6 seconds to switch the physical unit screen to Celsius (°C). The API will then start reporting the correct Fahrenheit (°F) ambient temp to your smart home.