Looking to buy a heat pump...need advice.

[RevOlution]

I really don't need info on how they work, but I need to make a decision on which brand to use.

I think I have it narrowed down to Trane, Carrier, Armstrong or Goodman.

I'm trying to decide which one to go with and the more I'm reading, the more confused I'm getting. So I need some advice.

If you have any experience with heat pumps, could you please share any pros/cons you have on these brands?

[ScottieBaseball]

I really don't need info on how they work, but I need to make a decision on which brand to use.

I think I have it narrowed down to Trane, Carrier, Armstrong or Goodman.

I'm trying to decide which one to go with and the more I'm reading, the more confused I'm getting. So I need some advice.

If you have any experience with heat pumps, could you please share any pros/cons you have on these brands?

Trane and Carrier both are highly reputable. I had a (then) 10-year-old Carrier heat pump at my old house that I had no complaints about (other than the fact that it was a stupid, cold, heat pump that sucked when temperatures were in the mid-30's).

I'm hoping within the next 5 or 6 years to pickup a hybrid system...it's a combination heat pump and oil furnace. The heat pump runs until the ambient outdoor temperature reaches 38 degrees and then it kicks over to oil (as opposed to running the auxilliary or emergency coil.

[RevOlution]

Scottie, thanks for your reply. I went with the Trane, with electric for backup. It was just installed last week, so no chance yet to see how well it operates. I'll find out in a few weeks. At my previous beach house, I had a system that used propane. I absolutely did not want to have anything to do with that type of heating again. I was spending @ $400 a month to keep a house heated mostly at 55 degrees. And I didn't use it much in the winter. Talk about expensive.

I'm hoping it doesn't do what your telling me that your heat pump did, as that was my concern with going with a heat pump. I guess I'll find out in a few months.

[weams]

Get one of these for the room that you will spend January and February in. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...ven=Aggregates

[crissfan172]

Get one of these for the room that you will spend January and February in. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...ven=Aggregates

I agree. Those things will keep a room nice and warm.

[ScottieBaseball]

Scottie, thanks for your reply. I went with the Trane, with electric for backup. It was just installed last week, so no chance yet to see how well it operates. I'll find out in a few weeks. At my previous beach house, I had a system that used propane. I absolutely did not want to have anything to do with that type of heating again. I was spending @ $400 a month to keep a house heated mostly at 55 degrees. And I didn't use it much in the winter. Talk about expensive.

I'm hoping it doesn't do what your telling me that your heat pump did, as that was my concern with going with a heat pump. I guess I'll find out in a few months.

Don't sweat it. The heat pump you bought is probably 10 times more efficient than the one we had at the old house. My parents just bought a new heat pump last year and I couldn't believe the difference...the air blowing out of the vents was actually warm-ish compared to the curiously lukewarm air I expected from a heat pump.

I talked to a sales guy from Blue Dot a few months ago and he's the one that turned me on to the hybrid system. "You'll have your oil company and BGE ticked off at you with a hybrid unit." It's expensive up front (close to $8,000) but it pays for itself in four to five years.