Heat pump vs regular gas heat
I really don't much about this, so I am asking. What is the difference. I used my heat pump once, I have my air conditioning on the roof. I guess I am asking when do use one or the other?
Forum Discussion
Just did five days out at temps in 60's during day, high 20s to high 30s at night.
Heat pump worked for cool of the evening, but first night it got below 35F it was running continuously, so I switched to the furnace. When the temperature gets close to the point where the heat pump no longer works, it becomes much less efficient (e.g. how much heat can 40F air transfer to a 35F evaporator).
Then it gets to the question, how hot do you want your hot air to be. With a heat pump, it is only going to be 15-20 F warmer than what's already inside the RV. With a low efficiency furnace like the RV units, you get a smaller volume of much hotter air, maybe as high as 120 - 150 F. A lot of people prefer that.
That is not so much an issue for me at home now, because I have a high efficiency furnace that provides air at about the same temp as my heat pump, at the point where it switches over.
If temperatures are going below freezing, run the furnace. First, because the heat pump simply won't give you much heat. Second, because the furnace is usually the heat source for keeping fresh water plumbing from freezing.
Heat pump worked for cool of the evening, but first night it got below 35F it was running continuously, so I switched to the furnace. When the temperature gets close to the point where the heat pump no longer works, it becomes much less efficient (e.g. how much heat can 40F air transfer to a 35F evaporator).
Then it gets to the question, how hot do you want your hot air to be. With a heat pump, it is only going to be 15-20 F warmer than what's already inside the RV. With a low efficiency furnace like the RV units, you get a smaller volume of much hotter air, maybe as high as 120 - 150 F. A lot of people prefer that.
That is not so much an issue for me at home now, because I have a high efficiency furnace that provides air at about the same temp as my heat pump, at the point where it switches over.
If temperatures are going below freezing, run the furnace. First, because the heat pump simply won't give you much heat. Second, because the furnace is usually the heat source for keeping fresh water plumbing from freezing.
