Sunday, February 26, 2012

Heat Pumps Are Here!

For Christmas we got each other His and Hers Heat Pumps. Other than our wood stove, we have not had heat since the week before Thanksgiving. Our failed heat pumps were one of the first, local, geo-thermal units. The heat comes from water filled coils in the ground and deep in the big pond. The large circulating pump, which had been apparently on its last legs for a long time, died two weeks before Thanksgiving. We replaced it. With the system functioning once again at full capacity, the heat pumps themselves could not handle the pressure and burned up. The two air handlers no longer meet environmental standards, thus had to be replaced. Everything had surpassed their warranty by 10 years anyway. These four units were 200+ lbs each. Luckily for the crew we have a tractor.

I got to play with my weatherproof camera. First the guys had to get to the attic...
You don't just go out and buy a new system like ours. To get energy tax credits we had to have several inspections and complete reams of paperwork. The new system which includes two heat pumps and two air handlers, had to be engineered and built specifically for us.

then the air handler.The dogs thought this was interesting but would much rather have been catching snowballs thrown by the crew.heat pump to the roof top"come-on. it's snow. let's play"the second heat pump to the patioMerry Christmas once all the ducting is replaced, new insulation installed, heat pumps and air handlers are replaced and the old ones disposed of in an environmentally safe manner.