Heat pump vs propane

[treillw]

Live in Montana. Currently have a propane tank with forced air 98% efficiency furnace for heat.

I'm too cheap to buy an AC unit for the couple weeks out of the year that I'll actually need it. I'm on the north face of the mountain and up until recently, it's been too cold at night to fully open the bedroom windows. The only time it really sucks is if it's smoky and we don't open the windows.

But, I may be able to talk myself into buying a heat pump that might pay for itself in heating cost savings when it's warmer (40s) outside, with the bonus of AC during the hot summer weeks.

Thoughts? Will a heat pump save me much money? Break even cost timeframe?

Thanks!

 

[Roguemountainhunter]

Following: I'm in the same position. We use propane most of the year to supplement our wood burning stove. If the stove isn't going we can burn through a tank of propane in a month.

 

[Tmac]

The newer heat pumps put out good affordable heat down to surprisingly low temps. Blow warmer air than they did some years back too. Can’t comment on a break even, but that’s the direction we are headed. We have a wood stove, Nat gas fireplace and forced air natural gas right now.

 

[treillw]

Following: I'm in the same position. We use propane most of the year to supplement our wood burning stove. If the stove isn't going we can burn through a tank of propane in a month.

We used around 700 gallons last winter.

 

[gearguywb]

I am in the propane business so probably a bit jaded.

There is a reason you see few heat pumps in areas of the country where it truly gets cold. Heat pumps are horrible in temps below freezing. Extremely inefficient (does not feel warm) and high electrical use.

 

[UpNorth89]

Heat pumps work great to a point. Even though they say they can run down to a certain temp you lose a ton of efficiency because they have to run so long per cycle. If you live north of let's say I80 roughly you should still have propane backup at least.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[ResearchinStuff]

A hybrid system is really nice. Heat pump when it's cool, propane when it's cold. Max efficiency either way. I'm really pleased with mine.

 

[treillw]

A hybrid system is really nice. Heat pump when it's cool, propane when it's cold. Max efficiency either way. I'm really pleased with mine.

This is what I was thinking

 

[Weldor]

Run a AC/heat pump year around, over a hundred in the summers and average 30' to 50's at night in the winter. t=stat set at 74 in the summer 2000 sqft Santa fe ave bill $275, winter t=stat set at 68 average bill $65. 5 ton unit new in 2023. All electric where I live 3300 ft elevation. Pool pump runs 6 hrs a day also. I have a propane furnace at my cabin, (average cost per gallon up there is $4.50 gal.) For a 10 stay in temps 10-30 degrees uses about 40 to 60 percent of a full tank. That's about $180 bucks for the gas. 3 bedroom 1500 sqft . My fireplace is going must of the time also.

 

[Packin_packout]

So I am in star valley and have a mini split heat pump setup. Summer it is great and it does OK in winter down to about 10 degrees then will cut out. You have to get special ones to do deal with real cold....unless you have a ground loop based one then it is pulling / dumping heat into a chunk of dirt at 55 degrees or so as long as you have everything buried deep enough.

 

[ElkNut1]

You couldn't give me a Heat Pump! Furnace inside & A/C only on outside! Too, they are so much easier to work on if need be than a heat pump.

ElkNut

 

[Beendare]

The Mitsubishi split units are rated down to 5 degree max…but they lose the ability to heat effectively long before that.

 

[hunterjmj]

You couldn't give me a Heat Pump! Furnace inside & A/C only on outside! Too, they are so much easier to work on if need be than a heat pump.

ElkNut

I agree. Wood stove for primary here. Wood heat warms everything in the house and forced air heat doesn't. I know not everyone has the resources to burn wood but it's the best heat. I'd never own a heat pump.

 

[rockymountainjk]

I live at 8200’ in CO and have cold winters and propane boiler as well as wood stove for primary source of heat. Last summer I installed a minisplit head in each of my bedrooms for cooking during the summer. They have worked amazingly well w minimal increase in my electricity bills. They have provided good heat for short term situations when my boiler went out.

I installed the system myself but have a fair amount of plumbing experience. There are now some very good DIY options if you are fairly handy.

 

[StuckoYota99]

Annual maintenance and repairs on a heat pump negate the annual savings. The Mitsubishi hyper heat system will rock and roll down to 0 degrees. However when you get into energy savings and efficiency you have to look at a lot of other factors. Such as house insulation, outdoor ambient, outdoor humidity, solar load, prevailing winds. Etc etc.
As a hvac service tech I recommend a high efficiency furnace with a standard efficient ac unit. Because I can fix most of the issues with the parts I have in my service van.

 

[Team4LongGun]

I have a mini split, will do both heat and AC. I’m in MT, on the northern border and it’s 98 outside now, and 64 inside. Couldn’t be happier.

 

[ElkNut1]

64 inside, Ouch, a bit toooo cool! (grin)

ElkNut

 

[Team4LongGun]

I’m not a fan of hot weather!

 

[jkensek]

I lived in Montana for a few years but in an apartment and only had a window ac. I just built a house in Indiana with a hybrid heat pump and gas furnace. It was kind of pricey but Indiana has weird weather that can get really cold and also be pretty mild in the winter. Can’t go without ac here either due to humidity.

 

[Stalker69]

You have to figure out cost of kilowatt hours, vs propane. I know when I took a class on heat pumps ( hvac tech) the instructor said at that time once it got down below 50 degrees outside, gas was more efficient. Now that was with natural gas. But the colder it gets out side, the lower the temp. of the air coming out of your ducts also. Which equates to longer run cycles in electricity. Propane would be your emergency heat or back up heat. You can get electric heat strips also in an air handler or an elec. furnace to heat the air, as primary ( use reg a/c unit) or back up heat with heat pump. We don’t install to many heat pumps here, as natural gas is readily available 99% of the time.
Mini splits are becoming more and more popular here, ( hydronic heated homes, no duct work) for a/c. Not used much if at all for heat, but they do have the ability.