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jeffk · 06-18-2007, 10:23 PM

About 15 years ago I bought a modified heat pump system for my house. I provided heat and A/C for the house as well as hot water. It was a new concept but I checked it out and it seemed fine. It worked great at first, plenty of hot water and the house could be heated as long as the outside was 10 degrees or warmer. I had a coal stove for heating backup on really cold winter nights. The electric bills were very reasonable and I was saving a lot of money, at least $500/yr.

After a year and a half I started having valves stick, an exchanger burst, and finally the compressor went. I spent a ton on maintenance, some of the parts were custom and therefore VERY pricey. The only person who would work on the system was the person who installed it. The system became less and less reliable. After 4 years I had to pull the system out. I got burned for at least $5000.

The moral of the story, cutting edge technology MAY prove itself but you run the risk of being a Guinea pig. Be sure you know that the system is reliable in the conditions that you plan to run it under. Do they have systems that have been running for at least 5 years? Who can maintain the system? Are they reasonably local and reliable? If there is only one tech that works on these systems in the area and he decides to move to Florida, what will you do then? When the system breaks (everything does) do you have backup? Are parts stock and available? Parts from foreign countries sometime take months to get.

My personal attitude is - "Never again".

06-18-2007, 10:23 PM	#9
jeffk Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Center Harbor Posts: 1,250 Thanks: 216 Thanked 488 Times in 280 Posts	Reliability? Maintenance? About 15 years ago I bought a modified heat pump system for my house. I provided heat and A/C for the house as well as hot water. It was a new concept but I checked it out and it seemed fine. It worked great at first, plenty of hot water and the house could be heated as long as the outside was 10 degrees or warmer. I had a coal stove for heating backup on really cold winter nights. The electric bills were very reasonable and I was saving a lot of money, at least $500/yr. After a year and a half I started having valves stick, an exchanger burst, and finally the compressor went. I spent a ton on maintenance, some of the parts were custom and therefore VERY pricey. The only person who would work on the system was the person who installed it. The system became less and less reliable. After 4 years I had to pull the system out. I got burned for at least $5000. The moral of the story, cutting edge technology MAY prove itself but you run the risk of being a Guinea pig. Be sure you know that the system is reliable in the conditions that you plan to run it under. Do they have systems that have been running for at least 5 years? Who can maintain the system? Are they reasonably local and reliable? If there is only one tech that works on these systems in the area and he decides to move to Florida, what will you do then? When the system breaks (everything does) do you have backup? Are parts stock and available? Parts from foreign countries sometime take months to get. My personal attitude is - "Never again".