heat pumps and strip heat

[Layton 0]

can someone tell me which is the best and what the difference is and how strip heat works?

[slug 1]

I think your asking why a heat pump includes a "strip heater".

when the outside temp goes below a certain amount there aren't enough BTU's generated by the Heat pump process. So a resistance heater (Like a toaster) kicks in to provide heat for the house.

There's usally a red light somewhere to tell you when this happens and you can watch you electric meter spining like crazy.

Heat pumps work great in area with moderate winters ND forget it. You local elect company should have the stats. about whats most cost efficient in your area.

Or you could ask the salesman

R.I.P.

[Brains 2]

A heat pump is literally and air conditioning unit running in reverse. During the summer, unit runs and blows cold air inside(evaporater) and the outside unit is warm(condenser) During the winter, the unit literally runs the opposite direction via a reversing valve. Now the inside unit is a condensing coil and the outside unit is the evaporator. Like the other poster said, strip heat is used as a backup or auxillary heat source or in an emergency situation. How does strip heat work? Take a wire and coil it up, then stretch it out like a spring. Now put electricity to it till it glows red and blow a fan across it. That is strip heat, not very efficient.

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[flyhi 24]

Had a heat pump when I lived in MD and it was worthless in the winter. Then again, I had one when I lived in Al, and at times, it was even too cold for it there. If you can, heat with natural gas.

I think Mark Twain once said, "The coldest winter I ever experienced was a summer I spent in San Francisco with a heat pump."

Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

[3ringheathen 0]

Quote

Take a wire and coil it up, then stretch it out like a spring. Now put electricity to it till it glows red and blow a fan across it. That is strip heat, not very efficient.

It's extremely efficient. Just don't confuse efficient with economical. Electricity isn't cheap.
-Josh

If you have time to panic, you have time to do something more productive. -Me*
*Ron has accused me of plagiarizing this quote. He attributes it to Douglas Adams.

[billvon 3,031]

> can someone tell me which is the best . . .

Geothermal heat pumps. The ground below your house is always around 50 degrees if you go deep enough. That's a perfect temperature for an air conditioning heat sink, and pretty good for heating as well - heat pumps work best when the temperature difference they have to work across does not exceed a certain differential. To install these, you either use a well and pump the water back in (hard) or just lay a few hundred feet of circled pipe in a trench (easier.) A fluid, like water or antifreeze, circulates in the pipe and picks up (or dumps) heat.

Most systems also allow you to use the waste heat in summer to heat the hot water supply, which saves money as well.

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=geo_heat.pr_geo_heat_pumps
http://www.alliantenergygeothermal.com/stellent2/groups/public/documents/pub/geo_001407.hcsp

>and what the difference is and how strip heat works?

If you don't go geothermal, you have to rely on outside air for a heat source. When it's -10F, the heat pump has to work too hard, and very little heat is generated. Thus most heat pumps have aux heaters (usually electric) to make up the difference when it's very cold out.