“Cold-Climate Heat Pump Dos & Don’ts”: Presentation by Jon Harrod, President of Snug Planet

Part of HeatSmart Tompkins’ mission is to inform and educate the community about the benefits of energy-efficient, heat pump technology – an objective that Jon Harrod, President of Snug Planet, also values. Jon presented an excellent webinar for our “Lunchtime Installer Series” recently, in which he shared best practices for installation and operation of cold-climate air-source heat pumps.

Jon discussed the importance of customer education – beginning during sales and the design process and continuing through installation and service. This process ensures that realistic expectations are created, basic operation and best practices for the system are explained, and maintenance and service needs for the future are understood. We’ve highlighted some of the points that Jon hit below.

Benefits of Cold-Climate Air-Source Heat Pumps:

• Flexible in their application
• Efficient in both heating and cooling modes
• Cost-effective choice, especially when replacing an expensive fuel such as oil, propane, or electric resistance
• Simple to install
• Most scalable path towards a low-carbon home
• Provides low-carbon heating and cooling

The following is a summary of Jon’s list of Dos and Don’ts for your cold-climate ASHP installers to ensure that these systems work effectively with proper temperature control, efficient operation, long lifespan and durability, no excessive noise from the system, and genuine customer satisfaction.

DO

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Size equipment thoughtfully

• Too small: won’t do the job
• Too big: inefficient, will cycle too frequently

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Put compact-ducted heads in small rooms or use baseboard/radiant heating/cooling for very small rooms

• Increase efficiency

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Elevate the outdoor unit

• Keep the unit from becoming buried in the snow for airflow

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Install a high-wall unit at least 6 inches below the ceiling

• Ensures proper heat exchange and circulation

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Seal wall penetrations

• Eliminates air-leakage
• Temperature and humidity control

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​Drain condensate properly

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Use torque wrenches: ensure that they are 100% tight

• Absorb heat and release it very efficiently

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Pay attention to line set insulation

• Ensures no heat loss

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Educate customers!

• Starts during sales and design process
• Continues through installation and service

DON'T

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​Put ductless heads in small rooms

• Comfort issues
• Refrigerant noise
• Oversizing of outdoor unit
• Too frequent cycling

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Mount outdoor units on wood-framed wall

• Stability issues

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Mount units too close to the ceiling

• Decrease amount of heat exchange and circulation

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Skimp on leak testing

• Decrease efficiency and durability
• Majority of leaks can be prevented with thorough testing