Boxed heat pump
 

I'm ramping up the initial design phase for building a new high efficiency house, to begin in about 2 years. While considering the heat pump, got an idea about how to conserve winter heat with one. I have no idea if this would work or if it's competely off the wall but...

Since a heat pump draws heat from the air, and there isn't a lot of heat outside in winter, seems like building a box to go around the heat pump might help. Said box would draw heat from the motor spinning the blades. Not a lot there, I know. The box would also have a glass roof to collect sunlight. Even in winter, sunlight shining through glass into an enclosed area makes a lot of heat. This should make it easier for the heat pump to extract heat from the air and make it cheaper to heat the house. This would not work at night, of course, and the box would need to be removed in the summertime. This setup would also protect the heat pump from being stuffed full of snow in a storm. For summer, a simple sun/rain shade would be needed to keep direct sunlight from heating the unit.

Comments? Was thinking that a high efficiency heat pump might benefit from something like this.

??? My mom's house uses a water-source heat pump for the a/c. The well sources 1000ft. depth water and brings it up to cool the air in the house. Works really well, efficiently. Bad thing is the heat pump cost 4,000 and has to be shipped in from Fla. As far as heating, you could do one of those roof solar water heaters. Hell any kind of hose on the roof with water running through it in closed loop will heat really fast (unless its covered in snow). Then again, it might even melt a good bit of snow. You could always transfer the heat collected from a solar water htr to your a/c by putting the water through a radiator and having the blower push air through the radiator.

we have berm home you might want to consider one of them for your house.

A ground source heat pump is the only way to go. I can envision lots of problems with the box idea that I have had too many beers to articulate right now. ;)

Unless you are in the tropics and "need" air conditioning, a heat pump for heating is a waste, in my opinion. A well insulated house, properly weather tight, with modest southern glass for passive heating, doesn't need much additional heating at all. Body heat and waste heat from lights and appliances is enough. An efficient small wood burning boiler with active solar and in-floor radiant heat will take care of heating needs, and the small pumps can be run by a small solar electric system.

Where are you located?

I don't think it is a good idea, I mean a heat pump. I can't say about "boxed". A "boxed" will be different issue. Anybody have any example of heat pump for a house heating or any other house application?

I'm in the Tulsa OK area. Summers average around 100 degrees, winters usually stay in the 40s but we do have weeklong snaps into single digits most years anymore.

Was very strong on ground loop heat pumps until I spoke with a fellow down in Louisiana who is an HVAC installer. He adv that the most common problem with these things is the loop breaking within 5 years. While there is a 50 year warranty on the loop piping, the warranty only covers materials, not labor. The pipes have to be "glued" into place with a special cement that promotes heat transfer, and is a major pain to get back out. Said that when the customers found out what this "warranty" repair was going to cost, they opted to get rid of the ground loop system in favor of a high SEER heat pump. Thinking this is the way I'm going to go with mine when the time comes. Going to try and stay away from wood burning stoves since burning wood puts pollution back into the air and requires my lazy butt and an axe in the "back forty." I won't rule it out, but going to try and stay away from it.

My dad runs a heat pump in his house 18 year old house, 1500 sq ft and only a little better insulated than my disaster, I mean just over 2 year old brand new house with 1750 sq ft. He keeps his place toasty in the winter and frigid in the summer, and has about a 100 dollar a month electric bill year round. He does live by himself, but does absolutely nothing to save energy. With a conventional air conditioner and gas fired furnace, I have a 130 dollar a month electric bill in summer and a 60 dollar winter electric bill, AND have a 50 dollar a month gas bill in summer and a 300 dollar a month gas bill in winter. My house is kept warm enough in summer than any activity will bring a sweat, and in the winter the house is cold enough that everyone has to wear sweaters and warm pants, and are constantly complaining how cold it is. I'm absolutely sold on heat pumps, wish I'd have made the deal dependent on them installing one when I bought the house. I know it isn't just the system though, there's also that Pop's house has all 8-9 ft ceilings, and over half of mine is cathedral ceilings. Never will I even look at a house with cathedral ceilings again, worst design for a house I've ever had the displeasure to live in.

No berm-style house for me. Don't want to mess with mowing the roof :D . I have about 2 years to finalize a design so there's no hurry.

I dunno. I guess putting the heat pump into a little greenhouse thingy might help. But isn't a heat pump relatively expensive when gas is available?

When you make your own house definitely spend the money to insulate it really well. And consider having a little vestibule/mud room at the entrance you will use most often to keep so much hot or cold air from escaping when you come into the house.

Boy you'd think so, and this used to be the case, especially in Oklahoma. Prices spiked hard around 1999 - 2000, the price went up almost 700 percent overnight. Since then, a heat pump looks to be the most fuel efficient way to heat and cool a well insulated house, not that I've had one recently.

On top of this, I plan to live in the sticks, so gas would have to be trucked out. I'd far rather buy a few extra PV panels and maybe an extra windmill and run a heat pump than use gas. Gotta figure out a way to manage drying clothes too, a clothes dryer will take a lot of panels to run. I may wind up having to have LP when it comes down to it, but I really, really want to avoid it if I can. Clothes line will not be doable since the wife and I both work, then there's wintertime to think of.

Excellent idea. And for the summer, there will be an attic fan. A strong attic fan will generate a breeze through the whole house, which is wonderful when outside temps are between 60 and 90 degrees. After that would have to be air conditioned.

With your relatively low humidity and the way it actually cools off some at night there, you will be able to save a lot with the attic fan. We had one in Denver and it was great.