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I bought mine about a year ago and it was sold as the 'S5', and I can confirm that it is a Gree Sapphire. I bought it as it seemed to have the best cold weather specs of any of the direct to consumer models at the time. It looks like they are now selling the 'XS5', which I would assume is the...

I just installed the Blueridge S5 24kBTU unit a few months ago - so far it has been working well, albeit we haven't had much really cold weather yet. Almost all the 'DIY' units have worse cold weather performance than the non-DIY units and are typically more expensive. Based on the specs...

On my Blueridge/gree the 46F 'don't freeze'/'vacation' mode was entirely unintuitive - you have to push the 'Temp' and 'Clock' button simultaneously on the remote to turn it on - or from the app.

Here is the neep list entry for the 24k 5th gen. It certainly does better than the older MrCools, but still looses a lot of capacity at lower temperatures compared to some of the other options:

I am using a 24 kBTU Blueridge S5/Gree Sapphire - it has a specific 46F 'vacation mode' for exactly this application. I think Mistu and Fujitsu also have these minimum heat settings. Why do you think they wouldn't work well this way? When the outdoor temps are in the the 20s it takes about an...

If you only use it a day or two a week, then constantly heating it will definitely be costlier and more wasteful than just heating it the days you are using it. You just have to have the foresight to turn the heat up well before you plan on using it - a programable or app controlled thermostat...

That is good to know - but with respect to the Peppy Products Wagos, they come in an organizer internally labeled as a Peppy Products kit, so these can't really be commingled with any other real/fake Wagos. I am not 100% sure I remember this correctly, but when I purchased these direct from...

No, that is not a good choice for a low ambient temperature location like Woodland Park. Look at the spec sheet - with an ambient of 17F, the output of that unit has already dropped to 14kBTU, it is likely to struggle at low temperatures. I take that back, that is the rated output at 17F...

These can be installed by hand - they install just like a nylon zip tie. I am sure a tool would be helpful to snug them up and cut them if you have a lot to do, but it is in no way necessary. If you can avoid cutting the tails, that is the best option as it is hard to remove the sharp edges...

That is an easy question to answer - the minisplit is definitely more efficient. But I suspect you are asking which is cheaper to operate - that is harder to answer and we would need to know more details on your utility rates, outdoor temperature and the details of both units. But if you...

You definitely need to install a sub station in your garage, then a 48kV transmission line to the work bench, with a step-down transformer to 480V three phase. This is Garage Journal after all. Seriously, don't over think this - buy a 20A power strip from a reputable brand with the cord...

The Casetas are definitely pricier per device, but you do get what you pay for and they are often available at a significant discount on ebay. For me, it was case of if I am going to hard wire dozens of these devices in the new house, I want to make sure they will continue to do what they do for...

Yup. Before it Samsung bought it, it was a piece of hardware that interfaced with devices in your house, and you set up routines and automations, but it required a cloud server. Samsung bought it, and quickly decided they no longer wanted to support the existing hardware - it was pretty...

I learned this lesson the hard way with Smart Things many years ago - never rely on any installed device that relies on a cloud server for functionality. Running cloud servers costs money, so no company will keep them running when they are no longer generating new revenue. For our new house...

They certainly look and feel exactly the same as the real deal - I can't tell the difference side by side. Even if they were 'fake', they seem to be just as good as the real deal. Their assortments are handy, and they come same day shipping from Amazon.

In terms of heating the pump house a heater and a light bulb are equally efficient. With a light bulb some of the energy is converted to light, but as soon as the light hits anything in the pump house, it is converted to heat, so the overall efficiency is the same. It is no different to a...

And while I was being facetious with the motor/laptop/DVD suggestion, I did run into this. Our lab doesn't allow space heaters in offices, probably for good reason. An older colleague was perputually cold in his office, so he went to the IT surplus pile and picked up a couple of old intel...

Conservation of energy is a thing in physics. While we may not agree with the laws of physics, we do have to obey them. All the electrical energy that goes into the motor needs to go somewhere, unless there is a drive shaft sticking out the side of the pump house, then that somewhere is...

I couldn't find a spec sheet from Mr Cool that shows the output and COP vs temperature, which is kind of a red flag. The only thing I did find was their entry on the NEEEP list (linked above) which is where I got the numbers. https://ashp.neep.org/#!/product/182266/7/25000/95/7500/0///0

Absolutely - specifying appropriate equipment is part of the job. If you want to heat with a heat pump in Alburquerque, then an inverter systems would probably be the right equipment. The problem is most HVAC contractors just sell what ever brand they are familiar with, regardless if it is...