Cold Climate heat pumps

[socapots]

Any one using a Cold Climate heat pump for heating?
Ive been bouncing between either using an electric boiler or one of these Cold Climate heat pumps to heat a 1600Sqft shop.

Just hard to find much info past what manufacturers are saying.

this link is an example of what i am looking at.
https://www.arcticheatpumps.com/

 

[James-W]

I take it that since you are looking into a heat pump you do not have access to natural gas, is that not right?

A lot of people like heat pumps, I am not big fan of them, but my likes and dislikes have no bearing at all on what you should get.

My thoughts are that since you live in Canada and since it gets really cold up there, are you sure a heat pump will give you enough heat to make your shop warm enough to work in there? I mean, 1600 square feet is a rather large area and I would think on a cold day trying to get that much heat from the outside air would be difficult, if not impossible. But then again, I am not an authority on heat pumps so my opinion isn't worth all that much.

 

[Kaizen]

Yea they work. But big issue I see is distribution. Normal systems have a good distribution system either through pipes or moving air. Ceiling fans help. If it was a need to use space I’d have a backup like a propane tank heater.
Your insulation, ceiling height, and slab insulation all play big roles. Mitsubishi makes good pumps as well for cold temps. If you are in an attic part of Canada that is negative numbers all winter I’m not sure if I’d go with minisplit. Down here where average temps are around 30f yes definitely


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[yeldogt]

They are air to water HP's --- don't have time to read the specifications.. Or if the price includes shipping ....

I'm assuming it uses glycol with a heat exchanger ? I see they also have a buffer tank option ... interesting.

with radiant heat and fan coils -- it could do heat and cool w/o dehumidifiers in a garage.

 

[walrus]

Cold climate heat pumps are all over Maine. If sized properly they will handle the load in all but about 10 days a season here in coastal Maine. Those days you need a furnace, boiler etc. The colder it gets, the less you can get out of the unit and the efficiency drops. I have one in my house, using it right now as its 50 out . House temp was down to 65, flipped it on and its a toasty 72 now.

 

[kenora]

sogoodtobuy.ca

a friend is heating his house in Kenora NW Ontario with one...he got the cold climate one with the pan heater (to melt frost and ice).
It gets KOLD here -35c is normal and -45c every few years. However..the heat pump does the job for about 10 months, leaving about 60 days on a pellet stove... and electricity here is 26 kwh so the heat pump is a great performer.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Are you planning on using the heat pump as the energy source for in-floor radiant heat ? These do exist but are not common in the US.

The best mini-split heat pump manufactures (Mitsubishi, Fujitsu, etc) will "make heat" down to about -20C. Specifications vary, vendor to vendor. These generate hot air. With 1600 sq ft, I would want 2 separate units.

 

[Notgrownup]

Several of my family members and friends were using them in New Brunswick last time I visited but all had a backup system of sorts.