Heat Pump?

[red vette mike]

I am framing up my 1770' garage. It will have lots of insulating items (foam wall board, radiant roof decking, much wall and ceiling insulation, etc). I am going to put in a central heat/ac. I don't have access to gas so it must be electric. Do any of you have opinions on heat pumps? I am in the deep south (MS) and it is much hotter here than it is cold (but it does get cold enough.)
Thanks for any advise.
Mike

 

[mister honey]

I have a Bryant heat pump/air conditioner in my 850 sq. ft shop: it's a 1-1/2 or 2 ton unit, I don't recall. The shop has 8' walls w/cathedral ceilings, two windows, three skylights, a man door and an overhead door, 2x4 insulated walls and 6" ceiling insulation on a slab floor.

Here in Cincinnati, I keep the thremostat on 65 in the winter and 80 in the summer months. It works well and the shop is comfortable for me. It's been in operation for about about 8 years.

I plan on adding an additional 850 sq ft soon, but cannot get an answer from the original HVAC guy as to whether the present unit will handle the extra area. I'd talk with a local HVAC house and have them run an analysis of your shop.

Mike

 

[carcentric]

We have a Lennox electric heat pump in our 2880 square foot home, and it worked well until six months ago, but we had the air blower motor replaced two months ago and it's developed a leak (6 pounds lost in two weeks). Since it was installed in 1992, we'll probably be looking for a replacement before too long. Luckily, we have a home warranty policy that may help with the cost of replacement.

A professional-HVAC poster on another board recommended Bryant, Carrier, and Payne; and recommended against Trane, Goodman, York, and Lennox.

I'd like to hear others' recommendations to see if a consensus emerges.

Thanks,

 

[BoostAddiction]

In another post I have detailed my 2-ton mini-split.

-Will

 

[red vette mike]

A knowledgeable a/c guy told me to get a named brand unit. He said they would cost more but you would not be having to replace it in 5 years like one made by Goodman (and I am sure others that you have not often heard of.)

 

[The Hot Rod Grille]

I have a White-Westinghouse 3-ton heat pump in my 1350 sq. ft. garage, The Hot Rod Grille. The unit has an 8 year "bumper-to-bumper" warranty, and has performed flawlessly since it was installed in 2004. The air handler is installed in the attic and feeds 12 ceiling mounted vents. I keep the garage 68 degrees during winter and 72 degrees in warm weather (I'm in West Virginia, where temps range from zero in Jan. to one hundred in July). The garage is equally split between 10 and 12 foot ceiling heights and has 2 ceiling fans to help circulate the air. The outside unit is significantly quieter than the Carrier High Efficiency unit that serves my house. Eventually, when the Carrier "dies", I will replace it with a White-Westinghouse!

Jim Winter
The Hot Rod Grille Garage