HVAC Skyscrapper Winter Electric

[Thurston Willhelm III]

New to owning a house, my 8 year old HVAC heat pump fan seemed to be running a long time, (didn't pay much attention to it)seemingly all the time, in February!!! (30-40 degrees outside). Sure enough, got an 800 dollar electric bill for then, double the coldest 400 dollar bill of previous, cold winter. I have electric heat. Emergency heat kept us warm enough even though circuit breaker opened toward end of month and reset blew as well. Cleaned contacts, measured ohms across, OK, capacitor not physically mushroomed. Breaker still triggered. I figured the compressor was toast so we endured 90+ degree summer without AC, delaying the inevitable.

Tech says compressor bad, can't tell if leak since compressor wont run, get new system, after 10 minutes outside.

My question is - what caused the high electric bill? Ideas. Did the fan just stay on or was the compressor inefficient until it burned up (leak?)?

If I go the replace compressor route strongly discouraged by the tech/owner, should I replace the lines(acid) or what else may be a culprit that should be checked/replaced as well that may have lead to the failure originally?

 

[kd3pc]

8 year old?

Replace it with the most efficient one you can afford, inside and outside units. You will be pleased with the monthly bills.

IF you have NG available, I would do a duel fuel unit and go with NG as it is more affordable now than electric.

 

[Milton Shaw]

The high electric bill was from it not running in heat pump mode but in backup resistance heat. Can easily double or triple the bill from when the heat pump is running correctly

 

[Thurston Willhelm III]

Well I guess limping along in emergency heat mode is not even the temporary path to take!!! Thank you for that valuable bit of detail.

Seems like such a waste to toss the functioning heating portion and blower portion (and box/controls) of the unit and replace it, but I guess I'm too penny pinching for my own good, and pound wasting.

I'm going to look into Alpine and see what I can do myself (mechanical/electrical/grunt) and see if I can line up a good contractor to do the remaining before I order anything. I can't imagine a professional would want to bother with finishing a job when there's full replacements out there to do, so that's a concern. Don't want to pinch anyone, but the quoted 7K for a SEER 15 I can't afford. We both need to eat.

 

[brewchief]

What brand/model heat pump do you have? 8 years old I would probably recommend replacement as well especially if it is a lower end unit. If it's a higher line unit it may be worthwhile repairing, many units also have a 10 year or longer warranty on the compressor, labor, refrigerant and filter dryers would most likely not be covered but some of the cost might be covered.

 

[Thurston Willhelm III]

10 SEER, I believe 2.5 ton Bryant - model 661CJ030-E

Replacing heat pump and exchanger and cleaning lines - next will be the blower or control board - vs higher efficiency new. Converting to NG sounds like a good path to investigate, but the new ones at ALPINE are only 13 SEER. Need to crunch numbers.

Thanks for responding. Tech said it was a 5 year warrant on parts.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Id do a gas/propane furnace inside if you have that option then install a heat pump outdoors,that way youre covered either way.
As long as it stays in the mid 20s or above the heat pump will keep up,then youll have gas heat as emergeny heat.
That way you can also regulate which one you use according to fuel prices also.
As far as bryant/carrier equipment goes I havent been a fan for years,Goodman makes good quality stuff for the price.

 

[tgb]

Replace both units so they're matched correctly. I've changed compressors many times costing several thousand dollars to have them go out again in a couple of years. Even the best heat pumps made have a 10-12 year life span. I do not recommend trying to do any of it yourself, I don't know of any company that would work after a homeowner to finish something up if you expect a warranty.

 

[compressornew]

Try to change the power sockets through top to end bottom of heater.If you can see any broken wire then change or replace it totally.

 

[pseudorealityx]

8 year old unit is likely going to be R-22. Newer stuff is going to be R-410a. You'll need to replace both indoor and outdoor. Anyone who tells you different outside of the actual manufacturer literature is sketchy at best.

 

[Tinkerinmatt]

My first year in my house was my first year having a heat pump. Also have gas heat. Left the thermostat on"heat" all winter, and the heat pump ran almost continuously with the gas kicking in as the second stage. A few $400 electric bills later and I thought this was normal. Until a buddy came over and slid the thermostat to EM HEAT and said use that to lock out the heat pump. Had me buy a Honeywell 8000 or something thermostat that has an outdoor air temp sensor to lock out the heat pump below ** degrees. Normal now in winter is $70 electric bill, $70 gas bill, summer is $150 electric, $20 gas.