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[SeaMaiden]

In Seattle we are having a bit of a heat wave this week into next weekend... Seems like the perfect time to test it out!  We are also in a drought situation with having very little rain this spring... I actually had to water outside IN MAY which is very unusual for the Seattle area which normally has wet springs.....

It was expensive to install the furnace and heat pump.... about $11,000 total to install it into out 1980 home, but we got the best equipment available  to do the best job  for the size of our home.   We will get rebates back from our power company as well as  save some money on our heating bills.  With the predicted hot summer they say we are going to have  in the Pacific NW this year....   I will see how much it costs to cool our home on the 90 degree stretches we have.  Never had to pay cooling costs for electricity so this will be interesting......

We had the air ducts cleaned out and also had extra insulation put up into the attic area.  We had new window installed last fall to replace our old windows that were leaking. 

Looking forward to not sweating to death upstairs with the house at 90 degrees!   That will be a first for DH and myself having lived in this house for over 26 years.  Updating older homes is just so much work  and expense, but worth every penny.

[Witchy Woman]

@SeaMaiden 

Hurray for being comfortable!

Living in Maryland, we would not have built a home without good heating and AC.  30 years ago, we opted for geothermal heating system.  It's a complex system, but supposed to save money over the long haul.  It has.

However, after 30 years, we needed to upgrade and it was around $10,000 per unit -- we have two.  Yikes!  That will be the last time we have to do it (hopefully!).

But.....our monthly bill is very low and has been all these years.  I guess it did finally pay for itself!

[SeaMaiden]

@Witchy Woman  how interesting...Geothermal!  I will have to read up on that!🙂

[dex]

@SeaMaiden @We just did the same thing in Tacoma area.We paid 15,000.i think you got a great deal.

[geezerette]

@SeaMaiden 

@dex 

I just replaced my heat pump/ac unit this spring also.  I’m in the mid-south, and I paid about what you did, @SeaMaiden.  For a larger and more energy efficient unit than I had.  I haven’t needed either the heat or a/c much yet, but it sure is quieter than the old one!

We’ve been having your Pacific Northwest weather here, I think.  Lots and lots of rain.  And more to come.

[SeaMaiden]

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@geezerette wrote:

@SeaMaiden 

@dex 

I just replaced my heat pump/ac unit this spring also.  I’m in the mid-south, and I paid about what you did, @SeaMaiden.  For a larger and more energy efficient unit than I had.  I haven’t needed either the heat or a/c much yet, but it sure is quieter than the old one!

We’ve been having your Pacific Northwest weather here, I think.  Lots and lots of rain.  And more to come.

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@geezerette   You all certainly have had the rain!  My goodness, I see pictures of the storms and flooding you have been getting this year and it looks terrible! We are known for our rain.....but the past few years things have been changing with the climate here and we are getting less rain and warmer....very odd and concerning. 

[geezerette]

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@SeaMaiden wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

@SeaMaiden 

@dex 

I just replaced my heat pump/ac unit this spring also.  I’m in the mid-south, and I paid about what you did, @SeaMaiden.  For a larger and more energy efficient unit than I had.  I haven’t needed either the heat or a/c much yet, but it sure is quieter than the old one!

We’ve been having your Pacific Northwest weather here, I think.  Lots and lots of rain.  And more to come.

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@geezerette   You all certainly have had the rain!  My goodness, I see pictures of the storms and flooding you have been getting this year and it looks terrible! We are known for our rain.....but the past few years things have been changing with the climate here and we are getting less rain and warmer....very odd and concerning. 

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@SeaMaiden 

My husband and I visited Washington and Oregon for several weeks way back in the 80’s.  We hit a rare (for then) heat wave.  It was almost 100 degrees for days, even on the coast.  Our rental car had no a/c, as did (not) some of our motels.  Everyone that lived there was miserable.  I have to admit, it was a little uncomfortable since a lot of places weren’t set up for that kind of heat.

Beautiful area, though.  I’ll never forget the wonderful salmon I got at McCormack’s restaurant—and I don’t even like fish!😄

[SeaMaiden]

To those who have  air conditioner or heat pump, what temp do you find to be comfortable to cool to in side?   Since we are new at this we are trying 72 degrees. It feels comfortable.  

[pattypeep]

@SeaMaiden  I will be anxious to see how you like the heat pump in the hot weather. We are across the "pond" from you and have decided that when our gas furnace goes out, we are getting a heat pump. The heat is just too much. We keep our house at 70* and it's perfect during the cold weather. It sounds like you are all electric?

[SeaMaiden]

@pattypeep   Hello!   Yes, we are all electric.  The company who installed everything evaluated many different things to find the right combination of heat pump and furnace for our home.  Yesterday the cool air came on in the afternoon when  when the temps outside  started to climb.  It was lovely to feel that cold air... and  it really is a nice flow of cold air!  The heat pump  went on and off keeping the house temp right at 72 until the evening after bed time,  when the temps outside cooled down and the house leveled out at 70 degrees through the night. 

 With the heat wave starting today here in the Seattle area, through the weekend as you know about, It will be interesting to see how the house feels at 72 degrees instead of climbing into 80 degree area without air conditioning.    We have lived and sweated out 26 summers here in this area... with fans blowing 24 hours a day and still hot and miserable.I would dread summers because of the house being so darn hot!

We also replaced all our windows and had extra insulation put into the attic to bring that up to the currentR code which is much higher now than in 1980 when the home was built  and  much less insulation was put in . Hopefully those two improvements will help the house stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter and save energy.