There’s a couple of big problems with the heat-pump industry in the U.S. First, people get their advice about HVAC from the tradespeople, who are way behind the curve on heat-pump technology. Second, and relatedly, the trusted American HVAC brands are far behind China and Japan and Europe on heat pump technology, especially cold-weather capable inverter units.
I had our heat pumps replaced here in Maryland in 2019-2020 with mid-range Amana (rebranded Daikin) units. Decent efficiency, but output drops to half at 10F. The guys who recommended the system, a trusted local business, didn’t even tell me about that. Even in Maryland that means waking up to a cold house several weeks out of the year. That means we needed to keep our oil-based backup heat in place, which is a huge expense to maintain. (Also, our HVAC guys didn’t know that the communicating Daikin units can’t control external auxiliary heat, so they just left things with no backup heat whatsoever.)
After educating myself about this, I wish we had installed one of those Chinese inverter based units, like the Gree Flexx. But if I asked my HVAC guy about that they’d stare back blankly. And the folks who do know what they’re doing can charge whatever they want. The price of getting a mini-split installed here is several times the price of the unit. The $16,000 we spent just a few years ago for two condensers and air handlers looks downright cheap compared to what it would cost today.
Regarding your floor, we have a similar situation with radiant heat in our basement slab. I’ve been looking to ditch our oil boiler, but there’s basically no heat pump options that are widely available. (I don’t want to install some imported Chinese air to water heat pump that the local guys can’t fix.) With heating oil prices being over $4, though, I’m looking at just biting the bullet and installing an electric boiler, which is at least something I could probably fix myself.
I feel you. The lack of knowledge among American tradespeople is infuriating. As soon as you deviate slightly from the brands of furnaces they have been installing for decades, they don't know anything.
I had our heat pumps replaced here in Maryland in 2019-2020 with mid-range Amana (rebranded Daikin) units. Decent efficiency, but output drops to half at 10F. The guys who recommended the system, a trusted local business, didn’t even tell me about that. Even in Maryland that means waking up to a cold house several weeks out of the year. That means we needed to keep our oil-based backup heat in place, which is a huge expense to maintain. (Also, our HVAC guys didn’t know that the communicating Daikin units can’t control external auxiliary heat, so they just left things with no backup heat whatsoever.)
After educating myself about this, I wish we had installed one of those Chinese inverter based units, like the Gree Flexx. But if I asked my HVAC guy about that they’d stare back blankly. And the folks who do know what they’re doing can charge whatever they want. The price of getting a mini-split installed here is several times the price of the unit. The $16,000 we spent just a few years ago for two condensers and air handlers looks downright cheap compared to what it would cost today.
Regarding your floor, we have a similar situation with radiant heat in our basement slab. I’ve been looking to ditch our oil boiler, but there’s basically no heat pump options that are widely available. (I don’t want to install some imported Chinese air to water heat pump that the local guys can’t fix.) With heating oil prices being over $4, though, I’m looking at just biting the bullet and installing an electric boiler, which is at least something I could probably fix myself.