Ditched the old A/C & Oil Heat

User: myles.mcconnon@gmail.com

Vendor: Drive Green - Green Energy Consumers Alliance

Action: 3391 - Install Mini-Splits Heat Pumps

Heat Pump Transition

In 2019 I made my first home change in 23 years.  My ’new’ home in Ashland was 18 years old when we moved in.  In 2022 I decided to investigate replacing my a/c system.  Not that it was failing.  Actually, it was working pretty well considering it was relatively under sized for our size house (3 ton for ~2200 sq. ft.) and close to 18 years old. I was becoming curious about heat pumps so decided to investigate them before upgrading.

What began as a casual pursuit soon became a full-on investigation.  Once I learned more about the implications of climate change and the “green” advantage of heat pumps I decided the best way to test the theory was to conduct some real-life research.  I made comparisons based on my determined criteria, then, after getting all the pre-certs and assessments done by Mass-Save, I solicited estimates from 5 installers, each offering a different brand of heat pump.

Once I made my decision and had my new system installed in November 2022 (based on a variable 4-6 ton compressor), I kept track of my electric bills and and track my heating oil consumption.  I then looked up the ‘heating days from the previous year and compared it to my heating oil costs.  My ‘rough calculations convinced me that I saved somewhere in the vicinity of $1100 vs. my baseboard hot-water system over the four winter-weather months!  I have since been able to conduct a summer a/c cost test and found that my electric bill over the four warm months was pretty close to what it had been with the old a/c system. A win in my book!