Posts Tagged ‘Heat Pumps’

Recently we had a customer contact us, expressing their satisfaction for a job well done. Homeworks would like to share this story with you to help give some insight as to what you can expect in your next Homeworks experience.

Garry and Angela Lester were looking for someone who could look after their heating/cooling requirements in the new home they were building and realized that Homeworks’ house-as-a-system approach was a perfect fit. They decided to go with our organization after meeting with our knowledgeable and personable sales staff. In addition, Homeworks “is better quality of service for the price I was paying comparing to other companies” says Garry.

Chris Breadner was the Sales Consultant that guided Garry through his new build installation experience. Chris gave expert ideas as to how all of the products the Lester’s were interested in could best interact and function in their new home. The Lester’s purchased a Bryant 95s multi-stage variable speed 95% efficient furnace to provide back up heat for the Bryant two stage heat pump. Garry and Angela Lester went with ISO board foundation walls that gave them an R-50 rating in the basement walls. This combined with the R-20 in the upper floor walls and R-50 in the attic meant the heat loss/gain was very low. Given these properties, Chris recommended an Eneready HRV system that was much smaller than most equipment for a house this size for continuous ventilation and high efficiency heat filter.

Bryant Two-Stage Heat Pump

HRV in Crawl Space

HVAC System

HRV Ventilation Ducts

Attic Insulation (R-50 Rating)

All in all, this was a successful experience for the Lester’s and even though there were some unexpected issues the Lester’s experienced as there is with any job; Chris’s “level of knowledge reassured me and I was not worried” says Garry Lester.

Garry exclaimed that “Chris’ level of knowledge was superior to most people I have come across and he did an excellent job of coordinating the whole process. He had an understanding of how things fit together and his product knowledge was superb. Chris Breadner truly understood the house as a system approach. He would answer my many phone calls and questions and was extremely good about dealing with other people working on our new build home. The staff at Homeworks are excellent and truly provide a consultative approach. It is definitely an advantage to have a company that deals with all aspects of a home when it comes to planning and implementation.”

We are happy that the Lester’s had such a positive experience with Homeworks and the next time you are looking to complete home upgrades or build a new home you will have an idea of the level of service you can expect from the Homeworks team!

If you are interested in Homeworks house-as-a-system approach, book a free in-home consultation, visit our showrooms or call 604.697.5700.

Heat Pumps are appliances that when paired with a gas/electric furnace will heat, cool and dehumidify and continuously filter the air of dust and impurities. It can also circulate the air to avoid stuffiness without heating or cooling the air. In summer, heat pumps will transfer heat from inside the house to outside air for cooling; conversely, in winter they will transfer heat from outside air into the home for heating. The life of a heat pump depends on what kind you choose to invest in. The two types are; air source heat pumps which will typically last 15-25 years and ground source heat pumps which will last about 20-30 years.

The efficiency of a heat pump tends to be approximately 200 to 400% because of its solar energy use; much greater than any electrical or gas system. Heat pump heating is roughly a third of the cost of electric heating and about half the cost of gas heating. They are also fairly simple to maintain as professional service and inspection can be done as little as once a year and filters should be changed every once or twice a year depending on your environment.

Some of the advantages of heat pumps are:

• They will reduce your energy bills as they are more economical to run than electric or gas heating systems
• They provide functionality throughout the year, rather than exclusively in the winter
• In BC, they use renewable hydropower green energy, heat pumps use environmentally sound refrigerant and do not harm the ozone layer
• They are usually quieter then their counterpart heating systems

Some of the disadvantages of heat pumps are:

• If you live in an area that is frequently below freezing in winter, the back up system will be required
• The initial price of a heat pump can be a deterrent when purchasing a heating unit, but the savings on energy bills will eventually offset this

All things considered, heat pumps offer the best investment in home heating and comfort. Homeworks offers two brands of heat pumps, known as Bryant and Payne. If you are interested in installing a heat pump, book a free in-home consultation, visit our showrooms or call 604.697.5700.