Heat pumps: How much heat does your home really need?
Summary
Heat pumps need accurate, room-by-room estimates of a home's heat loss to work efficiently. Homeowners are increasingly using apps to check these estimates, while a Purdue University study of calculations for about 75 U.S. homes found that estimates often overstated heating needs by a factor of two or more.Key Facts
- A heat-loss calculation estimates how much heat a home loses in cold weather, usually in watts.
- Heat pumps are sized based on a home's projected heat loss.
- An undersized heat pump may struggle to keep a home warm, while an oversized system can use excess power and cycle on and off frequently.
- Cool Calc, an app for estimating home heat requirements, gains roughly 150 new users each day; just over one third are homeowners, according to its founder.
- A Purdue University study examining calculations for about 75 U.S. homeowners found that estimates often overstated design heat loads by a factor of two or more.
- Some homeowners in the study reported paying more than $1,000 for a heat-loss survey, with one reporting a charge of $2,500.
- Cool Calc and AutoHVAC offer free or partly free tools, and UK homeowners can use the Heatpunk web app.
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