Ok today's survey is about split/ductless a/c units with heat pump option. I live in an oooolllld house (circa 1786) post and beam construction. I gutted half of the second floor to get rid of the horse hair plaster that was falling down, move walls etc. and to throw some insulation in while I was there. It's a small room basically, 12x14 with a 4x6 dormer area.

Primarily we use wood to heat the house in the winter, but have electric baseboard heat all over. Window a/c's and one "portable" for the kitchen. For the second floor instead of filling the one window we can fit an a/c in (or buy another expensive portable) I was thinking of a split ductless unit. Then I thought might as well use it to heat the room as well....

Is it not a good idea to rely on that for primary source of heat? I'm thinking no because I don't see it very often around here. It's not like we are in Alaska, but we see plenty of single digit or lower nights and I don't know if it's worth it for our climate to rely on the heat pump. Otherwise it seems like the way to go, but if I'm going to be looking for electric heat when it's real cold outside then I'll save the $700 and just get baseboard heat and a window a/c.

Thanks!

 

Since you live in an area where the temp dips below 40 degrees regularly, I would suggest the baseboard heat. The electric heat strip on a heat pump takes over when the outside air temp is 40-42 degrees. At that temperature there is not enough heat in the outside air for the compressor to function efficiently. I live in the south and I personally do not like heat pumps because you are having to pay for running a compressor. Electric heat is a 100% heat source since all of it gets delivered to the space. On the other hand, electric heat is also known as a "controlled direct short".

Gary