Heat pump that fits in an existing system (ie, don’t need a fan)
Hello all!
5 years ago when I bought my current house, I had to replace the HVAC system and I opted for a combination propane / wood furnace. The propane unit is a conventional 96% AFUE 80k BTU unit, and the wood furnace is the Continental version of http://fireplaceking.com/shop/napoleon-hmf200/
The propane furnace has the blower, and the wood unit is integrated with it.
When this was installed, the installer added a bypass duct around the wood furnace into which I could someday install a central air A-coil (to avoid cooling the cast wood furnace and causing internal condensation).
I’m now thinking of an air source heat pump – both for cooling in the summer, and some heat in fall / spring. While the bulk of my winter heat comes from wood, the wood stove is very big and somewhat awkward during the shoulder season when heating loads are lower. However, propane is increasingly expensive (especially now!), and so I’d prefer to use as little as possible.
Is there a ducted heat pump unit available that would take advantage of my existing furnace air handler, and ultimately just have a coil that I can place inside the bypass duct, or other simple solution? I would imagine there would be an indoor control box, an A-coil, then the outdoor unit and lineset. However, it seems that most heat pumps I’ve looked at come with a complete air handler.
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Replies
Yes, this is a very common option. Often it's sold as a system, with the furnace, but you can just buy the outdoor unit and the "evaporator coil" that is actually set up to run as an evaporator or condenser coil. If you find system you like that comes with an air handler, the dealer for that brand can probably order the same thing but only the coil, not the air handler.
A good place to browse for systems is https://ashp.neep.org/