Courtesy Kaitlyn Tracy Photography
By Susan Elise Campbell
Compact heat pump systems are gaining popularity in the northeast as manufacturers make them increasingly efficient, and efficiency means savings on rising energy costs, said Ron LaDue, a BPI certified estimator and project manager with Jack Hall Plumbing and Heating. The family-owned company dates back to 1984 and is based in Glens Falls.
LaDue said about 20 percent of business involves the sale, installation and service of split heat pump systems for new construction, home renovations, and commercial buildings. But that percentage is “slowly increasing.”
“Five years ago very few brands of these systems ran efficiently, as far as capacity of the unit and energy usage,” he said.
Mini split systems involve wall units in selected rooms, which serve as heating and cooling zones, LaDue said. They make minimal noise and operate with a remote or smart phone.
Heat pumps pull heat from outside air to warm a residence and cold air to cool it. The system involves one or more exterior pumps that operate on electricity and have been especially efficient where weather is not extremely cold.
“Technology is getting to the point where the units are more suitable for single-digit temperatures and below,” said LaDue. “Every major brand today can run at -13 degrees and some claim as low as -22 degrees.”
“At these temperatures, heat pumps will provide 60 percent of their advertised capacity, which make them viable in areas like Scroon Lake,” he said.
If there are only a few negative double-digit days a year, oversizing the unit could cover those days, but up-front costs would be higher, he said.
