[beenthere]

Hey I have a picture of beenthere when he was young.

LOL

 

[mlstark]

just kidding brother, I'm no spring chicken myself

 

[beenthere]

just kidding brother, I'm no spring chicken myself

No problem.
I thought it was funny.

 

[chrispitude]

Hi folks,

I just wanted to let you know that I will be getting a 3 ton Hallowell installed in the next 1-2 weeks. I told my local trusted HVAC guy about the Hallowells. He sells/installs heat pumps but the Hallowell was new to him. After he read their technical paper and gave them a call, he became very excited about the technology. Tonight he made the long drive home from Maine to Pennsylvania after spending yesterday meeting the company folks, learning about the units, and checking out their facilities. He told me that they have had a 2-ton unit in their test lab, running in a walk-in freezer. He said it was pumping out heat despite being covered in a solid inch of frost. He was very impressed with both the product and the passion of the folks behind it.

He's going to charge me cost on the Hallowell, along with reasonable time + materials in exchange for being a guinea pig for him. I should come out of this very reasonably. I'll follow up with a final installed price once it's actually in.

I'm looking into energy monitoring systems that would allow me to measure total seasonal kWh consumption for both the compressor and air handler. If anyone has any leads, I'd be interested to hear them. I'm going to give the folks at http://www.powermeterstore.com/ a call on Monday and see what they can recommend.

- Chris

 

[beenthere]

Don't post a install, or equipment price.
No prices or pricing allowed on this site.

 

[Freeze-meister]

Installers in north-west NJ

Does anyone know installers in Sussex County NJ...or perhaps installers from Penn or NY that might be willing to do a job in NJ??

Based on all of the threads I've read here and on the Garden web, sounds like the Arcadia is a decent alternative to propane...although I think I'll have an energy audit conducted first just to ensure the BTU usage and loss will validate purchasing a more efficient system. I'm still toying around with geothermal...but the price is very high in NJ especially when I need a couple of bore-holes drilled..

Thanks in advance,
MF

 

[bobinpa]

I recently purchased one of the TED (The Energy Detective) units, along with the software. It is a very useful tool, especially the software. I am waiting to see how the first month of operational data compares to my electric bill. Any way, I have learned a lot about what and how much power items in my home use.

 

[gary_g]

I recently purchased one of the TED (The Energy Detective) units, along with the software. It is a very useful tool, especially the software. I am waiting to see how the first month of operational data compares to my electric bill. Any way, I have learned a lot about what and how much power items in my home use.

What does this have to do with the Hallowell Acadia?

 

[gary_g]

A few things to note about a heat pump (from a heat pump owner):
- COP varies with outdoor temps, from 4.4 at 65F down to 1.84 at 0F.
- The ouput heat varies with outdoor temps, from about 107F (at air handler) at 65F ambient to 83F at 0F ambient (these temps are based on 70F supply air temp). Since the palm of your hand is about 91F, temps lower than that feel cool to the touch.

- Auxillary heat is needed below the balance point of the home (32F or so). The balance point of my home is in the mid/upper 20s.

WTF? These are my exact words from a previous post. The COP's and heat output are for my 3 ton GSH14 Goodman. I measured the palm of my hand with an IR thermometer and got 91F. The balance point listed is for my own home.

Where are my lawyers: Goldstein, Silverstein, and Copperstein? I need to sue Lord Icon

 

[learningAC]

Somehow I feel a over-sized two-stage system would behave similarly. To me their so called new technology is only 1 two-staged compressor plus another big compressor. For milder climate like in PA or VA, I think a two-staged over-sized normal HP would be a better solution.

IMHO

 

[ProgressiveAir]

NJ Installer

We have been installing Acadias in NJ. Good feedback to this point.

 

[bobinpa]

Hallowell vs. Infinity Systems

I have found this site very informative and would like to get some input to aid my decision making process to pick my next set of systems.

I have two Carrier 20+ year old systems that have given long and faithful service, but are now approaching the end of their service life. I am looking at both the Acadia units and the Carrier Infinity (16 & 19) units as potential replacements. The Acadia has a higher HSPF rating but a lower SEER rating than the Carrier systems. Also in looking at the Acadia manuals it appears that between 34 and 25 F the system operates more or less as a conventional system, utilizing the resistance heat vs. pulling in the booster compressor for a second stage heat call. Here in eastern PA (near Bethlehem) that temperature range is not un-common, although night time temps frequently do dip lower, but we typically set back night temps to around 60 F, and very often go the whole night without a call for heat in that temperature range unless it is windy. The Hallowell units are more expensive than the Carrier units, but not beyond consideration if there is a true return on savings. With a smaller lot size and a back yard with a septic system, plus the homes configuration, geo thermal is not really a viable option. Obviously the Carrier units with the infinity control look on the surface to be a sexier option, but the Hallowell units offer better heating performance, at least in specific temperature ranges.
My question to this board are is the Carrier and Hallowell in the real world only about 0.5 difference in HSPF, and again in the real world is the Carrier unit really that much higher in SEER. By my calculations the energy consumption between the two units is not that much different to justify the Acadia units higher initial cost and get an ROI inside of 10 years. Another question that this board may not be able to address, is does the Acadia unit potentially increase the resale (equity) value of the house vs. the Carrier units, which I would view as more or less home maintenance, even though they are not builder grade equipment.
I look forward to your input.

 

[hvochead]

BobinPA

What did you end up buying bobinpa? and why?

 

[bobinpa]

Hallowell vs. Infinity Systems

In the final analysis I went with the Infinity 19 units. I have a two ton single zone unit, and a three ton 2 zone unit. For the 2 ton unit I used the 003 air handler with 9 kw heat. The larger unit uses the 006 airhandler with 9kw also.
For roughly the same $$ as the Acadia I was able to also replace the upstair unit's duct work down to the metal wall stubs and add a zoning system for the attic system to have two zones. This provides much more balance and comfort in the house, as we always had issues with trying to balance the winter/summer airflow in that part of the house. Once we got into the project we found much of the flex duct in the attic was seriously deteriorated, and I was probably conditioning much of the attic. We upgraded the attic duct insulation to 3" vs. the previous 1/2" insulation, and go with the new R-8 flex ducts.

The Acadia system probably has a small edge in heating efficiency based on published statistics, but the Carrier system has a clear edge in cooling, so potential utility costs are near a wash. I ran balance point calculations and the heatpump alone should be able to carry the house down to below 20 F, and temperatures colder than that are somewhat rare in my area. I was concerned about the very short business history of Hallowell, and the sustainability of the company and their dealer network in this tough economy, as well as they were very slow in introducting a 2 ton unit, which I needed. I was also very attracted to the infinity control system, and the degree of flexability and system programming if offers vs. more conventional control systems.

In interviewed 6 different contractors, the final deciding point for me was the installing dealer themselves. I know all too well that the single most important factor in a heatpump systems efficiency and reliability is the quality of the installing contractor and the technicians they employ. The company I selected took the time to answer all my engineering and technical questions (and since I am a former ASHRAE certified HVAC designer they were well beyond typical homeowner type questions), and provide all the insider tech info on the units I was unable to find on the internet.

The installation was just completed yesterday, and I could not be happier with the equipment and the quality of the workmanship. It took a crew of 3-4 techs 6+ days, so it was clearly a big job. I will be using my home energy monitor system to compare the systems performance over the next couple of months. The quietness of the systems is very impressive. With the old system I could tell what it was doing just by the noises you could clearly hear in the house. With the new system you can not hear it run, even when standing next to the air handler, and the outdoor units are whisper quiet even in high stage.

 

[chrispitude]

Hi everyone,

The Hallowell was installed about a month ago. I decided on having a dedicated HVAC subpanel installed in the basement, and running the entire system (air handler and exterior unit) off the subpanel. I had an ELF 3234 panel meter installed to allow me to see the power consumed by the entire system.

Depending on the outdoor temperature and the call from the thermostat, the system runs in four different modes:

M1 - Single cylinder primary compressor
M2 - Two cylinders primary compressor
M3 - Primary and booster compressors
M4 - Primary and booster compressors with 1st stage auxiliary heat


Heating Call at Thermostat
                      stage 1 stage 2
BIN A:   ODT < -30       W1     W1
BIN B:   -30 < ODT < 15  M3     M4
BIN C:   15 < ODT < 25   M2     M3
BIN D:   25 < ODT <34    M2   M2+W1
BIN E:   34 < ODT <41    M2     M2
BIN F:   41 < ODT <62    M1     M2
BIN G:   62 < ODT        M1     M1

Last night it got down to 0F. At that temperature, it maintained our house at 66F in M3. The system was consuming 2900 watts at that point. Mornings are more demanding because I have the thermostat set to go down to 63F overnight (we sleep better when it's a bit colder), then goes back up to 66F when we get up. The Hallowell thermostat (really an Emerson) has a feature which proactively ramps up ahead of time. When I got up this morning, it was 2F outside and was at 65F - still running only on the compressors.

I've determined the power consumptions of the modes are about as follows:

M1 - 1350 watts
M2 - 1650 watts
M3 - 2900 watts
M4 - 8900 watts

I am very impressed with the duct temperatures in M3. It feels noticeably warm. I'll dig out my Harbor Freight infrared thermometer and shoot a duct sometime before this cold snap breaks.

- Chris

 

[beenthere]

Post what your daily temps were.
And what your total KW is for the month.
And refesh our(my) memory as far as size of house, and location.

 

[chrispitude]

Hi beenthere,

The house is 2000sqft, and is well-insulated with 2" closed-cell spray foam in the walls and roof/attic, and triple pane/double low-E windows. You can see pictures of our remodeling project here:

chrispitude's remodeling project

Yesterday it got up to 15F, and today it's forecast to get up to 13F. This is a normal cold snap for this area, but is not a normal average temperature. My location is northeast PA, zip code 18322. Here is some HDD data I found for my zip code:

HDD Sep  	117.0
HDD Oct  	449.0
HDD Nov 	744.0
HDD Dec 	1058.0
HDD Jan  	1216.0
HDD Feb 	1044.0
HDD Mar 	853.0
HDD Apr 	499.0
HDD May 	211.0

I don't know the total kWh for the system yet, but it's on my list of things to do. The ELF 3234 comes from an Indian company, and the manual is absolutely useless. I'll spend some time figuring that out this weekend. I've given up on getting a good total kWh measurement for this winter. Once I get it figured out, I'll check the total kWh at each month transition and keep a monthly kWh usage spreadsheet which I'd be happy to share here.

The line set on the Hallowell does "sing" a bit. This is the term the HVAC guy used (I'm not an HVAC guy, just a homeowner). He said the Hallowell runs at high pressures and he is not surprised. Currently the line set is bracketed right to the floor joists of the kitchen above. We'll isolate them with some hangers and everything should be fine. We barely hear the outdoor unit when standing next to that exterior wall in the house, but this could be due to the spray foam in the walls as well as to the unit itself. I don't know what a "quiet" outdoor unit sounds like, but I'll ask my HVAC guy how he'd rate it next time I talk to him.

By the way, we went with the 3-ton unit because Hallowell currently only offers 3-ton and 4-ton units. I hear they are working on 2-ton and 5-ton units too.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! There are some pictures of the outdoor unit on page 11 of the photo gallery above.

- Chris

 

[beenthere]

Near Stoudsburg.

Gets a little colder there then here.

 

[chrispitude]

Hi beenthere,

A bit.

If you (or anyone else) is curious to see a Hallowell up and running and inspect the hardware, you have an open invitation. Just PM me for directions and we can set something up.

- Chris

 

[beenthere]

I may take you up on that next month.