If you are wondering about performance details and costs we've experienced with a Mr Cool Universal heat pump, then be sure to check out our Mr Cool HVAC playlist. th-cam.com/play/PLExVGissIl-GdKsUBhF3c0fQ6E_o6oOaZ.html We have tried to answer as many questions as we could imagine in the 17+ videos in this playlist - hopefully they help you! The price of the unit we bought is around $3800 ( as of June 2024) on Amazon : 2 to 3 Ton 18 SEER Variable Speed MrCool Universal Central Heat Pump Split System - Upflow/Horizontal with Quick Connect Lineset - 15 Feet amzn.to/3WE8SfI Thats our affiliate link. Thx in advance for your support if you use it - it's free for you to use and if you do, Amazon may send us a small commission. it helps keep our channel going! We do appreciate your help!
A quick note about something I noticed straight off: the whip cable from your disconnect box is routed incorrectly. It should have a drip loop, so that rain/water that collects and drips down the cable ends up dripping off the bottom of the loop. Your cable is too short, so it slopes directly into your unit. Any rainwater is going to flow along your whip cable and directly into the unit, which is obviously incorrect. The cable should slope UPWARDS into your unit, not downwards.
So for the winner up here, my neighbor actually installed his mr cool on an elevated platform about 3’ off the ground Not only does it make it easier to repair/maintain but also prevents the snow accumulation issue. It also lets you easily set up anti rodent measures on the base of the platform
Thanks for a very informative video! This would be a great option for those who depend on a large propane tank in order to run their gas furnace. With this unit folks wouldn't have to get propane delivered or could stretch it much longer if they had a gas stove/oven. We have had two Mr. Cool minisplits (DIY) for about 5 years now and they are fantastic and very efficient!
I watched this video along with many other Mr Cool Universal units and so I bought mine as a scratch and dent from Ingram water and electric out of hickory Kentucky just like Mr Cool is. Saved thousands. Posting my install to my account. It was diy for us and I didn't have a clue what I was doing. You can too.
With natural gas/liquid propane prices on the rise, your return on investment will come sooner that later! Next stop for you: Solar?... I just got the Rheem heat pump water heater - eliminating 2 liquid propane ones.
Yes. My thoughts exactly. Installed two ac/heat pumps to supplement the heat in my home. I love having redundancy in systems. I now have 3 layers of heating to choose from. And yes. Solar for a project like this one here is on point if one can swing it. Build something out that is as close to a net zero as possible, but still paying a little out to utilities. If need be, you can always adjust thermostat to help net it to zero. Propane next year and following years will be unmanageable for cost. Installing something like this will only give you a piece of mind in the years to come.
@@denisc958 Clever wording, what do you mean? Convert from electric baseboard? I have ground loop heatpump, split vent heatpump, big woodstove, passive solar, and electric fireplace. So happy to share help if you're interested. Edit: Maybe you were referring only to hot water?
We have a Mr cool Universal and 16 solar panels in north California and we power our house including all heating and AC and pretty much break even on electric usage every year, this unit is amazing
I would change the evaporator coil on your existing furnace and hook it to the mr cool and do a dual fuel setup. Run the heat pump when its warmer and use the gas furnace when its really cold.
I was thinking the same thing but I don’t know if that would be possible with the inverter it probably has some kind of communication with the indoor unit usually those are variable if not they’re multi stage to get the efficiency out of it. But I’d be interested to see if that’s possible with mr cool I know it is possible with Bosch inverter units but they aren’t diy friendly at all and cost a pretty penny
One thing that strikes me about many these heat pumps installed in cold weather country is the dearth of attention paid to insulating the lineset piping. The insulation they provided me on my. 24 and 12 k mr cools seemed for appearances only. Being that it’s inexpensive to bolster the insulation on every exposed section of lineset, it was a rewarding effort to undertake this. This particular video only has a very short run exposed but could still be improved for better performance in hot and cold weather.
If you ran the heating system as a dual fuel to take full advantage of the heat pump through the spring, fall and warmer winter days and reserve the gas furnace for the cold weather, you might see additional savings. The defrost cycles really chew into the efficiency of the heat pumps.
Hey Jon, It’s a fair idea. But after we did our full year evaluation in this video ( th-cam.com/video/7MB64_jVLZk/w-d-xo.html ) doesn’t seem like it would save that much. Thus far we are pretty pleased with the heat pump performance in either season. Thanks for making the comment and for watching!
Usually in snow areas, you'll want to mount it to the house, lifted off the ground to avoid that. I think the requirement is 12" away from the house as to not reduce airflow.
Heatpump + wood heat really compliment each other. They each excel and the other's weakness. I have slightly undersized 1.5 ton inverter split vent + BlazeKing. Heating with wood above 40F is a little difficult. Heating below 25F with heatpump is difficult. BlazeKing is at full capacity below -20F for 1300 sq.ft. Split vent struggles with cooling above 100F.
I will be putting in a MrCool mini split this summer. I live in south carolina so the temps do not get as cold here. I have been heating with gas so I think this system will be a little cheaper. Thank you for posting.
Just installed a 5 ton unit myself old unit wouldnt run below 20 would always kick on my heat strips running the bill high also went from a undersized 3 ton to the correct size cant wait to see how it performs did have to use heat strips for 2 days and already could tell it only ran 2 hrs a day compaired to 10 plus it use to have to run
@@flatearthdays yes i have works grwat old unit would run non stop and hot days wouldnt go below 73 deg now can have it set at 68 deg and it still cycles on and off works geat as a update it works great in the winter no issues and it super quiet can also run off my generator no issues
if in the summer it doesn't run for at least at the very least for 10 minutes at a time (outdoor condenser) that is called short cycling. It is cooling down too fast. That will eventually make your compressor fail. An AC is designed to run 80% of the day. The most energy and stress is when a compressor starts, it puts the most wear and tear and also on other parts like the contactor and capacitor. Time it in the summer if the outdoor condenser runs at the least for 10 minutes at a time.
@@flatearthdays the new inverter compressors dont have a hard start like normal ones and it does run for a few hrs before cycling seems to work great and also doesnt bog a generator like the old ac unit did and required a hard start kit to make it work it slowly comes on and slowly spins up starting with the fans then throttles in the compressor
The lids on heat pumps should have a 'drip edge' detail to prevent snowmelt from doing what it did when snow accumulated and later melted. Meltwater could be 'thrown' that small distance from the body on the machine like an overhang on a house. With time I'm sure they will catch on that colder zones require it :)
Thanks for your vid, great info! I installed a heat pump heater/AC unit last year but have solar on my house so don't pay for electricity, so my heat and AC are free, along with my power and fuel for my EV. I would definitely encourage you install, DIY, solar, it's really easy and cheap, if you buy the panels, racking and inverter, wholesale, and install yourself.
Thank you for the video. I'm also in the midwest and have an old existing heat pump down in a SEER 10-11 category. We had to rely on heat strips in our old heat pump quite a bit this past Feb with sub 10 degree constant temps, and I was eyeing this specific heat pump as a replacement for the past 8 months. Haven't pulled the trigger yet, but really nice to see actual performance in a similar location.
Few bits of helpful info we need. What state are you in? What square foot is your house? What kind of insulation does the house have? What temp do you (your wife) keep the house at?
I had that problem with icing over the front and back. I ended up cutting a piece of plywood about 3 ins wider than the top of the unit. so if any ice formed it would be on the ground and not on the coils or fan. It is pain to try to defrost when windy and ice falling.
Good Update i just got the 60K BTU will install soon i dont have any duct work so need to get a plenum and i will use flex pipes insulated because i will placed it threw the chimney we deleted that is the only way i can get to second floor first floor shod be east, Build a cover for your heatpump it will defrost less and safe $$ i have a cover for mine 24K Mrcool ductless
Here's the problem. Many midwest homes use many more BTU's to heat in the winter than they do to cool in the summer. This unit provides plenty of cooling BTU's but falls short on the required BTU's to heat in the winter. For example my home uses 3 tons (36K) for cooling and 80K BTU's for heating.
Hey slick...., All I can say to that is that we are in ICEE climate zone 5 did not seem to run into any underperformance this winter. You may well enjoy more savings from the heat pump if cooling was run more ( further south ) but even at below zero temps, we never lacked for abundant heat. No doubt, insulation plays an important factor. Plus the inverter brings improved efficiency . Thx for the comment!
I'm on the eastern shore of Virginia, last year and this year we see about a month each in the 20s. I have 2 heat pump systems, one upstairs, and one downstairs. The upstairs is a Goodman 3ton system, the downstairs is a mrcool 2-3 ton universal. The house is 1800sqf. Sadly, due to lack of quality insulation in our house built in 1915, the mrcool cannot keep up, and it should be enough to heat the entire house if it were properly insulated. I start noticing it lacking once it reaches around 40°F. Upstairs keeps warm luckily, likely because all of the downstairs heat just rises up and mixes with the heat from the upstairs unit 🤣
@@bobboscarato1313 I bought a flir camera and am in the process of finding the most effective places to seal and insulate first. My house is only 1800 sqf and should only require 3 tons total for the heat pump. I currently have 3ton upstairs and 3 ton downstairs and it can't keep up. It's a 1915 house and the flir shows no insulation anywhere. I'm going to start with air sealing and putting rockwool under the floor downstairs, and then insulating the attic roof and floor (converting to living space), then I will insulate between floors to cut down the heat rise, and then I would like to have injection foam in the exterior walls but no one does it here within like 150 miles. If I demo room by room I'll put in rockwool and an air barrier, otherwise I'll end up with blown in insulation. Hopefully I'll find something crazy like a huge leak in return air for the downstairs air handler, and it is under the house so it would be pulling in outside air. I get about 77°F from the downstairs registers though so I don't think that's it. Definitely think it's the lack of insulation and air sealing. But I thought 200% capacity would make up for it for now. After I do my sealing I will get a blower door test done.
I'm in Kenora NW Ontario (Canukistan).... where are you?... I'm considering a heat pump but temps here (this morning as example -23c) and are regularly -30c and often colder in the winter.. we only have electricity for heat so currently using baseboards...$$$$
@@alcocklake we're in Sudbury, hit -18C (-26 with wind-chill) last week and they were working well. The key is to look at what temp the heat pump can still deliver 100% thermally. IE all the BTU's advertised. For our model, below -15 it starts to drop off and at -24 (it's lowest advertised rating) it's only slightly over half of it's thermal output. So definitely need a backup heat source when it gets that cold. We still have our hot water rads. But man, for all but the coldest months, it should do the trick. Definitely worth getting your house audited to see how leaky it is. Ours is fairly old and fairly leaky. But we wanted to reduce our emissions so it was an easy step.
@@percyfaith11 sure does, here in Ontario we have 50% nuclear, 25% hydro, 23% natural gas, and the rest a mix of wind, solar and biofuel. The grand plan is to produce over half of our own annual power with solar panels.
What was your Heat Pump electric use "Watts per btu of heat" at -9f during the Feb, 2021Blizards. THAT is the key question here. Here in Texas practically every heat pump in the state quit working at 26F in Feb. 2021, especially when the power failed at 2F which is a different matter. Retail Natural Gas here in Texas is cheaper than Propane. Another important question is how do you make heat when the grid fails. Especially when firewood is $1,000 a cord, no one has propane,the Natural Gas grid is failing and the power is out. Did I mention Gas stations and grocery stores closed, and roads frozen over. And Water going out for over a week.
Yes in an all electric home like mine is pure h***! Electric rates going up all the time and we had to call plumbers to repair frozen pipe! Utilities bribing public officials is a very big problem everywhere. Cost of food and fuel is up to 50% and more! 1500 sq. ft. home!
Hey dwmcever, Not sure about those calcs. But this heat pump works far below 2F. No problem. Your electric woes were part of a failing grid and crazy winter. Maybe you need a generator. With that ad your back-up, you would have no worries with this heat pump. More in this video: th-cam.com/video/7MB64_jVLZk/w-d-xo.html Thx for watching!
I would be curious to see if the inefficiency of air ductwork might have made that cost difference that large compared to the ductless setup with the different head units.
Hey Chase? You are talking about mini-splits. That would be an interesting comparison. But the heat pump is meant for whole house set up. Thx for watching!
There's another cost to consider that may or may not apply to you. Many utility companies charge a fixed fee for gas service in addition to usage. At my old house that had gas, they charged $40 per month plus usage. If you can replace your other appliances with electric and have the gas shut off, you might be able to see additional savings.
So this thing is not an independent heater, its a supplemental heater to existing heating ? Like i have forced air, and this will add more heat cutting the heating time ?
Hey Tony, No. This is a heat pump - an all electric heating and cooling unit for year round HVAC. ( And this one does NOT have an additional heat strip for supplemental heat that some heat pumps have). No other heat source used in the house. Thx for watching.
That’s a great electric rate! -15 is pretty cold. I’ve seen examples of MrCool working below -20. Depends on how well your house is insulated ( how quickly it does or doesn’t lose heat ) / how drafty it is.
Plan to install heat pump and furnace in Midwest however our gas cost is about half of our electricity cost so I’m not sure if it would be worth it I believe our contractor said the heat pump would be set so at 40 degrees our furnace would kick on which basically would be all if winter
Hey littleddie, I chose to go all heat pump because I could buy MrCool universal and save not having and additional expense of a new furnace. Yes - you will save more money buy using gas in winter, but you also have the extra expense of the gas furnace. So it will take a number of years to offset that furnace expense…I would figure that out to make sure it’s worth it. We are currently working on videos covering alternative heat sources to save more money… given current utility hikes, we can try too hard regarding that😃 Thanks for your input and for watching!
I'm not a big fan of wall mounting, due to the potential for the unit to couple noise into the interior of the building through the wall mounting hardware. This may not be an issue if mounted on a garage wall, but this is not ideal for any other part of the house. In my opinion, if there is space to do so, it is much preferred to simply build a reasonably tall ground mounted pedestal to keep the unit up and out of any potential snow piles. This installation has several major non-idealities associated with it. The unit is installed much too close to the two walls, as well as to the ground. For summer cooling, the air clearance around the unit isn't as critical as winter heating mode. In the summer cooling mode, the hot (lower density) exhaust air from the outdoor unit will naturally want to waft upwards by convection which normally keeps the hot air from getting sucked back into the intake side of the unit. However, in winter heating mode, the cold exhaust air is going to be colder and denser than the surrounding ambient air, which makes the cold exhaust hug the ground and much more easily circulate back into the intake side of the outdoor unit. This is easily exacerbated by the possible snow piles which may be laying on the ground, which promotes recirculation of already super cold air into the intake of the unit. This greatly lowers the home heating efficiency as well as the maximum potential heating rate output of the unit. To fix these issues, the unit should be relocated, by raising it up at least +1.5 foot further to sit above the surrounding snow, and the clearance needs to be increased on both the back and right sides of the unit by at least +1 foot in both dimensions. Having a small awning or something above the unit may also help with rain/snow landing on the unit and potentially contributing to freezing issues. The awning should however be high enough above the unit to allow good airflow through the unit. Making these changes would likely make the unit trouble free, in addition to considerably improving the winter heating energy efficiency. Additionally, this model of unit ideally should also not be used, as it has too low of a base efficiency rating (HSPF of only 10-10.5 according to the EPA label). Small mini-split heat pumps (ex: 9000 BTU/h) are currently available with up to 38 SEER cooling rating and 15 HSPF heating efficiency rating. To heat a home with such small units, usually multiple units would be used (ex: one for every room that will be occupied), which has the added potential efficiency benefit of allowing one to turn off a unit altogether (and close the door) in rooms that are not actively occupied by anyone. Common mini-split units also do not rely on duct work, which also helps improve the efficiency in both heating and cooling mode, partly due to the air handler energy consumption losses associated with forcing air through the ductwork and registers, and partly due to thermal transfer between the duct work and the hot/cold attic air, in cases where the duct work is installed in the attic. Attic ductwork is often insulated, but the insulation is far from perfect. The 15 HSPF rating of the superior efficiency mini-splits alone should bring the winter energy cost back down to parity or slightly lower than the natural gas heating cost (since the unit shown in this video is ~10.2 HSPF, which is only ~68% the efficiency of an 15 HSPF unit). If the airflow improvements were also made, the total winter energy cost should be clearly cheaper using the 15 HSPF heat pumps, compared to using a natural gas furnace. Additionally, heating and cooling with electricity potentially enables one to completely eliminate their winter and summer energy bills, if enough solar panels are purchased and deployed. This provides freedom from endless energy bills, and it provides insurance against potential future increases the prices of energy.
@@Fritz_Schlunder The mini splits specify suprisingly little wall clearance. He probably met spec. Mine didn't specify mounting high enough. Fortunately my anchor bolts were long enough to shim it up a little higher. Easy mistake for 1st time install. Definitely avoid wall mount for noise and wall clearance. Elevated 3-6" is enough for ice, snow just needs to be swept away.
Wait till you see how much you save the winter of 2022. I don't know about you but LPG in my area is now $4.36 a gallon and heating oil is over $5. I just installed a ductless mini (HSPF 13, SEER 25.5)
@@Housebarons I think you misunderstood, mini's work to -30C now. The temps here in the Catskills are in the 60's, very uncommon for this area, the heat is off.
Hey Ricky, That was EXACTLY our concern. That why we made this review video. As you can see, The increased efficiency really did a great job. Thx for watching!
Here in Brazil this ac is very popular so I can say some things about it, despite the fact that the manual says that the ac is more efficient at cooling mode it's not. And a very important thing is install the outside unit in a protected place, don't install it in a place that might get rain, snow, sun light etc. If you do that is a fact that you are going to have problems, like your compressor. I don't recommend using it for heating in a high aggressive environment, even here in Brazil we have problems with freezing the unit. Just my opinion.
Great video! Looks like the electric heat pump cost 38% more to operate in 2021 winter than your gas furnace winter 2020 cost. Will be interesting to see an entire year and then calculate your payback time period in view of the fact the heat pump was cheaper than a new condenser on the A/C. Did you notice any difference in the subjective sense of heat? With gas, the air comes out of the registers very warm and feels nice. With my old heat pump, it came out luke warm and no one wanted to stand near it. Thanks for posting that!!!
Hey Yamaha…, Check this out for more complete info… th-cam.com/video/7MB64_jVLZk/w-d-xo.html The air is warm (~90 degrees??) but outside temp has some to do with that). Thx for watching!
Put the mr cool on a on/off peak meter and use the gas the few times you’ll be on off peak and your cost will be cut in half to run the heat pump year round.
since you still have the furnace, you should run the furnace in the colder weather and save the heatpump for more moderate. heatpump cop is not very good in extreme cold, to be competitive with gas you need a cop of 2.5 minimum, in some areas well over 3.
I live in Juneau Alaska. Our average winter temperatures are in the 20s and 30s with occasional dips into single digits or below zero. Last year I paid $3500 for oil to heat my house. This year it will be more. My house was built in 1979 and originally had a heat pump with a forced air system. When I bought the house in 2000 the heat pump was dead and oil was $1.28 a gallon. I converted the system to an oil boiler and it has worked great for over 20 years. But now oil is $5.50 a gallon and it will never again be $1.28. The universal unit seems like a perfect way for me to stop burning fossil fuels and save money at the same time. Since the original circuits for the heat pump are still there, and the ducting system is in place switching over to this unit would be pretty simple. In the absence of a catastrophic avalanche taking out the transmission lines, which has happened once in the past century, all of our electricity is generated by Hydro. Not only will this system, save me money, but it would make me feel much better about my carbon footprint. Thank you for these great videos, you’ve answered most of the questions I have.
Hey Rick.., So with hydro electric how are your rates? We are at about 12-13 cents / kWh in the Midwest. Even if your rates are double ours you should save something🤨 I’d be hopeful you really save serious $$$. Maybe there’s a calculator to compare oil costs for x BTU’s vs. same BTU’s via electric. If you do get one feel free to up date us on your results. I’m very curious how it will shake out! Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons interestingly, our electric rates are about $.12 a kilowatt hour and haven’t gone up since I did the original comparison 22 years ago. I worked up a spreadsheet in excel to compare oil, electricity, propane, cordwood, and propane. Back then it was a no-brainer for oil, and I even put on an indirect hot water heater that ran off the oil boiler. Everything is different now and oil is considerably more expensive than electricity. Even resistance heating at 100% efficiency is slightly cheaper than using oil now. It’s hard to know exactly what multiplier to put in for the heat pump efficiency but if I figure an average multiplier of 2.5, then the heat pump will be about 1/3 the cost as my present oil fired heating.
What are your gas and electric rates? Natural gas has gotten super expensive of late (was $0.35/ccf and now $1.10/ccf), while electricity has only gone up a bit ($0.05/kWh to $0.08/kWh). With those prices, I wonder if the heat pump would be the cheaper option now.
Hey Analogue…, I know our electric is about $0.13 / KWH. Haven’t checked natural gas but I’m sure increases were similar across the USA. When we installed this a couple years ago, gas rates were low yet predicted to rise more than electric so the Mr Cool is likely a better deal now than then. We’ll post our 2 yr update soon. Thx for watching.
Interesting video, I just recently found out about their central heat/air conditioning units, & was interested, but wanted to get some feedback on them. Thanks for the review!
We run Mr Cool dyi units in Missouri. We opted to use separate units for main floor and basement. Basement was previously not heated. Mr Cool customer service is Great. !!!
wondering about installing air handler in the living space instead of basement utility space - laundry room of second story apartment. How much noise is created by the air handler? Vibration? Hanging from ceiling joists or floor or wall mount? Long refrigerant lines versus long duct work.
Hey Deb , How big is you apt? It isn’t crazy loud, but too loud to not be in a closet. Maybe put in attic. You may want to look into a mini-split. They are quiet and are meant to hang on walls. Hope that helps. Thx for watching!
I believe there is a way to determine (set) when you are heating with the Mr. Cool and the furnace. Do you think you could have lowered the winter electric cost by having the gas furnace heat when the temps are 10° and below and the HP when temps were 10° and above.? Did you do or consider that? Obviously you would some how want to have that happen automatically for when you're not home. I have a cabin on Propane and trying to figure a way to do this to reduce my winter propane usage. Thanks for your response.
Hey Dave, Your idea was good. I was just trying to move away from gas as it was a 20 yr old furnace and I didn’t want to get a break down mid -winter. So my solution involved redesigning my existing ductwork to fit the MrCool which effectively detached it from the the gas furnace input. If gas prices ever came way down to stay, I might consider a rebuild of the ducting to make it a dual-fuel-kind of set-up. Very good idea if it’s cost effective with reliable equipment. Thx for watching!
Looking forward to the summer cost analysis. We are looking at switching to this system, but being as our furnace is our only gas appliance, we could shut off our gas service and save ~800 a year. With your numbers, unless the seer rating on the ac is just flat out wrong, we would see some real savings. Was snow accumulation the only problem it had in the winter, and did you get any ice? Would you consider getting rid of your furnace and using a backup heatstrip? Thanks for the vids!
Hey Dixon...., Summer review should be fun! We did not get any ice this year, but I could see where you’d have to stay on guard to make sure the blades don’t get frozen like the melting snow did to us. I am NOT interested in getting a heat strip. They are inefficient and expensive to run. That would be a deal breaker if we HAD TO get a heat strip. Natural gas is the cheapest and best, but since our system is so old, I was looking for a solution which would save $ in a long run rather than buy a whole new gas furnace for winter. My guess is that the money we saved buying a Mr Cool and doing the install will far eclipse the savings buying a new gas furnace to use gas. After this winter’s performance, I don’t think we’ll go back to a nat gas furnace unless electric rates go crazy. Hope that helps.
Even if your (natural) gas furnace is an old 80% efficient unit you still wont actually save money on heating costs by installing an air source heat pump. What you will help to save is the environment by not burning fossil fuels.
Does Mr Cool sell a unit with the blades of the fan on top? I get way too much snow for this to work for me. Last winter we had two snowstorms that were over 18 inches, which would cover the unit with vents on the side - and the last thing I want to do is run outside to uncover the fins constantly for heavy snow fall. This is very interesting on the cost going up with the lost efficiency on the heat pump. Of course, with the higher oil prices now (I used to pay $2.00 a gallon for it, this winter we will pay $4.20 a gallon - a big difference for heating costs). I currently have a heat pump that ten years old was advised not to run below 38 degrees as it would be more expensive, and the system would spend all its time running (defrosting and heating). Would a new system do better? Hard to tell from this unfortunately. Oh, and at night here in CT on a mountain it goes down to many nights in January/February to around -10 Fahrenheit. Thank you.
Hey Sam, I don’t think so - at least not in the Universal style like we installed. But in northern climates, they can be installed off the ground, on a stand. I discovered the snow issue the hard way AFTER installation. I thought I would raise mine but haven’t yet. In my experience this new MrCool universal will do much better than your old heat pump. MrCool has a demo video of one installed in N. Dakota were it heated with temps to -25 F without using a heat strip. We don’t use a heat strip either. Last two years we went to -9 and - 6 F with no problem heating. Here’s a full year recap video. th-cam.com/video/7MB64_jVLZk/w-d-xo.html Home heating oil is pretty pricey ( much more than gas and electric here) so I think you’d save for sure. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask if you have other questions. Just post as a new comment ( rather than a follow up ) and I’ll get notified. Or email through our channel. Thx for watching!
Does the thermostat stay within 1 degree of the set temp or does it have large temperature swings? Also in the summer does the indoor fan turn off at the same time as the outdoor compressor in either cool or dry mode to prevent evaporator coil blow off to reduce humidity like LG does or does the fan just keep running leading to high humidity like Daikin, Fujitsu, and Mitsubishi?
Hey Korey, Yes. The thermostat stays within 1 degree unless it get extremely cold outside… Not sure about summer shut off. I’ll have to check. Thx for watching!
Hey Gustavo, Glad to help. Sure. Solar may help but is it cost effective? It may take many years to recoup the cost of the panels, batteries and installation. It’s s math problem. The higher the cost of electricity in your area, the sooner your pay off. Our electricity costs aren’t horrible. Thx for watching!
My name is Vinny from Pennsylvania. I installed the same unit in a my house and it was very good until the temperature went below -7 degrees and with 14in of snow my unit started to freeze up around the coils. I brushed off the snow the next morning but the coils had about 1in thic of ice around the coils. Have you had any problems like that. Dhums up to your videos. Your video inspired me to install my own thanks.vinny savelli Patton pa.
Hey Vinny, Way to go taking the plunge on installing your own! As you could see in the video, we did have an issue with an 11 inch snowfall which drifted to 2+ feet and blocked the fins. We found that keeping the snow away from the condenser was all we needed to due. The unit does have a periodic defrost most to keep frost and ice off the fins. But it’s no match for larger snowfalls. I should have mounted the condenser up - maybe 1 -2 feet off the ground. The would certainly help. I saw a mr cool video where they demo’ed a unit working for a month in North Dakota working as low as -24 degrees F . So the temp should not be an issue. Hope that helps! Thanks watching and for letting us know where you are viewing from too!
We have Mr Cool in our cabin where it worked well until we left for a month in January where temps were in the 20’s. There is no ice on the unit, the fan works and will blow cold air but it will not work in heat mode. There was no code on the unit either. So what’s our problem?
Hey Victoria, Make sure there is no snow blocking the outside condenser unit. Also, we had similar issue and water had dripped onto fan blade and froze to housing not allowing the fan to turn. Other than that, I’d call MrCool tech support for diagnosis help. Thx for watching!
Hey littleddie, I just manually built the spreadsheet - individual columns for each of the inputs. Most of the inputs come from gas and electric bill history. The temps also came from one of the other utility bill histories which is helpful. Some time ago I bought an energy monitor - they are sensors that attach to the breaker wires in the electrical panel for the circuits you want to monitor - th-cam.com/video/EQsxKNEnj-U/w-d-xo.html That is super helpful because of detail / you can see sec, min, hr, day, month, year usage details. Hope that helps! Thx for watching.
You basically just made a hybrid heat pump and gas central unit with a variable compressor, but at a lower price than usual! Long term I would question the reliability of mr cool vs trane/american standard, but if mr cool is half the price and last half as long then I guess you will break even lol. Only time will tell I guess since Mr cool is a new brand in the market.
Hey Korey, The gas unit is NOT in use at all. I just haven’t removed it in case MrCool went down. You are right, it is unproven so it is a bit of a gamble. But it is less than half price if you do the install, so I could essentially by 3 or more MrCools before paying for a new Trane and installation… so in my eyes, I THINK I’m ahead. But like you said - I’ll be able to tell you in a decade😃 Thx for watching!
I can’t imagine just having a heat pump in that climate. We have one in a milder climate and find that the back up furnace kicks in when it gets too cold or the HP needs defrosting
I was confused about the note that unit contains some inverter and that makes it more efficient. What is the role of inverter ? Is it to be connected directly to 2-3 solar panels ?
Hey Martinko, The inverter takes AC power and changes it to DC. The unit uses DC power to run more efficiently. But your house supplies AC power. So the inverter converts the AC power to DC. This unit is not attached to solar. But solar and wind also use inverters. Thx for watching.
Hey Martian, Only because I installed it too low to the ground. Being new to heat pumps it didn’t occur to me that your condenser is running in winter as well. Learning experience! Thx for watching!
Hey Art, There are some limitations regarding how close you can get to the side vents so that’s a little tricky. Maybe on top a bit… but thx for input and for watching!
@@Housebarons I'm in MI and looking at alternatives after our furnace finally gave out. Wondering if even an angled piece of oh, roof attached to the wall over this thing would help. Kinda like what you might find over a door, or maybe even over a window. OR... build a box with pvc pipe around it, put a solid piece on top to keep rain out and wrap the rest with weed barrier material. That would let plenty of air through but would keep drifting snow out of it.
I made a small roof for my unit to stop the melt freezing the fan that you mentioned. They should build the units with a lip on the top edge to prevent that. Also I hope you never need warranty from MrCool, they are almost impossible to contact and slow to respond, just horrible service.
interested to see some summer results. What I find annoying is that my gas bill will be 28 bucks even if I don't use any gas. Yours is probably the same...so keep that in mind if doing a comparo of the TOTAL costs...
Our electric cooperative charges a $30/month access fee on top of the $0.11/kWh rate. That is calculated as the base cost of getting the power to your house and independent of how much you use.
@@COSolar6419 I know...but they are irrelevant unless you go off grid..you HAVE to have electricity. You don't HAVE to have nat gas...has to be considered when costing out a solution.
Well how was the Summer cooling bill for 2012 ? and does your utility company have a discounted rate for ( experimental heat and cooling ) ? I have (2) separate meters in place for a water to air heat pump and lighting, I'm in the middle of the 4-5 ton 18 seer split unit installation .....we will see what the outcome is !! Thanks for the video and information
Hey Doug, Perfect timing. Just posted our summer review 2 days ago: th-cam.com/video/eQocQwc_UnE/w-d-xo.html No discounted rate. All the numbers are in the video. Hope your experience goes well! Thx for watching!
I think the point is DIY installation, not servicing -- for which an EPA license might be required when handling the refrigerant. The line sets are pre charged and have quick-connect fittings that require no braising, nitrogen, or vacuum. Some locations may require permits for HVAC replacements (not required where I live). And, for a new install, an electrician should install the 240 volt service. At one time a diagnostic / servicing manual was posted on line somewhere, but I haven't been able to find it lately.
I am planning an install for a Mr Cool 4-5 ton Universal unit and I am curious how much condensation are you getting from the outdoor unit? I am planning on moving the location of the outside compressor unit to an upstairs balcony but I am concerned the condensation might be too great to control and divert off that deck surface? Thanks for any help.
To get around the snow drifting issues, you can mount the condenser on snow legs, an elevated stand, or a wall mount. You could build a roof or shield over the condenser to minimize the frozen fan concern or perhaps install it under a deck or in another sheltered location as long as there is adequate airflow. Also, installation in a corner is not the best location for obvious reasons...including leaves and debris that may accumulate behind the condenser. PS -- I'd like to see a comparison after this (2021-22) winter when I believe gas prices will be 2-3 times higher than they were in years past.
Hey vadeltachi…, Thanks for the ideas. Good points. And yes - It might make a great comparison after this winter. Will do - so keep and eye out in spring! Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons A few questions for you: Does the outdoor fan speed modulate as the compressor does or does it operate at the same speed all the time? What kind of indoor thermostat do you use? Did you have any issues with the condenser defrosting during damp weather? Great video and thank you for keeping us updated!
Heat pumps are going to be much more efficient in the spring and fall where you live. It looked like you were already saving money in October and November compared to the previous year with the heat pump. You should do it over the year comparison
Hey d…, True. Check this out; Mr Cool Universal Heat Pump Full Year Review : Heat Pump Installation, Performance and Savings th-cam.com/video/7MB64_jVLZk/w-d-xo.html Thx for watching!
Hey nbb…, I’m a little biased but $6.20 a gallon would make me look for other solutions. If your winter temps aren’t extreme, this might work as a complete package replacement. I replaced a nat gas furnace and am pretty happy thus far. Check out our latest winter video: th-cam.com/video/O2LsoTfe0CA/w-d-xo.html Thx for watching!
Hey DUC…, If you mean refrigerant lines … the modern refrigerant is r410a and is not same as old Freon. Plus pressures are higher. Old lines won’t endure. If you talking electric, then you need to make sure size is the same. Hope that helps. Thx for watching!
since the cost of electric varies it's not apples to apples for us to draw a conclusion from your results. The Kwh is way up for the second year with Mr Cool. 2020 you had a rate of 18/kw but in '21 it was 13 so what's with that? Use more pay less? What's your rate schedule?
Hey n.gineer…, If nothing else you can look at kWh totals to get something a bit concrete. In our latest winter review video, th-cam.com/video/O2LsoTfe0CA/w-d-xo.html I included in the latest chart a breakdown of cents/ kWh. Honestly, I have not paid close enough attention season to season since the very beginning. I assumed summer was peak electric and we oaid more then. But what you pointed out is a previous higher season cost in winter 2020 - that I can’t explain. This fall I did call my electric company and they said: .1107 / 1st 500 kWh .0917 all kWh after that Plus .020 use fee on everything So I’m wondering how any month can be over .1307 Thank you for pointing that out. I’ll dig deeper. And thx for watching!
Hey Kevin, We replaced a 20 yr old Trane a/c and nat gas furnace. It was a 2.5 ton. The mr .cool can be either 2.0 or 3.0. - basically a switch. We chose 3.0 ton. Thx for watching!
Hey Trav, It’s not a straight number. But in the review videos, that price is around 13 cents. Here are links to the follow up videos: Summer Performance Review after Mr Cool Universal Heat Pump install: cooling costs and savings th-cam.com/video/eQocQwc_UnE/w-d-xo.html Mr Cool Universal Heat Pump Full Year Review : Heat Pump Installation, Performance and Savings th-cam.com/video/7MB64_jVLZk/w-d-xo.html Hope that helps. Thx for watching!
You stated it costs approximately $250 more to heat with heat pump. I noticed your gas bill for those months was still $20 or so. If you don't have gas at all you save that meter fee. $45 month in my area. So x 12 months and that's almost $600 I can apply against electric bill.
Hey Mike, I debated about that. Not sure it’s needed unless you get a lot of freeze thaw freeze cycles where snow would melt and then later freeze on the fan blade. Easy fix is to brush snow off from time to time. A bigger concern for us is to keep the heat pump condenser off the ground. Ours is about 6 inches off the ground. I’m thinking about raising it to 12 -18 inches - keeps snow drifts from blocking the fins. Hope that helps? Thx for watching!
Just installed this 3 ton heat pump in my 1958 built home. Ran new duct and all that. Seems to be cooling well so far but we're still in beginning stages. I had to change my fan speed to medium on air handler. Did you switch yours? Just curious thanks for the vid.
Hey Nick, That’s certainly a viable option. . I however opted for the heat pump because I had the tools and skills to install it myself with the pre-charged lineset. The other route would have forced me to employ an HVAC company which would have been thousands in addition install costs. Not a good ROI for my liking. Thx for watching!
Hey Barry, We have r-15 walls and r-50 to r-60 in attic. 20yr old windows, house is 20 yrs old. The plenum and ducting is in laundry room in finished basement, so no real loss in that respect. We went from gas to electric and up from 2.5 ton to 3.0 ton so it cost more but not by a huge amount. We will be posting our summer review and full yr review in the next couple of weeks. But our experience was positive - hope the same for you! Thx for watching!
Hey Bruno, So many factors to consider like house size, how well is it insulated.... , how cold does it get where you live? What do you heat with now.? Mr Cool says heat heats at 100% efficiency to -5 degrees. It supposedly can heat down to -22. Do you have the option of supplemental heat source if it gets too cold tor too long? Lots to figure. Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons, thanks for the reply. Now I use an electric furnace 70k BTU, the local contracts quote me a 3 ton GE $12k. My house is 1900 sqft including the basement, the winter here is between -10 and - 15 Celsius. I need to save money with that unit otherwise I keep my electric furnace, the GE contractor told me I will be saving between 40% and 60%.
Hey Bruno, Hey Bruno, Those temps seem warmer than us. Seems like 12k is pretty pricey. We were in a similar situation. Our house is 1900 not including the basement where the vents are closed. We haveabout r-50 insulation in the attic, 20 yr old windows. If you were thinking of getting the Mr. Cool Universal and installing it yourself, you’d stand a similar chance of saving as we did. If you are having an HVAC contractor install, then maybe going with their product would give you a better warranty?? Or easier call back if something isn’t right. I guess the big question is - how would you save 40-60% ? Is the unit they quoted more efficient than the old one? Just look at you past heat bill and deduct 50% per year and you’ll see how long it will take till you break even on their unit. Lots to consider!!
Hi Bruno. The Mr. Cool will absolutely save $$$ over the 70KW electric furnace. However if you don't have a back up heat source you could potentially run into some days where it doesn't keep up or quits altogether. Consider having the heat strips installed with the MR. Cool. if you have no supplementary heat. I am in a similar position to you in central BC interior, 70KW electric furnace, no gas connection, 2000 sq ft house built in 1977, wood stove for primary heat, etc. I want to go with a MR. Cool for primary and use the wood for back-up, you know save the environment and all that blah blah. There are online calculators that will approximate the savings you can expect.
Looks like the condenser is installed real low, doesn’t it have a defrost cycle in which it has to be able to drain water without the water freezing and ruining the bottom of the unit
@@Housebarons well I install these systems all the time, but the Mitsubishi ones, and we usually put them on a Heatpump stand that gets them atleast a foot off the ground.
If you are wondering about performance details and costs we've experienced with a Mr Cool Universal heat pump, then be sure to check out our Mr Cool HVAC playlist.
th-cam.com/play/PLExVGissIl-GdKsUBhF3c0fQ6E_o6oOaZ.html
We have tried to answer as many questions as we could imagine in the 17+ videos in this playlist - hopefully they help you!
The price of the unit we bought is around $3800 ( as of June 2024) on Amazon :
2 to 3 Ton 18 SEER Variable Speed MrCool Universal Central Heat Pump Split System - Upflow/Horizontal with Quick Connect Lineset - 15 Feet
amzn.to/3WE8SfI
Thats our affiliate link. Thx in advance for your support if you use it - it's free for you to use and if you do, Amazon may send us a small commission. it helps keep our channel going! We do appreciate your help!
Did you get your summer numbers to compare?
A quick note about something I noticed straight off: the whip cable from your disconnect box is routed incorrectly. It should have a drip loop, so that rain/water that collects and drips down the cable ends up dripping off the bottom of the loop. Your cable is too short, so it slopes directly into your unit. Any rainwater is going to flow along your whip cable and directly into the unit, which is obviously incorrect. The cable should slope UPWARDS into your unit, not downwards.
Nice catch.. and thanks for the pro tip. I'll be installing one this Spring and I will make sure that happens.
That flexible metallic conduit and it's fittings aren't water tight either. That would be a red tag in my area.
So for the winner up here, my neighbor actually installed his mr cool on an elevated platform about 3’ off the ground
Not only does it make it easier to repair/maintain but also prevents the snow accumulation issue.
It also lets you easily set up anti rodent measures on the base of the platform
This is code to bring it up I think 6 inches minimum
I installed my unit about 39” 3.5 feet high. However I got no snow so far this winter
Thanks for a very informative video! This would be a great option for those who depend on a large propane tank in order to run their gas furnace. With this unit folks wouldn't have to get propane delivered or could stretch it much longer if they had a gas stove/oven. We have had two Mr. Cool minisplits (DIY) for about 5 years now and they are fantastic and very efficient!
Hey Arminius,
You are absolutely right! Thx for watching!
Exactly my situation
I watched this video along with many other Mr Cool Universal units and so I bought mine as a scratch and dent from Ingram water and electric out of hickory Kentucky just like Mr Cool is. Saved thousands. Posting my install to my account. It was diy for us and I didn't have a clue what I was doing. You can too.
With natural gas/liquid propane prices on the rise, your return on investment will come sooner that later! Next stop for you: Solar?... I just got the Rheem heat pump water heater - eliminating 2 liquid propane ones.
Yes. My thoughts exactly. Installed two ac/heat pumps to supplement the heat in my home. I love having redundancy in systems. I now have 3 layers of heating to choose from. And yes. Solar for a project like this one here is on point if one can swing it. Build something out that is as close to a net zero as possible, but still paying a little out to utilities. If need be, you can always adjust thermostat to help net it to zero.
Propane next year and following years will be unmanageable for cost. Installing something like this will only give you a piece of mind in the years to come.
I have done extensive studies vs propane. The heatpump is cheaper sub zero but depending on unit vs home sizes, capacity might not be enough.
Ha, I'm looking to convert to propaine!
@@denisc958 Clever wording, what do you mean? Convert from electric baseboard? I have ground loop heatpump, split vent heatpump, big woodstove, passive solar, and electric fireplace. So happy to share help if you're interested.
Edit: Maybe you were referring only to hot water?
We have a Mr cool Universal and 16 solar panels in north California and we power our house including all heating and AC and pretty much break even on electric usage every year, this unit is amazing
Hey Jason,
Sounds like a sweet set up ! Thx for watching!
I would change the evaporator coil on your existing furnace and hook it to the mr cool and do a dual fuel setup. Run the heat pump when its warmer and use the gas furnace when its really cold.
I was thinking the same thing but I don’t know if that would be possible with the inverter it probably has some kind of communication with the indoor unit usually those are variable if not they’re multi stage to get the efficiency out of it. But I’d be interested to see if that’s possible with mr cool I know it is possible with Bosch inverter units but they aren’t diy friendly at all and cost a pretty penny
Exactly there is most likely way more cost savings running gas on super cold days
One thing that strikes me about many these heat pumps installed in cold weather country is the dearth of attention paid to insulating the lineset piping. The insulation they provided me on my. 24 and 12 k mr cools seemed for appearances only. Being that it’s inexpensive to bolster the insulation on every exposed section of lineset, it was a rewarding effort to undertake this. This particular video only has a very short run exposed but could still be improved for better performance in hot and cold weather.
Hey slip…,
Thx for watching!
A very honest straight forward video. Maybe build a small structure around the pump similar to a cupola and keep the snow and rain off of it.
Hey Oby,
Thanks for the idea and thx for watching.
Unless you build it yourself, it me cost you another 15 thousand dollars!
If you ran the heating system as a dual fuel to take full advantage of the heat pump through the spring, fall and warmer winter days and reserve the gas furnace for the cold weather, you might see additional savings. The defrost cycles really chew into the efficiency of the heat pumps.
Hey Jon,
It’s a fair idea. But after we did our full year evaluation in this video ( th-cam.com/video/7MB64_jVLZk/w-d-xo.html ) doesn’t seem like it would save that much.
Thus far we are pretty pleased with the heat pump performance in either season.
Thanks for making the comment and for watching!
We run these I Canada. They're great. If you have snow, you should build a little roof. Companies here sell molded plastic 'igloos' for them.
Hey Morgan,
Thx fir the input and the extra info!. And thx for watching.
Usually in snow areas, you'll want to mount it to the house, lifted off the ground to avoid that. I think the requirement is 12" away from the house as to not reduce airflow.
Would love to see the “igloos” is there a company or product name I could search for?
Can you suggest brand names to search for that produce / sell those plastic “igloos”?
Greenfoot Mini Split Snow Cover--th-cam.com/video/F9VFSRe2aac/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=GreenfootEnergySolutions
I use a Mr. Cool mini split for summer A/C and fall and spring heat. But I use a Harman P-68 pellet stove for heat during the winter in Minnesota.
Hey Captain,
That sounds like a great set-up!
Thx for watching
Heatpump + wood heat really compliment each other. They each excel and the other's weakness. I have slightly undersized 1.5 ton inverter split vent + BlazeKing. Heating with wood above 40F is a little difficult. Heating below 25F with heatpump is difficult. BlazeKing is at full capacity below -20F for 1300 sq.ft. Split vent struggles with cooling above 100F.
Add a long drip edge above so water doesn't hit the fan . Good job I will consider this and I supplement my house with solar batteries.
Hey Michael,
Thx for the tip and input!
We use snow fence and go a few feet away from the unit to keep snow off. Take the snow fence down after heavy part of winter is over.
Hey Vince,
Nice tip! Thx for watching!
I've been looking for a video like this. Thanks for posting! I hit the sub button. Looking forward to the summer review.
Hey Free...,
Awesome, WELCOME ! Glad you are with us - stay tuned for summer!
@@Housebarons can you give us a preview of how things are going for the summer temps? Thanks
I will be putting in a MrCool mini split this summer. I live in south carolina so the temps do not get as cold here. I have been heating with gas so I think this system will be a little cheaper. Thank you for posting.
Just installed a 5 ton unit myself old unit wouldnt run below 20 would always kick on my heat strips running the bill high also went from a undersized 3 ton to the correct size cant wait to see how it performs did have to use heat strips for 2 days and already could tell it only ran 2 hrs a day compaired to 10 plus it use to have to run
Hey James,
Very interesting. Thx for sharing and watching!
You went from a 3 ton to a 5 ton? Have you run Ac in the summer yet?
@@flatearthdays yes i have works grwat old unit would run non stop and hot days wouldnt go below 73 deg now can have it set at 68 deg and it still cycles on and off works geat as a update it works great in the winter no issues and it super quiet can also run off my generator no issues
if in the summer it doesn't run for at least at the very least for 10 minutes at a time (outdoor condenser) that is called short cycling. It is cooling down too fast. That will eventually make your compressor fail. An AC is designed to run 80% of the day. The most energy and stress is when a compressor starts, it puts the most wear and tear and also on other parts like the contactor and capacitor. Time it in the summer if the outdoor condenser runs at the least for 10 minutes at a time.
@@flatearthdays the new inverter compressors dont have a hard start like normal ones and it does run for a few hrs before cycling seems to work great and also doesnt bog a generator like the old ac unit did and required a hard start kit to make it work it slowly comes on and slowly spins up starting with the fans then throttles in the compressor
The lids on heat pumps should have a 'drip edge' detail to prevent snowmelt from doing what it did when snow accumulated and later melted. Meltwater could be 'thrown' that small distance from the body on the machine like an overhang on a house. With time I'm sure they will catch on that colder zones require it :)
Hey Amanda,
You are on it exactly…. Would not add much if anything to the production costs - we’ll see if they catch on, Thx for watching!
It's a Mr. Cool. Very cheapest.
May want to build a shelter around the compressor to keep the snow away/off.
Great video and looking forward to your summer results.
Yep that is a normal way to keep the snow and ice off.
Thanks for your vid, great info! I installed a heat pump heater/AC unit last year but have solar on my house so don't pay for electricity, so my heat and AC are free, along with my power and fuel for my EV. I would definitely encourage you install, DIY, solar, it's really easy and cheap, if you buy the panels, racking and inverter, wholesale, and install yourself.
Hey Russell,
Yes. Love the solar idea - DIY. Better payoff that way. Maybe someday.
Thx for watching!
Thank you for the video. I'm also in the midwest and have an old existing heat pump down in a SEER 10-11 category. We had to rely on heat strips in our old heat pump quite a bit this past Feb with sub 10 degree constant temps, and I was eyeing this specific heat pump as a replacement for the past 8 months. Haven't pulled the trigger yet, but really nice to see actual performance in a similar location.
Hey Steve,
Yes. The best feature is us NOT needing those costly heat strips!
Thx for watching!
Few bits of helpful info we need.
What state are you in?
What square foot is your house?
What kind of insulation does the house have?
What temp do you (your wife) keep the house at?
Yes please!
Absolutely; accurate heat loads are also needed and location of outdoor unit is very critical unless you have a ground-source heat pump!
I had that problem with icing over the front and back. I ended up cutting a piece of plywood about 3 ins wider than the top of the unit. so if any ice formed it would be on the ground and not on the coils or fan. It is pain to try to defrost when windy and ice falling.
Hey Alex,
Nice tip. Thx for watching!
Good Update i just got the 60K BTU will install soon i dont have any duct work so need to get a plenum and i will use flex pipes insulated because i will placed it threw the chimney we deleted that is the only way i can get to second floor first floor shod be east, Build a cover for your heatpump it will defrost less and safe $$ i have a cover for mine 24K Mrcool ductless
Hey Pontos,
Good plan. Hope it goes well. Yes. I may have to build a roof/cover for mine. Live and learn.
Thx for watching!
Here's the problem. Many midwest homes use many more BTU's to heat in the winter than they do to cool in the summer. This unit provides plenty of cooling BTU's but falls short on the required BTU's to heat in the winter. For example my home uses 3 tons (36K) for cooling and 80K BTU's for heating.
Hey slick....,
All I can say to that is that we are in ICEE climate zone 5 did not seem to run into any underperformance this winter. You may well enjoy more savings from the heat pump if cooling was run more ( further south ) but even at below zero temps, we never lacked for abundant heat. No doubt, insulation plays an important factor. Plus the inverter brings improved efficiency .
Thx for the comment!
@@Housebarons R38 insulation in the attic; R26 in the outer walls; triple glass storm windows; etc.
I'm on the eastern shore of Virginia, last year and this year we see about a month each in the 20s. I have 2 heat pump systems, one upstairs, and one downstairs. The upstairs is a Goodman 3ton system, the downstairs is a mrcool 2-3 ton universal. The house is 1800sqf.
Sadly, due to lack of quality insulation in our house built in 1915, the mrcool cannot keep up, and it should be enough to heat the entire house if it were properly insulated. I start noticing it lacking once it reaches around 40°F. Upstairs keeps warm luckily, likely because all of the downstairs heat just rises up and mixes with the heat from the upstairs unit 🤣
@@miigotu Re-insulate walls, attic, storm windows and reduce capacity of a/c;
adjust heat loads! calculations needed!
@@bobboscarato1313 I bought a flir camera and am in the process of finding the most effective places to seal and insulate first. My house is only 1800 sqf and should only require 3 tons total for the heat pump. I currently have 3ton upstairs and 3 ton downstairs and it can't keep up. It's a 1915 house and the flir shows no insulation anywhere. I'm going to start with air sealing and putting rockwool under the floor downstairs, and then insulating the attic roof and floor (converting to living space), then I will insulate between floors to cut down the heat rise, and then I would like to have injection foam in the exterior walls but no one does it here within like 150 miles. If I demo room by room I'll put in rockwool and an air barrier, otherwise I'll end up with blown in insulation.
Hopefully I'll find something crazy like a huge leak in return air for the downstairs air handler, and it is under the house so it would be pulling in outside air. I get about 77°F from the downstairs registers though so I don't think that's it.
Definitely think it's the lack of insulation and air sealing. But I thought 200% capacity would make up for it for now. After I do my sealing I will get a blower door test done.
Cost more to heat but the emissions savings! Huge! Good on you! We just installed a Fujitsu Haylcon in Northern Ontario.
Hey Ryan,
Hope it works well for you…
Thx for watching.
I'm in Kenora NW Ontario (Canukistan).... where are you?... I'm considering a heat pump but temps here (this morning as example -23c) and are regularly -30c and often colder in the winter.. we only have electricity for heat so currently using baseboards...$$$$
@@alcocklake we're in Sudbury, hit -18C (-26 with wind-chill) last week and they were working well. The key is to look at what temp the heat pump can still deliver 100% thermally. IE all the BTU's advertised. For our model, below -15 it starts to drop off and at -24 (it's lowest advertised rating) it's only slightly over half of it's thermal output. So definitely need a backup heat source when it gets that cold. We still have our hot water rads. But man, for all but the coldest months, it should do the trick. Definitely worth getting your house audited to see how leaky it is. Ours is fairly old and fairly leaky. But we wanted to reduce our emissions so it was an easy step.
Emissions savings? Depends on how all that electricity is generated doesn't it?
@@percyfaith11 sure does, here in Ontario we have 50% nuclear, 25% hydro, 23% natural gas, and the rest a mix of wind, solar and biofuel. The grand plan is to produce over half of our own annual power with solar panels.
What was your Heat Pump electric use "Watts per btu of heat" at -9f during the Feb, 2021Blizards. THAT is the key question here. Here in Texas practically every heat pump in the state quit working at 26F in Feb. 2021, especially when the power failed at 2F which is a different matter. Retail Natural Gas here in Texas is cheaper than Propane. Another important question is how do you make heat when the grid fails. Especially when firewood is $1,000 a cord, no one has propane,the Natural Gas grid is failing and the power is out. Did I mention Gas stations and grocery stores closed, and roads frozen over. And Water going out for over a week.
Yes in an all electric home like mine is pure h***! Electric rates going up all the time and we had to call plumbers to repair frozen pipe! Utilities bribing public officials is a very big problem everywhere. Cost of food and fuel is up to 50% and more! 1500 sq. ft. home!
Hey dwmcever,
Not sure about those calcs. But this heat pump works far below 2F. No problem.
Your electric woes were part of a failing grid and crazy winter.
Maybe you need a generator. With that ad your back-up, you would have no worries with this heat pump.
More in this video:
th-cam.com/video/7MB64_jVLZk/w-d-xo.html
Thx for watching!
We didn't have water for 3 days; our local pump system was out (we keep bottled water).
@@Housebarons Have installed 3500watt inverter generator and a 2Kwatt Solar system w/ 5KW Battery bank. And an backup Propane Heater.
I would be curious to see if the inefficiency of air ductwork might have made that cost difference that large compared to the ductless setup with the different head units.
Hey Chase?
You are talking about mini-splits. That would be an interesting comparison. But the heat pump is meant for whole house set up.
Thx for watching!
There's another cost to consider that may or may not apply to you. Many utility companies charge a fixed fee for gas service in addition to usage. At my old house that had gas, they charged $40 per month plus usage. If you can replace your other appliances with electric and have the gas shut off, you might be able to see additional savings.
Hey Mike,
Thx for the tip and Thx for watching!
When power goes out gas is a great alternative. InTexas those with gas heater and stoves still had ways to cook and heat.
@@sarahlockwood8133 how did they start without electricity?
I appreciate the video and analysis. I am on propane and considering going this route. I think I would save quite a bit.
Hey Phil,
Yes- propane is really expensive! Thx for watching!
Thanks for the update!
Hey Webster,
Glad to. Thx for watching!
So this thing is not an independent heater, its a supplemental heater to existing heating ?
Like i have forced air, and this will add more heat cutting the heating time ?
Hey Tony,
No. This is a heat pump - an all electric heating and cooling unit for year round HVAC.
( And this one does NOT have an additional heat strip for supplemental heat that some heat pumps have). No other heat source used in the house.
Thx for watching.
Here in WA where I’m next to the hydro power plant, 8¢ a Kilo watt, cheap to use electric heat in this region. And it got -15°
That’s a great electric rate!
-15 is pretty cold. I’ve seen examples of MrCool working below -20. Depends on how well your house is insulated ( how quickly it does or doesn’t lose heat ) / how drafty it is.
Plan to install heat pump and furnace in Midwest however our gas cost is about half of our electricity cost so I’m not sure if it would be worth it I believe our contractor said the heat pump would be set so at 40 degrees our furnace would kick on which basically would be all if winter
Hey littleddie,
I chose to go all heat pump because I could buy MrCool universal and save not having and additional expense of a new furnace.
Yes - you will save more money buy using gas in winter, but you also have the extra expense of the gas furnace. So it will take a number of years to offset that furnace expense…I would figure that out to make sure it’s worth it.
We are currently working on videos covering alternative heat sources to save more money… given current utility hikes, we can try too hard regarding that😃
Thanks for your input and for watching!
You should have wall mounted your unit that would help with the snow accumulating at the bottom of the heater coil
Hey Justin,
That’s certainly an option. Thx for watching.
I'm not a big fan of wall mounting, due to the potential for the unit to couple noise into the interior of the building through the wall mounting hardware. This may not be an issue if mounted on a garage wall, but this is not ideal for any other part of the house. In my opinion, if there is space to do so, it is much preferred to simply build a reasonably tall ground mounted pedestal to keep the unit up and out of any potential snow piles.
This installation has several major non-idealities associated with it. The unit is installed much too close to the two walls, as well as to the ground. For summer cooling, the air clearance around the unit isn't as critical as winter heating mode. In the summer cooling mode, the hot (lower density) exhaust air from the outdoor unit will naturally want to waft upwards by convection which normally keeps the hot air from getting sucked back into the intake side of the unit. However, in winter heating mode, the cold exhaust air is going to be colder and denser than the surrounding ambient air, which makes the cold exhaust hug the ground and much more easily circulate back into the intake side of the outdoor unit. This is easily exacerbated by the possible snow piles which may be laying on the ground, which promotes recirculation of already super cold air into the intake of the unit. This greatly lowers the home heating efficiency as well as the maximum potential heating rate output of the unit.
To fix these issues, the unit should be relocated, by raising it up at least +1.5 foot further to sit above the surrounding snow, and the clearance needs to be increased on both the back and right sides of the unit by at least +1 foot in both dimensions. Having a small awning or something above the unit may also help with rain/snow landing on the unit and potentially contributing to freezing issues. The awning should however be high enough above the unit to allow good airflow through the unit.
Making these changes would likely make the unit trouble free, in addition to considerably improving the winter heating energy efficiency.
Additionally, this model of unit ideally should also not be used, as it has too low of a base efficiency rating (HSPF of only 10-10.5 according to the EPA label). Small mini-split heat pumps (ex: 9000 BTU/h) are currently available with up to 38 SEER cooling rating and 15 HSPF heating efficiency rating. To heat a home with such small units, usually multiple units would be used (ex: one for every room that will be occupied), which has the added potential efficiency benefit of allowing one to turn off a unit altogether (and close the door) in rooms that are not actively occupied by anyone. Common mini-split units also do not rely on duct work, which also helps improve the efficiency in both heating and cooling mode, partly due to the air handler energy consumption losses associated with forcing air through the ductwork and registers, and partly due to thermal transfer between the duct work and the hot/cold attic air, in cases where the duct work is installed in the attic. Attic ductwork is often insulated, but the insulation is far from perfect.
The 15 HSPF rating of the superior efficiency mini-splits alone should bring the winter energy cost back down to parity or slightly lower than the natural gas heating cost (since the unit shown in this video is ~10.2 HSPF, which is only ~68% the efficiency of an 15 HSPF unit). If the airflow improvements were also made, the total winter energy cost should be clearly cheaper using the 15 HSPF heat pumps, compared to using a natural gas furnace. Additionally, heating and cooling with electricity potentially enables one to completely eliminate their winter and summer energy bills, if enough solar panels are purchased and deployed. This provides freedom from endless energy bills, and it provides insurance against potential future increases the prices of energy.
@@Fritz_Schlunder The mini splits specify suprisingly little wall clearance. He probably met spec. Mine didn't specify mounting high enough. Fortunately my anchor bolts were long enough to shim it up a little higher. Easy mistake for 1st time install. Definitely avoid wall mount for noise and wall clearance. Elevated 3-6" is enough for ice, snow just needs to be swept away.
@@Fritz_Schlunder most in the U.S.A. won't install mini-splits because Americans think they are ugly and hurt resale value.
Wait till you see how much you save the winter of 2022. I don't know about you but LPG in my area is now $4.36 a gallon and heating oil is over $5. I just installed a ductless mini (HSPF 13, SEER 25.5)
Hey Mos,
Wow! 25 seer ! Nice.
Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons These things are getting incredibly good now, -30C(-22F).
Hey Mos,
WHAT? Already? Yikes! I hope you enjoy cold temps! 😳
@@Housebarons I think you misunderstood, mini's work to -30C now. The temps here in the Catskills are in the 60's, very uncommon for this area, the heat is off.
Thanks for sharing. I'm considering a heat pump. But I'm worry about the performance on winter
Hey Ricky,
That was EXACTLY our concern. That why we made this review video. As you can see,
The increased efficiency really did a great job.
Thx for watching!
Here in Brazil this ac is very popular so I can say some things about it, despite the fact that the manual says that the ac is more efficient at cooling mode it's not. And a very important thing is install the outside unit in a protected place, don't install it in a place that might get rain, snow, sun light etc. If you do that is a fact that you are going to have problems, like your compressor. I don't recommend using it for heating in a high aggressive environment, even here in Brazil we have problems with freezing the unit. Just my opinion.
Hey Danilo,
Thx for the input and for watching!
Great video! Looks like the electric heat pump cost 38% more to operate in 2021 winter than your gas furnace winter 2020 cost. Will be interesting to see an entire year and then calculate your payback time period in view of the fact the heat pump was cheaper than a new condenser on the A/C. Did you notice any difference in the subjective sense of heat? With gas, the air comes out of the registers very warm and feels nice. With my old heat pump, it came out luke warm and no one wanted to stand near it. Thanks for posting that!!!
Hey Yamaha…,
Check this out for more complete info…
th-cam.com/video/7MB64_jVLZk/w-d-xo.html
The air is warm (~90 degrees??) but outside temp has some to do with that).
Thx for watching!
Put the mr cool on a on/off peak meter and use the gas the few times you’ll be on off peak and your cost will be cut in half to run the heat pump year round.
Hey Tom,
Could you elaborate on this comment? I’m interested in saving $ !
since you still have the furnace, you should run the furnace in the colder weather and save the heatpump for more moderate. heatpump cop is not very good in extreme cold, to be competitive with gas you need a cop of 2.5 minimum, in some areas well over 3.
In your case it probably would make sense to mount the condenser higher where it would be above the snow.
Hey Richard,
Yup. Lesson learned. On my to do list!
Thx for watching!
Looking to get one. I might build a small roof structure over it to prevent snow and ice build up
I just replaced my propane furnace with a mini split and was thinking about doing the same thing
I live in Juneau Alaska. Our average winter temperatures are in the 20s and 30s with occasional dips into single digits or below zero. Last year I paid $3500 for oil to heat my house. This year it will be more.
My house was built in 1979 and originally had a heat pump with a forced air system. When I bought the house in 2000 the heat pump was dead and oil was $1.28 a gallon.
I converted the system to an oil boiler and it has worked great for over 20 years. But now oil is $5.50 a gallon and it will never again be $1.28. The universal unit seems like a perfect way for me to stop burning fossil fuels and save money at the same time.
Since the original circuits for the heat pump are still there, and the ducting system is in place switching over to this unit would be pretty simple. In the absence of a catastrophic avalanche taking out the transmission lines, which has happened once in the past century, all of our electricity is generated by Hydro. Not only will this system, save me money, but it would make me feel much better about my carbon footprint.
Thank you for these great videos, you’ve answered most of the questions I have.
Hey Rick..,
So with hydro electric how are your rates? We are at about 12-13 cents / kWh in the Midwest. Even if your rates are double ours you should save something🤨
I’d be hopeful you really save serious $$$.
Maybe there’s a calculator to compare oil costs for x BTU’s vs. same BTU’s via electric.
If you do get one feel free to up date us on your results. I’m very curious how it will shake out!
Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons interestingly, our electric rates are about $.12 a kilowatt hour and haven’t gone up since I did the original comparison 22 years ago. I worked up a spreadsheet in excel to compare oil, electricity, propane, cordwood, and propane.
Back then it was a no-brainer for oil, and I even put on an indirect hot water heater that ran off the oil boiler. Everything is different now and oil is considerably more expensive than electricity. Even resistance heating at 100% efficiency is slightly cheaper than using oil now. It’s hard to know exactly what multiplier to put in for the heat pump efficiency but if I figure an average multiplier of 2.5, then the heat pump will be about 1/3 the cost as my present oil fired heating.
Great video. Can’t wait for the summer review👍🏻
Hey Rob…,
Thx for watching!
Always best to erect a shelter with good air flow over the compressor. Wind, leaves, etc can also mess them up.
Great point!
What are your gas and electric rates? Natural gas has gotten super expensive of late (was $0.35/ccf and now $1.10/ccf), while electricity has only gone up a bit ($0.05/kWh to $0.08/kWh). With those prices, I wonder if the heat pump would be the cheaper option now.
Hey Analogue…,
I know our electric is about $0.13 / KWH. Haven’t checked natural gas but I’m sure increases were similar across the USA. When we installed this a couple years ago, gas rates were low yet predicted to rise more than electric so the Mr Cool is likely a better deal now than then.
We’ll post our 2 yr update soon.
Thx for watching.
Interesting video, I just recently found out about their central heat/air conditioning units, & was interested, but wanted to get some feedback on them. Thanks for the review!
Hey Thomas,
Glad you found us! So far so good on our unit… watch for the summer / year reviews in the fall!
Thx for watching!
Not with that kind of installation
We run Mr Cool dyi units in Missouri. We opted to use separate units for main floor and basement. Basement was previously not heated.
Mr Cool customer service is Great. !!!
wondering about installing air handler in the living space instead of basement utility space - laundry room of second story apartment. How much noise is created by the air handler? Vibration? Hanging from ceiling joists or floor or wall mount?
Long refrigerant lines versus long duct work.
Hey Deb ,
How big is you apt? It isn’t crazy loud, but too loud to not be in a closet.
Maybe put in attic.
You may want to look into a mini-split. They are quiet and are meant to hang on walls.
Hope that helps.
Thx for watching!
You should put outdoor unit 8 feet above the ground and away from roof where more snow and ice collect!
Hey Bob,
Higher…yes. 8 feet? That would be overkill for where we live. All depends on drift depth.
Thx for watching!
I believe there is a way to determine (set) when you are heating with the Mr. Cool and the furnace. Do you think you could have lowered the winter electric cost by having the gas furnace heat when the temps are 10° and below and the HP when temps were 10° and above.? Did you do or consider that? Obviously you would some how want to have that happen automatically for when you're not home. I have a cabin on Propane and trying to figure a way to do this to reduce my winter propane usage. Thanks for your response.
Hey Dave,
Your idea was good. I was just trying to move away from gas as it was a 20 yr old furnace and I didn’t want to get a break down mid -winter.
So my solution involved redesigning my existing ductwork to fit the MrCool which effectively detached it from the the gas furnace input.
If gas prices ever came way down to stay, I might consider a rebuild of the ducting to make it a dual-fuel-kind of set-up.
Very good idea if it’s cost effective with reliable equipment.
Thx for watching!
What are you going to do when something breaks. When and how are you going to clean it.
Looking forward to the summer cost analysis. We are looking at switching to this system, but being as our furnace is our only gas appliance, we could shut off our gas service and save ~800 a year. With your numbers, unless the seer rating on the ac is just flat out wrong, we would see some real savings.
Was snow accumulation the only problem it had in the winter, and did you get any ice? Would you consider getting rid of your furnace and using a backup heatstrip?
Thanks for the vids!
Hey Dixon....,
Summer review should be fun!
We did not get any ice this year, but I could see where you’d have to stay on guard to make sure the blades don’t get frozen like the melting snow did to us.
I am NOT interested in getting a heat strip. They are inefficient and expensive to run. That would be a deal breaker if we HAD TO get a heat strip.
Natural gas is the cheapest and best, but since our system is so old, I was looking for a solution which would save $ in a long run rather than buy a whole new gas furnace for winter.
My guess is that the money we saved buying a Mr Cool and doing the install will far eclipse the savings buying a new gas furnace to use gas.
After this winter’s performance, I don’t think we’ll go back to a nat gas furnace unless electric rates go crazy. Hope that helps.
Even if your (natural) gas furnace is an old 80% efficient unit you still wont actually save money on heating costs by installing an air source heat pump. What you will help to save is the environment by not burning fossil fuels.
@@kellynicklassen5896 yeah save the environment and freeze to death! Folks don't want to wear three coats and a blanket when at home!
Does Mr Cool sell a unit with the blades of the fan on top? I get way too much snow for this to work for me. Last winter we had two snowstorms that were over 18 inches, which would cover the unit with vents on the side - and the last thing I want to do is run outside to uncover the fins constantly for heavy snow fall. This is very interesting on the cost going up with the lost efficiency on the heat pump. Of course, with the higher oil prices now (I used to pay $2.00 a gallon for it, this winter we will pay $4.20 a gallon - a big difference for heating costs). I currently have a heat pump that ten years old was advised not to run below 38 degrees as it would be more expensive, and the system would spend all its time running (defrosting and heating). Would a new system do better? Hard to tell from this unfortunately. Oh, and at night here in CT on a mountain it goes down to many nights in January/February to around -10 Fahrenheit. Thank you.
Hey Sam,
I don’t think so - at least not in the Universal style like we installed. But in northern climates, they can be installed off the ground, on a stand. I discovered the snow issue the hard way AFTER installation. I thought I would raise mine but haven’t yet.
In my experience this new MrCool universal will do much better than your old heat pump. MrCool has a demo video of one installed in N. Dakota were it heated with temps to -25 F without using a heat strip.
We don’t use a heat strip either. Last two years we went to -9 and - 6 F with no problem heating.
Here’s a full year recap video. th-cam.com/video/7MB64_jVLZk/w-d-xo.html
Home heating oil is pretty pricey ( much more than gas and electric here) so I think you’d save for sure.
Hope this helps. Feel free to ask if you have other questions. Just post as a new comment ( rather than a follow up ) and I’ll get notified. Or email through our channel.
Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons Thank you so much for answering my questions! Very useful. Will check out the other video and see if I have any more, thank you!
Thanks mate this was a great help
Hey chef,
Awesome! Thx for watching! Cheers!
Good honest video. Thanks for posting it.
Glad you liked it! Thx for watching!
Does the thermostat stay within 1 degree of the set temp or does it have large temperature swings? Also in the summer does the indoor fan turn off at the same time as the outdoor compressor in either cool or dry mode to prevent evaporator coil blow off to reduce humidity like LG does or does the fan just keep running leading to high humidity like Daikin, Fujitsu, and Mitsubishi?
Hey Korey,
Yes. The thermostat stays within 1 degree unless it get extremely cold outside…
Not sure about summer shut off. I’ll have to check.
Thx for watching!
that was helpful. thanks for the cost spreadsheet. Question: What If you got Solar panels? wouldn't that cut your cost?
Hey Gustavo,
Glad to help. Sure. Solar may help but is it cost effective? It may take many years to recoup the cost of the panels, batteries and installation. It’s s math problem. The higher the cost of electricity in your area, the sooner your pay off. Our electricity costs aren’t horrible.
Thx for watching!
My name is Vinny from Pennsylvania. I installed the same unit in a my house and it was very good until the temperature went below -7 degrees and with 14in of snow my unit started to freeze up around the coils. I brushed off the snow the next morning but the coils had about 1in thic of ice around the coils. Have you had any problems like that. Dhums up to your videos. Your video inspired me to install my own thanks.vinny savelli Patton pa.
Hey Vinny,
Way to go taking the plunge on installing your own! As you could see in the video, we did have an issue with an 11 inch snowfall which drifted to 2+ feet and blocked the fins.
We found that keeping the snow away from the condenser was all we needed to due.
The unit does have a periodic defrost most to keep frost and ice off the fins. But it’s no match for larger snowfalls.
I should have mounted the condenser up - maybe 1 -2 feet off the ground. The would certainly help.
I saw a mr cool video where they demo’ed a unit working for a month in North Dakota working as low as -24 degrees F .
So the temp should not be an issue.
Hope that helps!
Thanks watching and for letting us know where you are viewing from too!
If you would run that Setup in Europe where we pay around 0.35$ per kW/h... March 2021 was 2280kW/h * 0.35$ = 798$ that a insane amount of money.
Hey kg….,
Yikes!!! That is CRAZY cost of electricity!
Thx for watching.
We have Mr Cool in our cabin where it worked well until we left for a month in January where temps were in the 20’s. There is no ice on the unit, the fan works and will blow cold air but it will not work in heat mode. There was no code on the unit either. So what’s our problem?
Hey Victoria,
Make sure there is no snow blocking the outside condenser unit. Also, we had similar issue and water had dripped onto fan blade and froze to housing not allowing the fan to turn.
Other than that, I’d call MrCool tech support for diagnosis help.
Thx for watching!
With Natural gas skyrocketing over the last 2 year I am actually thinking about installing a minisplit to compensate.
Hey txr…,
Great point. Utility cost get more significant with each passing year!
Where can I get a spreadsheet like that or an easy to use app that can keep track of my third and kilowatt usage
Hey littleddie,
I just manually built the spreadsheet - individual columns for each of the inputs. Most of the inputs come from gas and electric bill history. The temps also came from one of the other utility bill histories which is helpful.
Some time ago I bought an energy monitor - they are sensors that attach to the breaker wires in the electrical panel for the circuits you want to monitor -
th-cam.com/video/EQsxKNEnj-U/w-d-xo.html
That is super helpful because of detail / you can see sec, min, hr, day, month, year usage details.
Hope that helps! Thx for watching.
You basically just made a hybrid heat pump and gas central unit with a variable compressor, but at a lower price than usual! Long term I would question the reliability of mr cool vs trane/american standard, but if mr cool is half the price and last half as long then I guess you will break even lol. Only time will tell I guess since Mr cool is a new brand in the market.
Hey Korey,
The gas unit is NOT in use at all. I just haven’t removed it in case MrCool went down. You are right, it is unproven so it is a bit of a gamble. But it is less than half price if you do the install, so I could essentially by 3 or more MrCools before paying for a new Trane and installation… so in my eyes, I THINK I’m ahead. But like you said - I’ll be able to tell you in a decade😃
Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons wow you definitely are ahead with that much of a price difference!
I can’t imagine just having a heat pump in that climate. We have one in a milder climate and find that the back up furnace kicks in when it gets too cold or the HP needs defrosting
Hey Paul,
What’s you efficiency rating? They aren’t all created equal I guess.
Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons 19 seer American Standard Platinum HP.
I was confused about the note that unit contains some inverter and that makes it more efficient. What is the role of inverter ? Is it to be connected directly to 2-3 solar panels ?
Hey Martinko,
The inverter takes AC power and changes it to DC. The unit uses DC power to run more efficiently. But your house supplies AC power. So the inverter converts the AC power to DC.
This unit is not attached to solar. But solar and wind also use inverters.
Thx for watching.
So when it snows, you have to go outside to clear the snow in order for it to work? At that point, having a furnace backup is a good idea
Hey Martian,
Only because I installed it too low to the ground. Being new to heat pumps it didn’t occur to me that your condenser is running in winter as well.
Learning experience!
Thx for watching!
Can't you build a box around that big outdoor unit, with vents that won't let snow and water in but would let air flow through?
Hey Art,
There are some limitations regarding how close you can get to the side vents so that’s a little tricky.
Maybe on top a bit… but thx for input and for watching!
@@Housebarons I'm in MI and looking at alternatives after our furnace finally gave out. Wondering if even an angled piece of oh, roof attached to the wall over this thing would help. Kinda like what you might find over a door, or maybe even over a window.
OR... build a box with pvc pipe around it, put a solid piece on top to keep rain out and wrap the rest with weed barrier material. That would let plenty of air through but would keep drifting snow out of it.
I made a small roof for my unit to stop the melt freezing the fan that you mentioned. They should build the units with a lip on the top edge to prevent that. Also I hope you never need warranty from MrCool, they are almost impossible to contact and slow to respond, just horrible service.
Hey JRP,
I totally agree about your lip idea - too easy to add and would be so helpful!
Thx for commenting and watching!
interested to see some summer results. What I find annoying is that my gas bill will be 28 bucks even if I don't use any gas. Yours is probably the same...so keep that in mind if doing a comparo of the TOTAL costs...
Our electric cooperative charges a $30/month access fee on top of the $0.11/kWh rate. That is calculated as the base cost of getting the power to your house and independent of how much you use.
@@COSolar6419 exactly my point...
@@lgmnowkondo938 Just pointing out the access charges can apply to electric utilities as well. Cheers.
@@COSolar6419 I know...but they are irrelevant unless you go off grid..you HAVE to have electricity. You don't HAVE to have nat gas...has to be considered when costing out a solution.
Well how was the Summer cooling bill for 2012 ? and does your utility company have a discounted rate for ( experimental heat and cooling ) ? I have (2) separate meters in place for a water to air heat pump and lighting, I'm in the middle of the 4-5 ton 18 seer split unit installation .....we will see what the outcome is !! Thanks for the video and information
Hey Doug,
Perfect timing. Just posted our summer review 2 days ago:
th-cam.com/video/eQocQwc_UnE/w-d-xo.html
No discounted rate. All the numbers are in the video.
Hope your experience goes well!
Thx for watching!
I hope all of these do-it-yourself folks have lots of experience in servicing and repairing heat pumps!
I think the point is DIY installation, not servicing -- for which an EPA license might be required when handling the refrigerant. The line sets are pre charged and have quick-connect fittings that require no braising, nitrogen, or vacuum.
Some locations may require permits for HVAC replacements (not required where I live). And, for a new install, an electrician should install the 240 volt service.
At one time a diagnostic / servicing manual was posted on line somewhere, but I haven't been able to find it lately.
Yeah man flare fittings always leak 5 years in.
@@JonanthanCold Particularly outside when sweeping, raking or bumping the lawn mower!
@@bobboscarato1313 You must be especially clumsy.
How would that be any different from non do it yourselfers?
Raise it up off the ground a couple feet and build a little cover over it?
Hey Dustin,
True! Thx for watching!
I am planning an install for a Mr Cool 4-5 ton Universal unit and I am curious how much condensation are you getting from the outdoor unit? I am planning on moving the location of the outside compressor unit to an upstairs balcony but I am concerned the condensation might be too great to control and divert off that deck surface? Thanks for any help.
Hey Rez,
I think you can hook up a drain hose to the bottom and direct the condensation where you want it.
Thx for watching!
Great video, exactly what I wanted to know.
Hey 786…,
Great. Thx for watching!
Many manufacturers actually offer a dual fuel heat pump in this mini split platform giving you the best of both worlds.
Hey Glazed,
Interesting!
Thx for watching!
To get around the snow drifting issues, you can mount the condenser on snow legs, an elevated stand, or a wall mount.
You could build a roof or shield over the condenser to minimize the frozen fan concern or perhaps install it under a deck or in another sheltered location as long as there is adequate airflow.
Also, installation in a corner is not the best location for obvious reasons...including leaves and debris that may accumulate behind the condenser.
PS -- I'd like to see a comparison after this (2021-22) winter when I believe gas prices will be 2-3 times higher than they were in years past.
Hey vadeltachi…,
Thanks for the ideas. Good points.
And yes - It might make a great comparison after this winter. Will do - so keep and eye out in spring!
Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons A few questions for you: Does the outdoor fan speed modulate as the compressor does or does it operate at the same speed all the time?
What kind of indoor thermostat do you use?
Did you have any issues with the condenser defrosting during damp weather?
Great video and thank you for keeping us updated!
Hey Vadeltachi,
Can’t really tell if it changes.
We have a Nest thermostat. And no issues at all.
Heat pumps are going to be much more efficient in the spring and fall where you live. It looked like you were already saving money in October and November compared to the previous year with the heat pump. You should do it over the year comparison
Hey d…,
True. Check this out;
Mr Cool Universal Heat Pump Full Year Review : Heat Pump Installation, Performance and Savings
th-cam.com/video/7MB64_jVLZk/w-d-xo.html
Thx for watching!
just paid $6.20 a gallon for oil delivery.....thoughts on running this along with oil burning forced air heat for economization of winter heating?
Hey nbb…,
I’m a little biased but $6.20 a gallon would make me look for other solutions.
If your winter temps aren’t extreme, this might work as a complete package replacement.
I replaced a nat gas furnace and am pretty happy thus far. Check out our latest winter video: th-cam.com/video/O2LsoTfe0CA/w-d-xo.html
Thx for watching!
Maybe use a seal tight whip, instead of bx armor cable. The BX cable is not water tite.
Hey Carrie,
Thx for the tip - just reused what was already there.Thx for watching!
I'm thinking about buying this and installing it, does it look like the units summertime cost will offset the slight increase in wintertime costs.
you think possible to use the existing AC line rather than drill more holes since blower is upstair in the attic.
Hey DUC…,
If you mean refrigerant lines … the modern refrigerant is r410a and is not same as old Freon. Plus pressures are higher. Old lines won’t endure.
If you talking electric, then you need to make sure size is the same.
Hope that helps.
Thx for watching!
Very nice! Did you post your summer review yet?
Hey Scott,
That should post in the next 2 weeks so keep an eye out. Thx for watching!
since the cost of electric varies it's not apples to apples for us to draw a conclusion from your results. The Kwh is way up for the second year with Mr Cool. 2020 you had a rate of 18/kw but in '21 it was 13 so what's with that? Use more pay less? What's your rate schedule?
Hey n.gineer…,
If nothing else you can look at kWh totals to get something a bit concrete.
In our latest winter review video,
th-cam.com/video/O2LsoTfe0CA/w-d-xo.html
I included in the latest chart a breakdown of cents/ kWh.
Honestly, I have not paid close enough attention season to season since the very beginning.
I assumed summer was peak electric and we oaid more then. But what you pointed out is a previous higher season cost in winter 2020 - that I can’t explain.
This fall I did call my electric company and they said:
.1107 / 1st 500 kWh
.0917 all kWh after that
Plus .020 use fee on everything
So I’m wondering how any month can be over .1307
Thank you for pointing that out. I’ll dig deeper.
And thx for watching!
Great Video! What size system were you replacing?
Hey Kevin,
We replaced a 20 yr old Trane a/c and nat gas furnace. It was a 2.5 ton. The mr .cool can be either 2.0 or 3.0. - basically a switch.
We chose 3.0 ton.
Thx for watching!
What temperature was your thermostat set for heating during winter? Was it a constant or varying during day and night time?
Hey Kris…,
Try this:
th-cam.com/video/O2LsoTfe0CA/w-d-xo.html
Thx for wstching
What is your ¢/kWh? That will help me understand the difference for my region.
Hey Trav,
It’s not a straight number. But in the review videos, that price is around 13 cents.
Here are links to the follow up videos:
Summer Performance Review after Mr Cool Universal Heat Pump install: cooling costs and savings
th-cam.com/video/eQocQwc_UnE/w-d-xo.html
Mr Cool Universal Heat Pump Full Year Review : Heat Pump Installation, Performance and Savings
th-cam.com/video/7MB64_jVLZk/w-d-xo.html
Hope that helps.
Thx for watching!
You stated it costs approximately $250 more to heat with heat pump. I noticed your gas bill for those months was still $20 or so. If you don't have gas at all you save that meter fee. $45 month in my area. So x 12 months and that's almost $600 I can apply against electric bill.
Hey Haskell…..,
We still use gas for stove and water heater so we gotta pay up.
Thx for watching!
How did you wire the indoor unit to the indoor unit ? Could you shoot me a pic ?
Hey Jojo,
The wiring diagram is on both the condenser and the air handler. I just followed that.
Thx for watching!
What size unit did you install? What was furnace BTU for your house?
Hey David,
old unit was 2.5 ton Nat Gas. This new unit is 3.0 ton electric heat pump. Thx for watching!
Hi is the kWh total for Dec -March 2021 for heat pump and the house usage
If that’s the case your heat pump is very efficient
Hey Tom,
Yes - that was whole house total ( less gas water heater, range, and dryer ).
The rest is house electric and heat pump.
Thx again!
We just installed a heat pump system, would you recommend some sort of cover to prevent the snow from piling up?
Hey Mike,
I debated about that. Not sure it’s needed unless you get a lot of freeze thaw freeze cycles where snow would melt and then later freeze on the fan blade.
Easy fix is to brush snow off from time to time.
A bigger concern for us is to keep the heat pump condenser off the ground. Ours is about 6 inches off the ground. I’m thinking about raising it to 12 -18 inches - keeps snow drifts from blocking the fins.
Hope that helps?
Thx for watching!
Just installed this 3 ton heat pump in my 1958 built home. Ran new duct and all that. Seems to be cooling well so far but we're still in beginning stages.
I had to change my fan speed to medium on air handler. Did you switch yours? Just curious thanks for the vid.
Hey Ad,
We did not change fan speed on my 3-ton.
Thx for watching.
@@Housebarons
Cool thanks for responding 😎💪
You will still have to replace your furnace at some point. Why not a hybrid system with an inverter ASHP with a new modulating gas furnace?
Hey Nick,
That’s certainly a viable option.
. I however opted for the heat pump because I had the tools and skills to install it myself with the pre-charged lineset.
The other route would have forced me to employ an HVAC company which would have been thousands in addition install costs.
Not a good ROI for my liking.
Thx for watching!
36k?
how well is your house insulated and air sealed? Why not insulate plenum and ducting? installed one before summer !st winter is coming up.
Hey Barry,
We have r-15 walls and r-50 to r-60 in attic. 20yr old windows, house is 20 yrs old.
The plenum and ducting is in laundry room in finished basement, so no real loss in that respect.
We went from gas to electric and up from 2.5 ton to 3.0 ton so it cost more but not by a huge amount.
We will be posting our summer review and full yr review in the next couple of weeks.
But our experience was positive - hope the same for you!
Thx for watching!
How was the summer update on costs? Did it make up?
Hey David,
Here is the summer review. We were pretty happy with it!
th-cam.com/video/eQocQwc_UnE/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for watching!
Nice video, I live in Canada. I am planning to install this unit, but I am concerned if that heat pump will be able to keep up here and save money.
Hey Bruno,
So many factors to consider like house size, how well is it insulated.... , how cold does it get where you live? What do you heat with now.?
Mr Cool says heat heats at 100% efficiency to -5 degrees. It supposedly can heat down to -22.
Do you have the option of supplemental heat source if it gets too cold tor too long?
Lots to figure.
Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons, thanks for the reply. Now I use an electric furnace 70k BTU, the local contracts quote me a 3 ton GE $12k. My house is 1900 sqft including the basement, the winter here is between -10 and - 15 Celsius. I need to save money with that unit otherwise I keep my electric furnace, the GE contractor told me I will be saving between 40% and 60%.
Hey Bruno,
Hey Bruno,
Those temps seem warmer than us. Seems like 12k is pretty pricey.
We were in a similar situation.
Our house is 1900 not including the basement where the vents are closed. We haveabout r-50 insulation in the attic, 20 yr old windows.
If you were thinking of getting the Mr. Cool Universal and installing it yourself, you’d stand a similar chance of saving as we did.
If you are having an HVAC contractor install, then maybe going with their product would give you a better warranty?? Or easier call back if something isn’t right.
I guess the big question is - how would you save 40-60% ? Is the unit they quoted more efficient than the old one?
Just look at you past heat bill and deduct 50% per year and you’ll see how long it will take till you break even on their unit.
Lots to consider!!
I see, do you have a video showing the electrical wires?
Hi Bruno. The Mr. Cool will absolutely save $$$ over the 70KW electric furnace. However if you don't have a back up heat source you could potentially run into some days where it doesn't keep up or quits altogether. Consider having the heat strips installed with the MR. Cool. if you have no supplementary heat. I am in a similar position to you in central BC interior, 70KW electric furnace, no gas connection, 2000 sq ft house built in 1977, wood stove for primary heat, etc. I want to go with a MR. Cool for primary and use the wood for back-up, you know save the environment and all that blah blah. There are online calculators that will approximate the savings you can expect.
If you added your KWH cost it would have been good. Great video
Hey Walk…,
About .10 cents,
Thx for watching.
Looks like the condenser is installed real low, doesn’t it have a defrost cycle in which it has to be able to drain water without the water freezing and ruining the bottom of the unit
Hey Jonny,
The drain is about 6+ inches of the ground. No issues yet.
Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons well I install these systems all the time, but the Mitsubishi ones, and we usually put them on a Heatpump stand that gets them atleast a foot off the ground.