How To Service Ruud High Efficiency Heat Pump

When it comes to heating devices, at that place is no single specification more important than the HSPF rating.

HSPF rating is the key metric for all heating devices; be information technology rut pumps, furnaces, or water heaters.

Agreement information technology gives you the fundamental insight into all heating devices.

In fact, it's so important that every larger heating device – below is an example of a mini-split heat pump – is required past law to include the HSPF rating:

HSPF stands for 'Heating Southwardeasonal Performance Fplayer'. It is a metric that determines the overall energy-efficiency of heating devices in much the same way equally the SEER rating for cooling devices.

It gives you an thought of how significantly will running such a heat pump impact your electricity bill. You tin can be looking at several $100 savings every heating season with a high HSPF rating estrus pump.

AHRI defines HSPF as:

The total infinite heating required during the space heating flavour, expressed in BTU's, divided by the total electrical energy consumed by the heat pump system during the aforementioned season, expressed in watt-hours.

(Source: AHRI)

Basically, the HSPF rating tells us how much heating event (in BTUs) we will get per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Here are two practical examples:

Rut pump with 8 HSPF will give united states 8,000 BTUs of heat for every kWh.
Rut pump with x HSPF will requite us 10,000 BTUs of heat for every kWh.

Obviously, it's much better to accept a heat pump with a college HSPF rating (in this case 10). Such a heating device will draw less free energy for the same heating effect, and you volition pay less in heating expenses. You can cheque out a list of the best mini-split heat pumps with the highest HSPF rating here.

In the following article, we volition answer:

How is the HSPF rating calculated?
What is a good HSPF rating for rut pumps?
How much electrical bill savings per season tin you generate by choosing a device with a higher HSPF rating?

In the stop, we fabricated some calculations regarding the archetype problem of "I know 10 HSPF oestrus pump is ameliorate than 8 HSPF heat pump, simply x HSPF costs $3,000, and 8 HSPF costs $2,000."

How Is HSPF Rating Calculated?

To understand it fully, nosotros need to know how the HSPF rating is calculated. HSPF is a metric of energy-efficiency measured throughout the winter heating season. Every wintertime, nosotros tin mensurate:

Electricity we spend on heating; the power utilize in kilowatt-hours.
Heating upshot we get; the heating capacity in BTUs.

Example: To estrus out 1500 sq ft home during the three-winter months (December, January, February), nosotros spent 20,000 kWh. The estrus pump powered by these kilowatt-hours produced a full of 160,000,000 BTU of heating effect.

Based on this, nosotros tin can calculate the HSPF rating like this:

HSPF = Heating Event (in BTU) / Electricity Spent (in Wh)

Be enlightened that we accept to employ watt-hours, non kilowatt-hours. The conversion is simple enough; 1 kWh = 1,000 Wh. If y'all use the numbers in our case, we get:

HSPF = 160,000,000 BTU / 20,000,000 Wh = viii

In short, the HSPF rating of such a heater is 8. How much did we spend on electricity? The U.s. average price per kWh is $0.1319. We needed 20,000 kWh to warm our house. That comes to $0.1319 x twenty,000 = $2,638 per heating flavour.

How much would nosotros save if we used 10 HSPF units instead of 8 HSPF? In the case of ten HSPF, we would have to use merely xvi,000 kWh instead of 20,000 kWh (8 HSPF). That would cost us $2,110.

Here is a quick summary of heating costs:

HSPF 8 = $ii,638 per heating flavour in electricity costs.
HSPF 10 = $2,110 per heating season in electricity costs.

You tin can run across that (in our case) higher HSPF 10 device produced $500 fewer electricity costs than lower HSPF 8 device. That'southward the true power of energy-efficient heating, and it leads us to this betoken:

What Is A Good HSPF Rating For Heat Pumps?

Having a heat pump with a high HSPF rating is crucial. But what is a good rut pump HSPF rating?

In the Usa, the minimum federal HSPF rating for all units is 7.7. To earn an ENERGY STAR label, a heat pump achieves at least 8.5 HSPF (for mini-split up rut pump systems) and eight.two HSPF (unmarried-phase heat pumps).

In short:

7.7 HSPF is the minimum.
8.5 HSPF is a practiced HSPF rating (earns an Free energy STAR characterization).
In that location are heat pumps with 10 HSPF, or fifty-fifty higher.

To requite y'all an idea of the divergence in these HSPF ratings in the electricity dollars, we made some calculations. Let'due south say that a vii.seven HSPF heat pump would need $1,000 for heating. How much would the 8.v and x HSPF heat pumps need? Here is the price calculation:

seven.7 HSPF = $1,000
8.5 HSPF = $906
10 HSPF = $770

As you tin can see, the 10 HSPF heat pump spends 23% less electricity for the same heating upshot. In this case, that makes a $230 difference in favor of the 10 HSPF rut pump.

Bigger units can accept higher HSPF ratings; multi-zone mini-split units are especially energy-efficiency in the winter. For example, in the list of the best 4 zone mini-split systems, you volition notice a heat pump with a 12+ HSPF rating.

How Much Can You lot Save By Buying Estrus Pump With Higher HSPF Rating?

Several people take posed the post-obit question, or thereabout, "I know 10 HSPF heat pump is improve than 8 HSPF heat pump, but 10 HSPF costs $three,000, and 8 HSPF costs $2,000."

Obviously, saving $i,000 seems like a good idea. Only we need to exist enlightened that the cost of any heat pump is comprised of:

Heat Pump (Total Price) = Initial Toll Of Heat Pump + Electricity Costs

The real question is, does the lower running electricity costs justify the higher initial price of a high HSPF heat pump. Some of you have requested an HSPF calculation that could explain that (and nosotros've prepared it).

But let's commencement await at i common instance of two similar devices:

3 ton (36,000 BTU) estrus pump with 8 HSPF that costs $2,000.
iii ton (36,000 BTU) heat pump with 10 HSPF that costs $3,000.

In 10 years, which one will be more financially viable?

Allow's kickoff presume that the heating flavour lasts for 3 months, and you run the heat pump for 8 h per day, yielding 1000 working hours per season. Allow'due south also utilize the US national average kWh price of $0.1319.

Both devices generate 36,000,000 BTU of heating power. Knowing the HSPF rating, nosotros can calculate how many kWh of electricity they burn using the following equation:

Electricity Spent = HSPF / Heating Capacity (BTU)

Here is how many kWh each device spends with the electricity dollar amount:

8 HSPF spends 4,500 kWh. Electricity toll: $593.55.
10 HSPF spends three,600 kWh. Electricity cost: $474.84.

Equally you can encounter, every heating season, a 10 HSPF heap pump uses $118.71 less electricity. In 10 years, that's $1187.ten. And then, the initial +$i,000 is well worth the extra cost, peculiarly knowing this is a adequately conservative approximate.

HSPF rating is used to evaluate many types of mini splits. Here are some examples of spec-by-spec analysis in which HSPF rating was used as a contributing factor:

Best DIY mini split units.
Best cassette ceiling air conditioners.
Quietest mini splits.
Smallest mini splits.
Best attic Air-conditioning units.
MrCool mini divide reviews.
Daikin mini separate reviews.
Senville mini split reviews.

If you take whatever questions almost the HSPF rating, yous can apply the comment section below and we will endeavor to help you out.