Jim and Linda's new high efficiency mini ductless heat pump!

The following is information on Jim & Linda’s new high efficiency mini ductless heat pump. Our Fujitsu 18,000 BTU/h unit was installed May 3, 2013 by Quality Heating. This unit runs on a 20 amp 220 VAC circuit at less than 7 amps maximum.

The Fujitsu has the highest efficiency in the heating configuration of all the mini ductless heat pumps I looked at. The rate for the heat efficiency is listed as “Heating Seasonal Performance Factor” or HSPF. This value is calculated by taking the annual heating requirements including the defrost cycles and dividing by the total electrical power used. Our unit was rated at 12.0 which is lots higher than the units built just 7 years ago. I read where Fujitsu sells the most units world wide for any manufacturer. This unit operates at full efficiency down to -5 degrees Fahrenheit.

We were very fortunate to qualify for a $1,200 Puget Power rebate along with a $1,200 RePower rebate since we had been heating almost solely with wood heat and our backup heat was radiant ceiling heat along with some baseboard heat.

I considered getting a Diakin or a Mitsubishi heat pump also. They both seemed like great units.

Quality heating did not have the cheapest bid until the rebates were included. They were the only ones that figured out how to get us the full $1,200 RePower rebate which then made them the cheapest bid.

It shall be an interesting heating season this Fall and Winter. I suspect we will just have fires occasionally. Maybe fires will be needed in the coldest 2 weeks of the year although that remains to be seen.

We have only used the unit to cool a couple of times this Summer as Linda somehow controls curtains and windows in a way that keeps our house cool enough all day. 

The bottom line is we now have $1,679.30 invested in this unit. I think we will get another $300 back at income tax time due to a Tax Credit for Consumer Energy Efficiency. That will make our total outlay $1,379.30. Such a deal.

Per a comparison chart from the Coleman company they rated the cost of different heat sources to deliver 100,000 BTUs of heat as follows.

$0.96 Heat pump with an HSPF of 10.0 (Ours is more efficient than this one.)
$1.31 80% AFUE Natural Gas Furnace
$2.85 100% Electric Furnace
$3.13 80% AFUE Propane Gas Furnace
$3.35 80% AFUE Oil Furnace

I have another chart with very similar numbers as the above chart.