ChumpGPT
13 hours ago
I live in a place that is very hot for a good part of the year. Temps can easily reach plus 40 c (105 f) for prolonged periods of time. I am not sure heat pumps will work well in my environment. They would have to be oversized to handle the hot periods and as a result would be massively oversized for the couple of months I would use it to warm my house. My opinion is they are great for 50/50 climates where they can be sized properly for summer/winter. In the South AC Systems/Furnace will perform better since you can size each system for summer/winter properly. An example of what I am talking about is in Northern States you have a severe winter that would require a large heat pump but in the summer the units cooling will far exceed what it should be and would create problems for the living environment (dampness, mold, etc).
I suppose if you live in an environment where you only use either the Heat or Cooling but not both, it would be ideal.
MichaelNolan
11 hours ago
Heat pumps work great in hot climates. I see new builds in Texas (100f) and Arizona (115f) with them all the time.
I don’t understand the part about oversizing the heat pump for a hot climate being a downside. Without a heat pump you’d have to get an AC unit that’s sized for the heat anyways.
ChumpGPT
9 hours ago
In the HVAC world you need to size equipment properly. If you oversize it on the cool side, you can create an environment that is damp, wet. The system will not run long enough to remove the humidity from the the environment and cool it to quickly. It causes a cool humid environment. Now that same system that is oversized will need to heat your house in the Winter. It becomes inefficient because it is too large for the environment it is trying to heat.
AC units aren't sized just for heat, they are sized for the sq/ft of the house and the zone they are in, that determines their size. Furnaces are sized in the same way (size of house and zone it is in), so if you live in Florida and you need a heat pump that is perhaps 4-5 ton, the Heat side of it will be perhaps 70 % larger than it needs to because you could get away with perhaps a 1-1.5 ton Heat Pump in the Winter months since it isn't cold. So you need 5 tons in the Summer and 1-1.5 tons in the Winter.
It's like using a dump truck for your job and then using it as your personal transportation also.
MichaelNolan
2 hours ago
I’m not an HVAC expert, but I’m not sure how to reconcile what you’re saying with the fact that heat pumps are being installed in hot and humid areas. Heat pumps are being installed in places like Florida, Texas and Arizona seemingly without issue.
Most of the new build homes I see in my area of Texas are coming with heat pumps, rather than separate heating and cooling systems.