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| What does it mean when they say that my heat pump has a HSPF of 7? |
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| Umm...I'll ask my hubby |
| My guess would be that the SEER rating for heat pumps is the same as the SEER rating for air conditioners... an energy efficiency rating (higher being better). |
I just asked my Domestic Partner, AKA the HV/ACRspecialist and he siad it means it's pretty darn ineffecient by today's standards  |
| I think I meant an HSPF of 7 not a SEER. I'll change the title too. |
Has to do with the lowest temperature at which a heat pump will produce heat:
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/BLDG/pubs/hspf/
To rate heat pumps in a standard fashion, a Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) is determined which takes into account operation under varying outdoor temperatures as well as part load impacts (effects of running short cycles under mild conditions). HSPF is rendered as Btu/Watt-hour so that typical HSPF are nominally on the order of 6.8 - 10 Btu/Wh (the dimensionless value of the minimum HSPF of 6.8 is COP = 1.99). HSPF is defined according to test procedures as promulgated by ARI in its Standard 210/240 as well as ASHRAE Standard 116 and the DOE Test Procedure in 10 CFR; Part 430, Appendix M (ARI, 2003).
The rated/nameplate HSPF from ARI 210/240 is based on the temperature in Climate Region IV (2000-2500 heating load hours) and the minimum Design Heating Requirement (DHR) that is a function of machine heating capacity. This selection is favorable to limit the contribution of resistance heating because it typically results in a balance point in the 17 to 25EF range. Although published HSPFs are linked to this climate, and specifically to 2080 heating load hours, it was never envisioned that this single value could be used to generically predict performance for all climate locations. Given the severity of winter in much of the continental United States and the sensitivity of heat pumps to the outdoor temperature, site specific performance must vary significantly with climate. Although temperature bin data and procedures within ARI 210/240 are available to compute performance in other climate regions (Sections A.6.2.4 and A.6.2.5 of that standard), the published data available for all heat pump and air conditioning units is that of Climate Zone IV. Thus, although a method is available to compute HSPF and SEER in other regions, this is not done and the information is unavailable to consumers and others without access to data on machine performance at the specific test points. |
I am glad we have some members that know this stuff, cause it's all greek to me.  |
Tasker's Mom wrote:
I just asked my Domestic Partner, AKA the HV/ACRspecialist and he siad it means it's pretty darn ineffecient by today's standards |
I asked mine, and he said he didn't know! lol He doesn't keep up with the newer stuff though since he programs the computers for the h/vac systems now. He needs to go back in the field and actually do work again.  |
