Question:
We're building a new home just south of Austin, and the standard
heating/cooling is a 12SEER A/C (Lennox "Value Line") and Propane
heater. I'm thinking of upgrading to better equipment (higher SEER
and quieter A/C) and considering going to a heat pump. I'm pretty
much committed to Lennox equipment, because that's what the builder's
contractor puts in.
My options are:
Stay with the A/C, propane heat arrangement, just upgrade to a
better Lennox air conditioner (Elite series)
Go with a Lennox heat pump with electric auxilliary heating ("heat
strips") and ditch the propane heater.
Go with a Lennox heat pump and use the propane heater only for
auxilliary (e.g., very low temperature outside) heating.
Does option 3 make sense for Austin, where the summers are godawful
hot and the winters are generally mild? Or is this arrangement
overkill and not necessary? If you don't think that option 3 makes
sense, what option would you recommend (and please explain your
reasons)?
Answer:
I live in Tampa Fl. I use a heat pump with no auxiliary heat and it does
fine. We generally get about 5 to 20 days near freezing and it keeps up
nicely. Not giving advice, here, just sharing what I have. Heat strips
might be nice to have... I have them. I just switch the breaker off to
keep my daughter from running up the electric bill
It sounds like you can afford it so I would recommend your option 2
and go with the highest SEER equipment they have. The electric strip
heaters shouldn't add that much to the cost and will rarely be
activated. But, I'd also keep the propane tanks and use them with
stand alone propane heaters for the inevitable ice storms that knock
out power for days at a time.
