We recently had a new heat pump installed (June 2022). Since installation, we've had several issues. Currently, we are questioning the accuracy of statements made by the company that installed the unit. For clarity, I am posting our questions first and then explaining how/why we arrived at these questions.
Our questions are:
1. Is it true that we cannot expect a variable speed unit to properly cool our entire home? We currently have an 8-10 temperature difference between our coolest and warmest rooms and we are being told that this is normal with variable speed units. During the last service call, they went further and told us that we should not have purchased a variable speed unit if we wanted our entire house to be cooled so this was our mistake. (Side-note: the unit that we purchased was the most highly recommended unit by this hvac company. Prior to installation, we were told it would cool our entire home and be a large upgrade from our previous unit because it would provide (1) more consistent temperatures across the house, (2) reduce humidity, and (3) reduce electricity costs.
2. Is it true that all new heat pumps have issues with frequent drain line clogs due to changes in EPA regulations? (Note: these clogs are forming even though we are doing vinegar-hot water every third week.)
3. Could the issues that we are having with temperature inconsistency and frequent drain line clogs be symptoms of an undersized unit?
Details about our Home & Unit:
Our home has 3200 square feet of living space with 12-ft ceilings in common areas and is in Orlando, FL. Our previous system was a Carrier single stage heat pump rated at 60,000 BTU. Per our hvac companies’ recommendation, we selected the model they indicated as the best fit for our home: a Daiken Variable Speed Heat Pump having 53,000 BTU cooling.
The rest of this post contains additional information and details in case they are helpful. Thank you so much for any input & advice.
Additional Details about Inconsistent Temperatures
With our previous Carrier heat pump, we kept the thermostat setting at 74 degrees and were happy with the temperature in our house. With the Daiken, we set the thermostat to 72 degrees to be comfortable; but during hot days, the temperature gauges in the living room and secondary bedroom suite are consistently in the 77-80 degree range. We have spoken to the installing hvac company many times about these issues. The recommended solutions that they have provided are to either install separate mini split units in the warmer rooms or to change the settings on our Daiken so it operates as a single-speed unit. We did not like either option, but we "tried" the single-speed setting. Even with this change, the rooms in question were not cooling. Now we are being told that we should not have selected a variable speed model if we want the entire house to be cool. We are getting pushback that the issues are "our fault" because we purchased the model that their company selected.
Additional Details about Drainpipe Clog Issues
We have also had two bad drainpipe clogs in the past five months that could not be removed by our wetvac. For these service calls, the hvac company had to use pressurized air to remove. We don't understand why we are getting clogs as we pour a cup of vinegar and gallon of boiling water down the line every 3-weeks. We've also used the wetvac four times to clean the line four times since installation. We are having to pay the hvac company to clear these clogs. When we asked why these are happening so frequently, we were told that clogged pipelines are common issues with new units because the EPA forced all manufacturers to discontinue the use of certain materials and chemicals when building new units. I cannot find anything online to corroborate this, so I wanted to ask if this was true. I also asked if the company could install a pump to help keep the drainpipe clear and was told that this is not recommended as the pumps are prone to mechanical failure. They did install a t-line and told us that we could continue to call & pay for service as future clogs occur.
Is the unit too small for our house?
After all of this, we question if the sales manager improperly sized the unit for our home. We don't know if an undersized unit would experience the issues that we are facing. The company's sales manager stated, and everything that we have read online supports, that a variable speed unit can properly cool an entire home. Regarding the frequent drain clogs, we have not found any corroboration online that drainpipes are clogging more frequently with new machines due to EPA regulated changes. We question if this also could be attributed to an undersized unit.
Overall, we are extremely frustrated. When we purchased the unit, we were told that it had stronger cooling power than our previous model. Now, we are being told by the service manager that unit is not capable of cooling our entire home. We spent a significant amount of money on this unit. It was easily K more than the highest priced single-stage unit that we were quoted. When we directly asked the company if our recurring issues might be caused by an undersized unit, the response was that this unit is the exact same size as our previous model (5-ton vs 5-ton).
We greatly appreciate any input or advice. It is concerning to us that we cannot verify anything that we have been told regarding these issues online or via the manufacturer's website. We did reach out to other hvac companies in our area to see if they would service and inspect our unit, but each company has referred us back to the installation company because the unit is new.
Our questions are:
1. Is it true that we cannot expect a variable speed unit to properly cool our entire home? We currently have an 8-10 temperature difference between our coolest and warmest rooms and we are being told that this is normal with variable speed units. During the last service call, they went further and told us that we should not have purchased a variable speed unit if we wanted our entire house to be cooled so this was our mistake. (Side-note: the unit that we purchased was the most highly recommended unit by this hvac company. Prior to installation, we were told it would cool our entire home and be a large upgrade from our previous unit because it would provide (1) more consistent temperatures across the house, (2) reduce humidity, and (3) reduce electricity costs.
2. Is it true that all new heat pumps have issues with frequent drain line clogs due to changes in EPA regulations? (Note: these clogs are forming even though we are doing vinegar-hot water every third week.)
3. Could the issues that we are having with temperature inconsistency and frequent drain line clogs be symptoms of an undersized unit?
Details about our Home & Unit:
Our home has 3200 square feet of living space with 12-ft ceilings in common areas and is in Orlando, FL. Our previous system was a Carrier single stage heat pump rated at 60,000 BTU. Per our hvac companies’ recommendation, we selected the model they indicated as the best fit for our home: a Daiken Variable Speed Heat Pump having 53,000 BTU cooling.
The rest of this post contains additional information and details in case they are helpful. Thank you so much for any input & advice.
Additional Details about Inconsistent Temperatures
With our previous Carrier heat pump, we kept the thermostat setting at 74 degrees and were happy with the temperature in our house. With the Daiken, we set the thermostat to 72 degrees to be comfortable; but during hot days, the temperature gauges in the living room and secondary bedroom suite are consistently in the 77-80 degree range. We have spoken to the installing hvac company many times about these issues. The recommended solutions that they have provided are to either install separate mini split units in the warmer rooms or to change the settings on our Daiken so it operates as a single-speed unit. We did not like either option, but we "tried" the single-speed setting. Even with this change, the rooms in question were not cooling. Now we are being told that we should not have selected a variable speed model if we want the entire house to be cool. We are getting pushback that the issues are "our fault" because we purchased the model that their company selected.
Additional Details about Drainpipe Clog Issues
We have also had two bad drainpipe clogs in the past five months that could not be removed by our wetvac. For these service calls, the hvac company had to use pressurized air to remove. We don't understand why we are getting clogs as we pour a cup of vinegar and gallon of boiling water down the line every 3-weeks. We've also used the wetvac four times to clean the line four times since installation. We are having to pay the hvac company to clear these clogs. When we asked why these are happening so frequently, we were told that clogged pipelines are common issues with new units because the EPA forced all manufacturers to discontinue the use of certain materials and chemicals when building new units. I cannot find anything online to corroborate this, so I wanted to ask if this was true. I also asked if the company could install a pump to help keep the drainpipe clear and was told that this is not recommended as the pumps are prone to mechanical failure. They did install a t-line and told us that we could continue to call & pay for service as future clogs occur.
Is the unit too small for our house?
After all of this, we question if the sales manager improperly sized the unit for our home. We don't know if an undersized unit would experience the issues that we are facing. The company's sales manager stated, and everything that we have read online supports, that a variable speed unit can properly cool an entire home. Regarding the frequent drain clogs, we have not found any corroboration online that drainpipes are clogging more frequently with new machines due to EPA regulated changes. We question if this also could be attributed to an undersized unit.
Overall, we are extremely frustrated. When we purchased the unit, we were told that it had stronger cooling power than our previous model. Now, we are being told by the service manager that unit is not capable of cooling our entire home. We spent a significant amount of money on this unit. It was easily K more than the highest priced single-stage unit that we were quoted. When we directly asked the company if our recurring issues might be caused by an undersized unit, the response was that this unit is the exact same size as our previous model (5-ton vs 5-ton).
We greatly appreciate any input or advice. It is concerning to us that we cannot verify anything that we have been told regarding these issues online or via the manufacturer's website. We did reach out to other hvac companies in our area to see if they would service and inspect our unit, but each company has referred us back to the installation company because the unit is new.
source https://hvac-talk.com/vbb/threads/2244155-Seeking-Advice-Questions-about-what-we-are-being-told-about-our-new-hvac-unit?goto=newpost
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