Emergency Heat Strips

[Firpo]

Well I can’t burn wood, the two fireplaces in the house do not have a chimney and are gas/LPG only but seems like they’re working. And yes! Heat pumps don’t do well in below freezing temps hence those darn 80A heat-strips.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

Can't help you with the electrical issue but sympathize with your dislike of heat pumps. I can't stand the trend to all electric houses. Our place was all electric. Not any more. Propane fireplace and propane kitchen stove. We still have the electric furnace but at least we have a very functional supplemental/backup heat and cooking sources.

I wish I had a wood stove because I have a lifetime supply of firewood on my property.

 

[mr ed]

Mine runs one set of heat strips saving the other set for when it burns out.

 

[OkieJoe72]

The heat strips definitely make the electric meter spin like crazy. If your propane fireplaces can keep the house warm, that is the way to go. If they don’t quite do the job, you could consider getting a free standing wood stove installed later down the road, but I would start training your wife now to retrieve the firewood from outside.

 

[CHenry]

Well my house is at 72 and will be through this cold spell, new windows and a back door by Renewal By Anderson and gas heat.
Sorry about others who didnt plan ahead.
Sorry if that sounds calloused but failure to plan is the ultimate failure

 

[cowadle]

do they not make a heat pump furnace with gas as the back up???? i wish i had a floor furnace also. i may have to look into installing one because it wouldn't require electricity to work normally.

 

[yukonjack]

I guess ‘cuz I didn’t know any better. Like I said, I’d never had any dealings with heat pumps and would have never guessed they could use as much electricity as the entire house I moved from. The HVAC guy said I needed such and such and the electrician said 22KW was as big as it got and would be plenty. Live and learn. The only reason I asked this question is because the HVAC guy made it sound like it was nothing. Reading your responses I’m opting for Plan B am running one of two gas (I have propane) fireplaces in the house and man is it toasty. Just on low it’s keeping the house at 77° and I’m using a ceiling fan to circulate the air. I believe I have a solution. I’ll just shut off the stupid heat pumps and run the fireplace and maybe a couple little plug-in heaters (1500Watt). I should be in good shape. Thank you all for your responses, you were a big help.

77 degrees? That’s crazy. My thermostat is set at 66 and even that seems toasty at times.

 

[Firpo]

77 degrees? That’s crazy. My thermostat is set at 66 and even that seems toasty at times.

Haha, that’s not a thermostat setting, just how hot the little gas fireplace keeps that area (family room, kitchen and kitchenette) if I leave it on. I turn it on and off throughout the day, no need to burn anymore LPG than is necessary.

 

[HiredHand]

I guess that I missed the part of why you’re not running off the grid and using a generator instead.

Edit: I guess I missed the part explaining why you are running off a generator.

 

[tynyphil]

since we are total electric, the heat pump was our best solution ( didn't want to mess with propane ). I put in this stove which will heat the whole house. Turn on the fan of the h/a and it is distributed throughout the house. The resistance heating never comes on. Today the stove is @ 500 degrees. If you have access to wood as I, you might focus on something like this in the future.