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Survey of residential heat pump owner experience in Canada

Abstract

Heat pump owners in 7 Canadian cities were surveyed to establish installation costs, repair costs and frequencies, and customer satisfaction with heat pump systems as a function of region, installing contractor, manufacturer, model, year of installation and system type. The following summarizes the major findings of the study. Most Canadian heat pumps are retrofit installations in existing homes. The majority of these heat pumps have either supplemented or replaced an oil furnace. The average age of heat pumps is 2.5 years. The median size of heat pumps installed is 2.5 tons. The three most popular brands by order of prevalence are York, Carrier and General Electric. Only about one-fifth of heat pump owners have purchased service contracts. Two-thirds of the heat pumps have never needed repairs. Eighty-three percent of heat pump owners have never incurred any repair costs; and of those that have, about half spent $100 or less. The most frequent repair problems are refrigerant leaks followed by relays and controls. Corrective actions average about 0.3 per unit year. The owners' evaluation of comfort from their heat pump is generally favourable. About 12% of the owners find the outdoor unit noisy and 10% feel maintenance costs are at a  More>>
Authors:
Publication Date:
Nov 11, 1985
Product Type:
Technical Report
Report Number:
CEA-319U434; CE-03732
Reference Number:
CANM-91-009112; EDB-91-093462
Subject:
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION; HEAT PUMPS; SURVEYS; CANADA; INSTALLATION; MAINTENANCE; PUBLIC OPINION; RELIABILITY; REPAIR; DEVELOPED COUNTRIES; NORTH AMERICA; 320106* - Energy Conservation, Consumption, & Utilization- Building Equipment- (1987-)
OSTI ID:
5665484
Research Organizations:
DCH Consultants, Inc., Ottawa, ON (Canada)
Country of Origin:
Canada
Language:
English
Availability:
Canadian Electrical Association, One Westmount Square, Suite 500, Montreal, PQ, CAN H3Z 2P9.
Submitting Site:
CANM
Size:
Pages: (vp.)
Announcement Date:
May 13, 2001

Citation Formats

Unsoy, J. Survey of residential heat pump owner experience in Canada. Canada: N. p., 1985. Web.
Unsoy, J. Survey of residential heat pump owner experience in Canada. Canada.
Unsoy, J. 1985. "Survey of residential heat pump owner experience in Canada." Canada.
@misc{etde_5665484,
title = {Survey of residential heat pump owner experience in Canada}
author = {Unsoy, J}
abstractNote = {Heat pump owners in 7 Canadian cities were surveyed to establish installation costs, repair costs and frequencies, and customer satisfaction with heat pump systems as a function of region, installing contractor, manufacturer, model, year of installation and system type. The following summarizes the major findings of the study. Most Canadian heat pumps are retrofit installations in existing homes. The majority of these heat pumps have either supplemented or replaced an oil furnace. The average age of heat pumps is 2.5 years. The median size of heat pumps installed is 2.5 tons. The three most popular brands by order of prevalence are York, Carrier and General Electric. Only about one-fifth of heat pump owners have purchased service contracts. Two-thirds of the heat pumps have never needed repairs. Eighty-three percent of heat pump owners have never incurred any repair costs; and of those that have, about half spent $100 or less. The most frequent repair problems are refrigerant leaks followed by relays and controls. Corrective actions average about 0.3 per unit year. The owners' evaluation of comfort from their heat pump is generally favourable. About 12% of the owners find the outdoor unit noisy and 10% feel maintenance costs are at a disadvantage. Overall, only 7% of heat pump owners indicated that they would not install a heat pump in their next house. Most heat pump owners are satisfied with their heat pump brand and installer. Owners with systems installed in newer homes are more satisfied with their heat pumps than those who have installed heat pumps in older homes. 3 figs., 93 tabs.}
place = {Canada}
year = {1985}
month = {Nov}
}