Is an Electric Heat Pump Your Choice for Heating Your Home?
A Heat Pump System generally comes in two different types. One is a standard heat pump system and another is a mini-split heat pump system. Both types use electricity for heating and both types usually include air conditioning. A standard heat pump is always a ducted system, while a mini-spit system can be ducted or ductless. All the information below applies to any of these systems.
With the move towards every "newly constructed", "newly conditioned" residential building in the entire State of California requiring Photovoltaic Solar, an electric heat pump may be the choice for heating. If so, please see this information below.
New HERS Verification Requirement for Ducted Heat Pump Systems Residential Conditioned Buildings
Here are the new MANDATORY Home Energy Rating Systems (HERS) Verification Requirements for heat pump heating systems.
Ducted Heat Pump Systems HERS Verification Requirements:
RA3.4.4.2 Rated Heat Pump Capacity Verification Procedure
When heat pump systems are installed, and verification of the installed heat pump system capacity is required, the installed heat pump equipment shall be verified according to the procedure specified in this section. The verification shall utilize certified rating data from the AHRI Directory of Certified Product Performance or another directory of certified product performance ratings approved by the Energy Commission for determining compliance (product directory).
The procedure shall consist of visual verification of the model numbers of the installed system equipment and confirmation that the installed equipment is rated to provide the required heating capacity.
If the installed system rated heating capacities at 47 degrees F and 17 degrees F are equal to or greater than the values specified on the Certificate of Compliance, the system complies. If the product directory does not publish capacity ratings at 17F, then compliance with capacity at 17F is not required.
Additional Information Needed:
Because of the requirement to verify the heat pump rated heating capacity (as stated above) the following information is needed in order to accurately provide an energy compliance report:
- Number of outdoor units:
- Number of indoor units:
- ARHI Certificate/number or HVAC Duct Design:
- The AHRI certificate/AHRI Number for the design specified heat pump, that specifies BTUH rating at 47 degrees and BTUH rating at 17 degrees.
OR
- HVAC Duct design that specifies the manufacturer name, model of the heat pump, BTUH rating at 47 degrees and BTUH rating at 17 degrees.
- The AHRI certificate/AHRI Number for the design specified heat pump, that specifies BTUH rating at 47 degrees and BTUH rating at 17 degrees.
NOTE: Gathering this information now, though it may cause a delay, will prevent a possible difficulty (such as installation of an inadequate heat pump) when the project is near completion and not able to pass this mandatory HERS verification.
As always, I am available to discuss the process of meeting the California Energy Code for any building project. Contact me …