sandraDEE wrote:
Hi there,

We recently decided to switch from our old oil furnace to an electric
system. After doing some research and conferring with the technician
from a company that does both oil and heat pump systems, we went with
an air handler that we were assured could heat our home *without* the
heat pump...the logic here was that at a later point (when we could
justify the additional $$$ cost), we might install a heat pump and if
so, would already have the air handler in place.

The problem is that the air handler cannot effectively heat the house.
Our house isn't huge, but it's evidently too large for the two heat
strips that provide the electric heat through the air handler. It takes
several hours for our house to climb to 66 degrees!

In talking with the installing company about this, the service manager
stated simply that we only purchased half a system and we shouldn't
have expected it to effectively heat our home, and that the rep told us
as much but we insisted on doing it anyway. Squeegee?? That's not how
the sales rep represented the situation at all. We were completely
clear with the rep that we were not interested in purchasing a heat
pump and he was clear that this air handler would still do the trick.
Why in the name of all things holy would we purchase a system that was
more expensive than a regular electric furance solution knowing it
wouldn't work?? Yeah. Right.

Now the company is balking.

So my questions a

1. Does anyone out there have just an air handler heating their home?
We have a Lennox cvx32MV 024/030 air handler with variable speed fan
and even heat strips (EvenHeater).

2. Anyone have any idea if additional strips can be added to this
model? Manufacturer's website is woefully lacking in info...

3. Anyone have any ideas on how to get the installing company to make
good on their word and guarantee? We think the rep just wasn't well
informed, but is now fibbing to cover his behind. Any suggestions? They
are a well-respected company with a great reputation and nary a
complaint to be found...not sure how to help them do the right thing in
this case...

1. That would be an electric forced-air furnace. But only "emergency"
heating strips in a unit intended as the air handler for a heatpump
system would be unusual, certainly.

2. I would assume the dealer you've got should be able to answer that
question. I don't know the particulars of the system you name, but
typically heat pumps are supplied with sufficient heat to make up for
the shortfall expected from the heatpump itself in some extreme
percentage of time depending on the location and expected low
temperatures and duration. In really cold climates, they may include
as much or more so that at very low temperatures the heatpump can be
turned off as it is off virtually no use under those conditions. Not
knowing your climate, what would be reasonable is impossible to guess.

3. What does the contractual guarantee actually state? I'm guessing
it covers workmanship and the usual length of time warranties and
little if anything specific about the actual time to achieve a fixed
temperature at a given outside temperature, etc. What, specifically in
the contract did they not fulfill? That is essentially all they're
obligated to provide as well as, of course, workmanlike installation,
etc.

What do they propose to do? More to the point, what do you think the
right thing for them to do is? Supply more than the contracted heating
for no cost? I don't think that's necessarily reasonable.

Did they do a load calculation to size the heating requirements and
does this unit meet that? If they didn't, that's a bad sign and
indicates they didn't do their job well. Did you ask how the heating
capacity you were buying compared with that of the existing furnace?
If not, you didn't do your job very well.

I think you will have to work with the company and figure out what
techniclly _can_ be done with the exsiting system to supply sufficient
heating and I think unless you can show they did a load calculation and
missed it by this much you really have very little leverage. Even
then, while I might expect them to contribute some labor, I think it
only reasonable that you should pay for the additional capacity.

Since you were adamant that you didn't want the heat pump unit itself,
that _should_ have raised flags on both sides here -- one, that they
were providing a very unusual system on their end, and you should have
realized you were doing something quite unique on the other side and
done a lot of questioning about how this would manage to provide as
much as or more heat as you removed.

Again, unless you have the stuff in writing as to what was promised, I
don't think there's much you can rely on, unfortunately. That they
have a good reputation as probably means you have a reasonable chance
of negotiating a fair settlement, but I don't think "fair" here will be
likely to include them biting the whole bullet. It may be best in the
long run to actually go with the heat pump addition even if that's not
a thought you wanted to entertain at the moment. That would depend on
the house and the location, but if heat pumps are pretty much the
standard there, that would imply it's not an area too cold for them to
be effective. If, otoh, that's not the case, then options may become
more sticky. Also, of course, what's best option in the long run
depends quite a bit on the electric rates you're paying.

Sounds like a tough situation, but unlike any I've heard before,
precisely...