Most people are happy with their SunPump, and many state they can see a significant cost improvement of 30-50% over electric boiler or baseboard heat. Sometimes people have their expectations high and feel their utility bill was going to be lower, and this could be from others that overestimate the annual performance, a mistake in the projections, or higher use. This article is for those that wonder if their high bills are from the building, other uses, SunPump, or some other cause.
Saving Expectations
It is very difficult to look at a monthly bill and say what portion belongs to SunPump. Fortunately there are steps to confirm SunPump is performing as expected so the focus can shift to the actual causes. It may be easy to point a finger at SunPump, but it is not the answer when the cause lay elsewhere.
Generally expect heating to be in the range near 50%, hot water to be near 20%, and lights & appliance to be approximately 30% during the Winter. A good benchmark is what are the Summer season loads when it is just lights and hot water as the main factors because the heating is off. The difference between December-January compared to July-August is the amount of heating alone. For example, if a new home with baseboard electric and hot water had a total bill for 2 months of $400, about $200 would be heating, $80 hot water, and $120 of lights/appliances. If a heat pump reduced the $200 by 30% to 50% the reduced cost range is $140 to $100, resulting in a 2 month bill in the $300 to $340 range instead of $400. By contrast, if the Owner somehow expected a 60% saving across the board, hoping for a $160 bill that comes in at $320 (twice expectations), it is a mistake to project savings on everything.
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Fact: The average BC home space heating electrical cost is $2480 according to Fortis BC.
This would be over $3,000 with hot water.
Lots of neighbors and friends have been telling me their electric cost feels like it doubled this Winter. Last year was a record mild Winter in BC and this year was a record cold season, so it is not as simple as comparing January 2016 to January 2017. My home uses wood and the bills doubled, how is beyond me at this time. It snowed here on Vancouver Island at the start of December and stayed until mid-March. It is unusual for snow to last more than a few days here, and only 2-3 periods over the entire Winter. Part of this is a Climate Change shift in patterns that had the East much warmer.
Where To Start?
First call your HVAC Installer to verify the 6 key factors have been verified in the start up procedure and recorded on a commissioning form. (ask for the report). They would use a Clamp Meter to measure the Amps when the compressor is running and compare it to the rating on the label as a routine part of the commissioning. The Amps go up when there is too much refrigerant in the closed system, and can be low if there is a lack of R410a balance. This also shows in the discharge temperature measurement, too high is low R410a, and too low is excess R410a. If there are no written records, that indicates set up may have not been done either. HVAC Installers are required to write down the set up values, like Amps, balance, R410a volume added/removed, and more. SunPump asks for a copy.
Note: It is extremely unlikely that the compressor (motor) consumes more watts without a reason. Usually higher consumption is directly related to the building needs more heat, not a fault with the motor. It is simple to verify the watts a motor is using.
Parameter and Data Values
Should you wish to verify how much SunPump is consuming, a free and simple first step is to look at reviewing the Parameter settings and Data measurements in the touch screen controller. In 5-minutes it gives us measurements including energy consumption.
https://www.sunpump.solar/form-view/19
The Parameter & Data details may spot the Mode should be switched to H (heat pump) from HY (hybrid electric) to improve the efficiency once the cold snaps are over. Another point is to check your HRV and Fan settings are not expelling the warm air too often. I was shocked to find a kitchen exhaust that was costing an estimated $120 of extra heating per month by changing the whole building air from heated to fresh cold air in minutes. Ovens, baking season, and self-clean mode can be energy hogs.
Home Owners can check with their Utility company for tips. Here is a helpful link from BC Hydro on this topic: Why Are My Electric Bills So High?
BC Hydro also offers a free Energy Use Calculator to compare typical consumption values. Below is a screen capture comparing a Heat Pump/Air Conditioner with a nominal 2.5 Tonne (30,000 BTU or 8.7 kW) capacity using 3500 watts; to electric baseboards that need 7000 watts to operate twice the capacity. Natural Resources Canada also offers a heating system comparison tool that offers another view on the relative efficiency. A PDF guide from NRCan is attached below that gives some unbiased overview of Air Source Heat Pumps that is worth reading.
Keep in mind, these are relative comparisons - like your gas mileage: Your Results Will Vary.
Another test is to use the free MyHydro utility dashboard to monitor your total energy use. It will not dis-aggregate appliances, but may show patterns influenced by weather, guests, and other variables. One insight is to compare the Dec-Jan bill to July-Aug. to show how much higher heating is over the electric base loads that remain fairly level over the whole year. Note: When SunPump is in Hybrid Mode it uses some backup electricity to boost the heat pump; there is no efficiency gain with using electric heat in SunPump or in Defrost cycles.
Owners wishing for more accurate measurement can rent a digital Energy Meter from us for $50 to record every watt consumed by only the SunPump. This may be the right move if the Owner needs to argue with the Utility that their Smartmeter is not accurate. Note: SunPump does measure running Amps and can be accessed freely through the touch screen controller as shown above.
We will take a VISA card for the rental plus a $50 authorization to secure the Energy Meter cost if it is not returned in 90 days. We deliver a unit by mail to your home, so the Energy Meter can be safely connected by an electrician or your Dealer/Installer. To order call 778-982-0277.
Is Performance a Warranty Issue?
Nowhere in the HVAC or Appliance Industries that we know, and not with SunPump. Why? Performance inside a Lab or fixed environment is dependable, however there are too many site variables to isolate, and so far it has never been anything outside of the 6 Key Factors shown above that are Installer verified. A Dealer or Installer can verify the watts a compressor consumes with a few touches on the Controller screen, and report anything unusual to Tech Support here in Freshdesk by way of a Ticket.
Our Technical Support does not want to charge customers $110 per hour for non-Warranty services acting as an energy detective, but that is the Industry policy. We prefer anyone concerned to first follow the free steps above to learn more and resolve their issue with the support from the Installer and Dealer, who we will back.