efficient use of wood heat

[pilonidal]

Do you have a heat pump in your current house? Are you happy with it's performance, living in VA. Owned a house in the panhandle of Florida for 10 yrs. OMG, were we stupid when we bought it. We thought it was a heat pump but the first winter electric bill floored us. It had an electric furnace, doh. Anyway, that summer we put in a 3 ton heat pump for a 2100 sq single story house. Great for AC, but even in the mild winters it would get down to freezing during the nights in Jan. and there aren't very many warm molecules of heat floating around outside for the pump to pull in. So it ran quite frequently to eek out that 68 degree indoor temp. It still halved the electric bill, and we more a little more clothing while in doors to feel comfortable.
We moved and built the house here in PA last year and the contractors we talked to recommended either heat pumps or fuel oil as we were going with forced air. Heat pumps floored me when they mentioned them up here in this climate. I just don't see how they can pull any warmth from the outside when it gets down into the 30's and 40's, let alone below freezing. No doubt the back up heat coils kick in and up goes the electric bill.
We went with propane, we want to feel comfortable in the winter. We haven't filled the tanks yet this winter so I too am anxious to see what the cost will be.
If I were building again though I would check into the outdoor water furnaces. I have seen quite a few of them around here and even checked them out the other day on the web just to see what they are all about. Type in "wood furnace" in google or yahoo which ever you use and you'll see a bunch of different brands. Here is a buyers guide site I found - http://www.outdoorwoodfurnaces.org/.
The combinatiion of radiant flooring with forced air from the same unit would make for a comfy house during the winter I would think.

 

[EdK]

The trick to efficient heat pump operation in the more northerly climes appears to be in using either the earth, body of water or a well as the heat source. An associate of mine has a system using an artesian well and it is extremely economical to run albeit somewhat expensive to purchase/install. Of course we in the north also have more expense in the way of ongoing fuel costs to help offset that /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

This link contains information on these types of systems. After investigating those systems I still decided on a wood boiler. The heat pumps while good ultimately leave you hooked on the nipple of your local electric utility company so true energy independence is difficult to achieve unless you also generate your own power.