In this episode, Jimmy Smithell of New England Heat Pump Co. discusses whether Mitsubishi Hyper Heat systems can replace oil, natural gas or propane heating in Massachusetts homes. He explains how home layout, ducted and ductless options, load calculations and electrical capacity shape a whole-home heating plan. The conversation also covers backup heat, operating costs and whole-home versus partial-home Mass Save rebates.
John Maher: Hi, I’m John Maher, and I’m here today with Jimmy Smithell of New England Heat Pump Company, a locally owned and family operated company with over 20 years of experience in the HVAC industry, specializing in Mitsubishi heat pumps and ductless heating and cooling systems. Welcome, Jimmy.
Jimmy Smithell: Thanks for having me, John.
Mitsubishi Hyper-Heat Performance in Cold Weather
John: Absolutely. Jimmy, today we’re talking about Mitsubishi Hyper Heat and whether or not it can replace oil or gas in a Massachusetts home. What is Mitsubishi Hyper Heat and how is it different from a conventional heat pump, especially as we get into the winter and temperatures are maybe starting to drop below freezing overnight?
Jimmy: Yeah, definitely. Mitsubishi heat pumps, the Hyper Heats, are amazing technology. These systems, the newer systems, the sumo heat and the Hyper Heat, they have the capability to heat down at actually minus 22, which is just amazing, especially where we live, where it does get into the minus temperatures, maybe not that cold, but these systems are truly amazing. So it’ll actually produce 100% of its size at minus 5, some of the systems minus 10. So yeah, I mean, we’ve come a long way in the heat pump industry as far as technology and heating capabilities where we can heat a New England home 100% all winter, no doubt.
Whole-Home Heat Pumps and Backup Heating Needs
John: So, can a Mitsubishi Hyper Heat system realistically provide all of the heating for a Massachusetts home or are there situations where some sort of backup heat system might be still needed?
Jimmy: Yeah, every situation’s different and that’s something that we look at in every house. There’s situations where if we’re doing a mini split system in the whole home, sometimes the bathrooms are a tough area, the hallways, basements, it really depends on the home. We would recommend some backup heating into those areas if that is the case for mini splits anyways. Really depends on the home, but it’ll heat a hundred percent. We just have to be careful with those few kind of smaller areas. For a ducted heat pump system, we kind of hit all of those areas. So it really depends on the house, but yeah, it’ll definitely do the job and heat 100%. It just depends on the application.
Ducted vs. Ductless Heating for Hard-to-Reach Rooms
John: So explain that with a ducted heat pump system, you’re actually able to put a heat pump system, but it goes into an air handler that’s either in the basement or the attic, and then you’re running basically duct work with vents in each of those rooms. So it makes it a little bit easier to hit multiple rooms and especially those small rooms like bathrooms and bedrooms.
Jimmy: Exactly right, John. So we put an air handler, we put the same Mitsubishi Hyper Heat condenser outside. Now we can attach those to different indoor pieces, one of them being a ductless unit. One of them is an air handler, which you just mentioned, which is a straight ducted system in either the attic or the basement. From there, we pipe those into each individual room and we can provide heating into those bathrooms and hallway areas as well. There’s pros and cons to both of those systems. So again, it really depends on the home. So there’s really no perfect answer there. You do give up a little bit to go ducted where we kind of lose the zoning capabilities that we would have on a ductless system. So again, we really have to look at each home individually and see what the better option is there and make a recommendation based off that.
Home Insulation, Manual J Sizing and Electrical Capacity
John: What are some of the factors that you evaluate when you look at a home like insulation and home size, existing duct work and electrical capacity, things like that, to determine whether a house is a good candidate for a whole home electrification system?
Jimmy: Yeah, you just basically hit on everything right there. We look at all the above. We really have to start with the Manual J to figure out what the home needs as a load. That’s a calculation that we do to figure out what the house needs for BTUs, meaning as sizing of our system. And then from there, we certainly look at things like walls, insulation, doorways, where cold air comes into the home.
From there, we operate on electricity, so it’s very important to us to look at the panels because without the electric capabilities, there’s really not much we could do as it sits. So we definitely dig into that. We are knowledgeable enough when we come into the home, you’ll know exactly what we can and can’t do based on your existing electric panels. If it needs upgrades, we can definitely make those recommendations and get you out a quote to make those upgrades.
So we really do look at all those factors, but the biggest one I would say is the Manual J and the size of the home.
Heat Pump Operating Costs vs. Oil, Gas and Propane
John: How does a Mitsubishi Hyper Heat system compare in terms of operating costs long-term, compared with oil and natural gas and propane?
Jimmy: Sure. So there’s definitely cost savings to be had there. Again, it really depends on what is there. Those are three totally different scenarios and systems. Starting with oil, it’s really old school technology, dirty, soot, waste product, all that poisonous gas in the home. There is a cost savings there.
If we were to install and remove oil and go with a Hyper Heat system, you would save on operating costs for sure. Propane, same thing. We do have operating cost savings against that fuel.
Natural gas, we’re kind of right there. It really depends on, again, the size of the home, what we put in for systems. I would say they’re kind of apples to apples as far as operating cost, but we can zone it and be a lot smarter with our systems than we can with gas. So really different from those three different fuel sources, and then the home is going to really fit itself into what we’d recommend there.
Mass Save Rebates for Whole-Home and Partial-Home Systems
John: And what Massachusetts rebates, tax credits or financing options might help homeowners to make that switch from fossil fuels to a whole home Mitsubishi heat pump system?
Jimmy: Sure. The Mass Save program is an awesome program. We are partners with them. We can offer two different rebate styles. They’re basically a whole home rebate, which is kind of what we just were talking about. If we’re switching completely off of fuel, let’s just say if you have propane oil or natural gas or resistance heat and we are completely getting rid of that system or systems to go all electric, you fall into what’s called a whole home rebate, which is up to $8,500. Really depends on the size of the system, where we fall into place with that. It’s a great rebate.
And then the other one is a partial home rebate where we leave the existing system in place and we convert and talk to that system through a few controllers. That’s also a great rebate. That’s $1,125 per ton with the $8,500 max. So you’re talking worst case, a few thousand dollars in rebates. Best case, up to $8,500 in rebates. So that’s pretty significant.
John: All right, well, that’s really great information, Jimmy. Thanks again for speaking with me today.
Jimmy: Yeah, you’re very welcome. Thank you.
John: And for more information, you can visit the New England Heat Pump Company website at neheatpumpco.com or call 781-443-9911.
