# Mini spilt and current electric bills...



## DRINKSFORALL (Jan 20, 2014)

Just had 3 Mits mini spilts installed in Sept '13 and the electric bills are dissapointing here in Mass. Last 2 have avg $325.00 per mnth!!  We supplement heat w/ a pellet stove as well. what have other Mini split owners seen this season for electric bills please??


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## Former Farmer (Jan 20, 2014)

How many Kwh did you use?  What is your cost per Kwh?  What was your usage from last year for the same months?

It is hard to compare total costs per month with other people.


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## Dave A. (Jan 20, 2014)

Unless you separate out the non-heat electric, total electric usage is meaningless and even more so without context or comparison to the prior cost/usage of heating with other fuels.


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## peakbagger (Jan 21, 2014)

My power bills have not changed yet since installing mine. As reported on another thread my average use is 14 kWh/day since November. I have dedicated power meter on my minisplit so I can read out its actual usage. I am eating up net metering credits but will run out next month. At 16 cents per KW my 950 kWh since 11/10/13  usage would be $150 or around $250 per day. You didn't mention if these were hyperheat units and if you installed the low efficiency version of the high efficiency version. The COPs down around 5 degree are 1.47 vs 1.9 or 2.71 vs 3.59 at 47 degrees so your installer may have given you a long term gift of 29% higher electric bills. Given the reported high power rates in Mass even at these COPs it still isn't cheap to heat with a air source unit but for many there aren't a lot of options


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## woodgeek (Jan 21, 2014)

Agree with peakbagger....but your COP at 5°F is prob not driving the bills.  In MA, I suspect the difference b/w hyperheat and other versions is not huge.    Cost per BTU may be ok, almost certainly 20-30% less than the oil your neighbors are burning.  

My guess is that your BTU loads are still high. Have you called MassSave for an energy audit/retrofit yet?  You are already paying into the program on your electric bill, might as well get some value back from them.


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## Highbeam (Jan 21, 2014)

Funny how when folks stop or start using a prepurchased tank of fuel like LP or oil that they think their bill increased or descreased without consideration of the second fuel source's increase or decrease. You see it a lot when people start heating water with a tankless gas instead of the electric tank.


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## blazincajun (Jan 21, 2014)

water heater tank = limits on wife and two teenage daughter's usage
ng tankless water heater = can't find those limits and I know there are around here somewhere.


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## Highbeam (Jan 21, 2014)

blazincajun said:


> water heater tank = limits on wife and two teenage daughter's usage
> ng tankless water heater = can't find those limits and I know there are around here somewhere.


 
Exactly, plus no concern with hard water, plus full tank of hot water when power goes out, plus cheaper, plus emergency supply. There are some benefits to the tank system.


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## georgepds (Jan 23, 2014)

DRINKSFORALL said:


> ...what have other Mini split owners seen this season for electric bills please??



Zero for me.. but my electric bill has been zero for about a year ( 4.6 kw PV on roof) 

 I use the mini split to supplement my woodstock progress hybrid. Sometimes the wood stove is not enough for an all night burn if I don't load if up .. that's when the split duct heat pump  turns on and takes over with a  silent heat that lets me snooze away the cold morning

FWIIW, I put in an electric meter between the panel and the split duct heat pump so I could track how much the heat pump uses. You can buy and ezread from www.hialeahmeter.com for <$20. This might help you get a handle on the electric  costs of the heat pump

I'm building up a credit with the electric department, since I make more electricity than I use.. build it up in the summer and use it up in the winter is the goal


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