Heat pump prices depend on a few factors, namely: Power Output Brand The type of maintenance contract The warranty Also there are a few hidden costs that you should bare in mind.
For example sometimes maintenance is included in the price - these are the kind of deals to go for.
If no maintenance is offered then it may be the case that the installer is not willing to stand behind their workmanship.
Likewise, try to get as long a warranty as possible.
The brands with the best reputation are Trane and Carrier.
Heat pumps come in two varieties, air source and ground source.
Air source are considerably less expensive since ground source requires pipes to be laid under ground.
Typically a complete air source system (including ducting work) should cost US$4,500 - US$6,000.
Ground source heat pump prices should be in the range from US$10,000 to US$25,0000.
A very good idea to reduce the running cost of your heat pump, and increase the warmth in your home is to make sure you have very good insulation before you install a turbine.
The temperatures that can be created by a heat pump are lower than fossil fuel equivalents, yet these are perfectly adequate if your insulation is good.
First steps would be to make sure you have excluded any draughts and have insulated the attic - this is very important and costs relatively little.
Cavity wall insulation is also very worth while, but is not as cost effective as the previous steps.
A air source heat pump was featured on the UK TV show "It Isn't Easy Being Green".
What impressed me most about this technology is that for every unit of electricity you put into the system, you get around 3-5 units of heat energy out.
By using electricity that was produced by renewable sources, it was effectively carbon neutral which is good for the environment.
They also said that it works in much the same way a fridge works by pumping fluid through a coil and then through a compressor to extract the heat from the fluid.
The house in the program could have also benefited from a ground source heat pump to produce even more heating.
However, they instead opted to build a rainwater harvester which had to be installed around 5 feet underground.
This would be able to supply water for the toilet, washing machine, and gardening, but there was perhaps not enough space to install the pipes necessary for a ground source heat pump.
When combined with a solar hot water heater, they said that it would save them around £500 per year in bills.
If energy prices go up then they stand to save even more money too.