Mr Cool Universal Heat Pump Review | Heat Pump at Fixed Temperature All Winter

This 2nd winter we decided to keep the mr cool heat pump operating at a fixed temperature all winter. We reviewed the Mr Cool Universal heat pump performance this 2nd winter showing all our costs and temperature data.
we previously had a gas furnace. When the A/C condenser died, we opted to
a MrCool universal heat pump
with No Vac quick connect lines.
These can even be found on Amazon:
2 to 3 Ton 18 SEER Variable Speed MrCool Universal Central Heat Pump Split System - Upflow/Horizontal with Quick Connect Lineset - 35 Feet

4 to 5 Ton 18 SEER Variable Speed Mr Cool Universal Central Heat Pump Split System - Upflow/Horizontal with Quick Connect Lineset - 35 Feet (35 FT LINESET Included)
by MRCOOL

Because we saved so much money on the Heat Pump, we were expecting that the additional heating costs from relying on electricity would not be too great.
Because MrCool Universal Heat Pump uses inverter technology, we could have the heat pump heat our mid western house without the need of a heat strip.

Heat pumps are awesome air conditioning solutions. But what about cold temperatures?
This video will show all our 1st winter costs.
We installed a Mr. Cool Universal heat pump to be our air conditioning and heating solution. Of course you would think Mr Cool air conditioning. But Mr Cool for heat? YES! Mr cool heat pump air conditioner all in one.
The Mr. Cool Universal uses a quick connect no-vac line set combined with an inverter system to bring economy to your wallet as well as the installation! Inn this video we show how we installed this heat pump as an answer to how 20 year air conditioner woes.
The pre-charged line set takes away a lot of the installation head aches and expense making this heat pump an attractive solution for the consumer. Though the Mr Cool Universal is not sold as a DIY heat pump, it is nearly easy enough to be a DIY heat pump install.
Mr Cool has also documented how their Mr Cool Universal Heat Pump can heat when temperatures are below zero without using a supplemental heat strip!

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[Housebarons]

If you are wondering about performance details and costs we've experienced with a Mr Cool Universal heat pump, then be sure to check out our Mr Cool HVAC playlist.
We have tried to answer as many questions as we could imagine in the 17+ videos in this playlist - hopefully they help you!

The price of the unit we bought is around $3800 ( as of June 2024) on Amazon :
2 to 3 Ton 18 SEER Variable Speed MrCool Universal Central Heat Pump Split System - Upflow/Horizontal with Quick Connect Lineset - 15 Feet
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[christopherflora]

I am in my second winter with my Mr Cool. This thing continues to impress. We had some single digit temps when that cold front came through at Christmas and no issues keeping us warm. I also do not have heat strips! I recently installed a programmable thermostat and set up some schedules. Not expecting any savings after your video though!🤣

[optionstraderman]

I live in Central Florida, and we have the opposite problem here... Hot and Humid 6 to 8 months out of the year. In May of 1999, I had a Trane XL1800 Dual Compressor (separate 5 ton & 2.5 ton compressors) Heat Pump installed with 18 Seer rating. Despite having a programmable thermostat, after thinking it through logically, it just made more sense to us to lock the temp at 76 Degrees in the summer and about 68 Degrees in the winter. The unit runs mostly on the 2.5 Ton compressor, but when the house gets more than 2 degrees away from the thermostat set point, it switches over to the 5 Ton compressor and runs it until the temp comes back down a couple of degrees, then switches back to the 2.5 ton and runs. During the summer months, this continues all day long. I have performed regular maintenance on it over the years, and it's still going strong. This summer coming up (2023) will be its 25th summer of service. We are cooling a 2500 sq ft single story home built in 1980 which has very little attic insulation and very little insulation in the walls, single pane windows, etc. It's a brick home with a wood frame, no basement and the house faces south, so lots of sun on the 70 foot long front brick face and top of the house most of the time. While the unit seems to run most of the time in the summer, the Kilowatt usage has remained pretty stable throughout its life from summer to summer. We are an ALL ELECTRIC home and use about 66.5 kWh per day during the hottest month of the year (about 2131 kWh for the billing month of 32 days). Every other month is less. Setting the thermostat and forgetting it seems to be much easier on the unit as it never really has to "Catch Up" more than a degree or two on temperature, and everything in the house stays at a constant temp and humidity level. The house stays about 45% relative humidity when it's 90+ degrees and 80% to 99% humidity outside. No issues with mold or mildew in the conditioned space at all. Personally, I think programmable thermostats are pretty much a gimmick to sell more thermostats and make your equipment work harder and not last as long. That's just my humble opinion, LOL. Anyway, I'm looking at replacing my old Trane with the 5 ton Mr Cool Universal unit at some point, so I'm glad yours is working well. Thanks for all of the updates.

[mosfet]

Thanks for the video.
I order #2 oil a month ago (Oct 2022). They told me the price was $5.15 a gallon so I stopped the delivery and bought a mini split which I just installed. I also installed a power meter to check the load, I'm going to check the consumption vs the outside temps to get an idea of what my costs are. In the last three days I've used 16kWh but about half of that was offset by my PV system. It appears this unit is so efficient I could actually run it off grid from my battery back up, the SEER is 25.5 and the HSPF is 13. It will be interesting to see the results but I can tell right away that I will pay for the mini in one winter with the plus that I'll have air conditioning in the summer. This thing sips power, incredible!

ps: I'm keeping it at a constant temp, I read that's the beat way to run it.

[joeb]

If you program your tstat to drop the temp, just do set back of 2 degrees F, no more than that. I do that for the nights only and have it bring the temp back up the 2 degrees while I'm still sleeping, so it's back to "normal" when I normally get up.. That's just for heating. For cooling I'm set for the same temp 24/7.

[rocketstar]

Mine is raised off the ground and I boxed mine completely in, I left lots of clearance around it. I used 1/2" treated plywood and painted it to match my house. Now no rain or snow can touch it. If I have to drive it I just take out a few screws and I can get to it.

[PHamster]

I have the same garage door system and the same outdoor condenser (granted different label). Power consumption for me was about the same when set to 68 vs 71 with the same heat pump. Granted I have solar and batteries to offset and my temperature outside only drops to 43*F.

Maybe SPAN should sponsor this channel so you can try out their smart panel with power monitoring.

[bgaff]

You should try switching the unit to the 2 ton or 24, 000 but setting this winter. It operates more efficiently at this setting and you will find out is it is able to keep up with your heat load. if it cant it wouldn't be hard to switch back to 3 ton. Could be some decent energy savings there.

[rover-t]

Thanks for your post. Just about to install Mr Cools in our place and I was wondering if the 24/7 option was a possibility.

[moirhoh]

Great videos. I'm thinking of doing the same thing near Dayton, Ohio.
How large is your house in square feet and which Mr Cool did you choose?

[countach]

I am looking to add one of these systems. So if I listened correctly, you are testing the theory that it takes more energy to bring the temp back up to 71 than it does just leaving it at 71 all the time. Presumably, it takes more energy to get things warm again. Interestingly, this goes along with the theory that leaving fluorescent lights on saves more energy than turning them on and off because it takes a lot of energy to start them. I learned, or at least was told this, when I sold fluorescent bulbs by phone, which turned out to be a cover business for the mob, but that's another story... The outcome overall was negligible, very interesting. My issue would be is that I like it cooler at night because it helps me sleep better but this is still good information to have and doesn't change my mind about getting a system for my homes in Colorado and Arkansas.

[psholmes]

I believe there are multiple factors leading to your end result. Your findings align with what I’ve observed monitoring watts vs btu on my 2 ton this winter (mild winter temps of 30 at night & 50 during the day). I suspect your unit is likely running for longer periods of time because your outdoor temps are so low & consistently below freezing. Thus it’s operating at max efficiency (fully ramped up) most of the time regardless vs if you were in a milder winter climate. I’ve observed the efficiency of the unit is greater the warmer the indoor temp so I’m not surprised that in a very cold climate it’s only marginally more expensive to keep it at a steady temp 24/7. In a milder climate the 6-7% gap might grow a bit if the thermostat schedule and temps are optimized. No way that’s the case for most people so I’d expect others to observe similar findings to yours.

I’ve been blown away by the efficiency of my MrCool 2 ton Universal. These units should be required in every home that needs heating in freezing temps. Mine uses exactly 50% less energy during freezing temps vs my previous Bryant hump with heat strips. It was an HSPF 9 and very efficient but this mrcool inverter technology is far superior in freezing temps.

[furtherwest]

Nice review. Would be great to know how Mr. Cool compares to normal heat pump with heat strips.

[electricandlspower]

I feel keep it steady temp is better. Big swings takes alot to bring it to where you want it.

[chiefcliff]

Thanks for these videos on your Mr. Cool Universal. Your videos are about the most comprehensive on YouTube regarding the system. I am building a 2500 square-foot log home and thinking of installing a 4–5 ton universal unit. I am planning on installing all of my own ductwork. Is there anything new you would recommend from Mr. cool on doing the system? Is there a retailer online that you like for purchasing these products? Any other advice? Thanks!

[Jon-hxpe]

Heatpumps are best left at a constant temperature - the reason has to do with efficiency and compression ratios, efficiency is lower when its running full out compared to at reduced capacity.
The house does lose more heat overall at a constant temperature - so it may balance out.

when heating with gas/oil furnaces, setback does save.

[vanlam]

Grate video, can we depend on the MRCOOL Universal AC unit on the winter without the gas furnace ? How many square feet are on your house and the average cost of the utilities bill at 71F ? Can it go up to 75F at constant temperatures? I am looking at buying one. Please help...

[rickedwards]

My house is at 66° when we’re in it and at night the heater turns off completely. I have trouble sleeping if my bedroom temperature is much above 65. When it’s really cold in the winter by the time the oil boiler turns on at seven in the morning the house somewhere around 58 or 59°. I assume when I swap the oil boiler out for a heat pump I will have to adjust to the warmer nighttime temperatures. I also assume that if I keep the thermostat at 66, I will save quite a bit of money.

[patreilly]

When I bought the house we are in now the other owner had the thermostat programed to drop the temperature at night to 65 from 70. I let that run for a couple of months and noticed a few issues with that. One the house was reduced from 11:30 PM till 6:45 AM. the furnace still would come on at those lower temperatures and the unit would cycle the same as if it was still at 70 F. There was a short double OFF period after the switch over at 11:30 PM then it was the same cycle on off. Two when 6:45 AM came the temperature would go to the daytime setting and the furnace would run until it hit the time out limit on the burner. After a short cool down period the furnace would fire up again and go till it timed out. This would happen till the temperature was back at 70 F. The run time till the cut out activated is about three times the burn time from a normal cycle during the day time. The amount of gas saved in the night at the lower setting is nothing. So I stopped doing that because other issues started showing up. There was a couple of places where the grout on the ceramic tile started to crack and come out. Talked to a tiling expert and the first thing he asked was I setting my thermostat down. Ceramic tile expands and contracts at a different rate than the floor under lay under it and the constant cycling of it can cause this problem.
Another thing about this My son lived with two women sharing a house while he was going to school. During a long cold spell he complained to me that they could never get the house warm enough and the furnace was running all the time. I went over and looked at his furnace and thermostat and found that it was set up to retard the temperature in the night but also in the day time as well. Checked the BTU output on the name tag and this furnace was on the small size for that house. Told him to stop cycling the temperature and just leave it at 70 F. The girl that had set it that way was very angry with that but after two days that small furnace finally caught up and began to cycle properly. My son and the other girl over rode the Green girl and left the thermostat set to 70.

[PHamster]

Since it got really cold…I’m curious now on how that heat pump is going.