[MassHistPres] Integrating heat pumps into historic homes

[R. Christopher Noonan]

Hi Ralph:

In some municipalities it does require a permit and in some municipalities it does not -- go figure. It does need an electrical permit for power !!!

Good luck.

R. Christopher Noonan
________________________________
From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> on behalf of Ralph Slate <slater at alum.rpi.edu>
Sent: Thursday, April 1, 2021 4:05 PM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Subject: [MassHistPres] Integrating heat pumps into historic homes

I am seeing a big push for people to convert their heating systems to more efficient heat-pump technology, and I think this will become a significant challenge in the future for owners of historic homes.

The issue that I foresee is that the predominant way to accomplish this conversion in a house without a ducted heating system is via "ductless splits" - where a fan unit is installed on the inside, and a condenser is installed on the outside. The two halves are connected with copper piping which transfers the heat via a refrigerant. There are currently rebates available for these units at Masssave.

What I have been seeing is that the most convenient way to install these systems is to run the piping along the outside of the house, and cover it up with plastic channels which look like gutters. A 3" hole is then drilled through the house to carry the piping to the point where the fan unit is located. A fan unit is usually required in every room. Because the interior fan units are somewhat large, homeowners need to place them in very specific locations, not considering the impact on where the channels appear on the outside of the house. The end result is usually an asymmetrical series of channels running across the outside of the house

Although these channels can be painted, sometimes homeowners do not do this, and although paint helps, if the channels are installed in prominent locations (like on the front of the house) it doesn't help much.

I do not think that installing one of these systems requires a building permit (triggering historic review), so this issue arises as more of an "after-the-fact" problem, but one which would be difficult to mitigate after-the-fact without a total re-installation.

I will try and paste photos into this email of a few nearby me, hopefully the pictures will come through.

My question is, given that this will gain in popularity, does anyone know of a better way to conceal this technology? This may be the predominant method of heating in the future, especially as we shift away from carbon-based heat, because it involves moving heat instead of burning fuel to generate it.

Basic guidelines could include requiring the channels to be painted the same color as the house, or disallowing them from the front facade. Is there more that could be asked?

Ralph Slate
Springfield, MA

[cid:part1.491B3186.32DFD8F4 at alum.rpi.edu]  [cid:part2.0E4883AD.6B068B8A at alum.rpi.edu] [cid:part3.FAA54DBA.40A305BF at alum.rpi.edu]


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