>I had an apollo system for a few years and had it replaced with a heat pump. The heat pump was much more efficient but it never got as hot on REALLY cold (below 20 degrees F) days as the apollo system did. Do the heat pumps work that well up there when it is below 20 degrees for multiple days? By virtue of how they operate, I can't see how.
I've never lived in a heat pumped house, so I don't really know, but I do know he seemed pretty happy with it.
>I meant actual basement houses or houses built below ground. Similar in appearances to if you started a house and built the entire basement, but then never finished it (and just plopped a roof on it). It stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer. That is no longer allowed though - I think they stopped allowing basement houses in the mid 80s (or earlier than that). When I was growing up in the 60s in Wisconsin there were a LOT of basement houses up north.
We don't see much of that around here. In fact, I can honestly say I've never seen one. I imagine they'd be much easier to heat and cool. I know in the summer when it gets real hot and humid (mostly humid), if I go into the basement rec room, I actually notice the drop in temperature as I descend the stairs.
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>>When I lived in Edmonton, my house was gas heated. Here in Toronto, many houses that are or were oil have been switching to gas. Mine has always been gas. I imagine there are still lots of oil heated homes, but I think they are probably far in the minority. One guy I know switched over years ago to a heat pump, and he kept getting calls from the gas company telling him they wanted to come and check his meter because it seemed to be broken.
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>>>What is the most common source for heat up there? Is it gas and oil? I remember the cold winters in Wisconsin. Granted this was many years ago, but back then everyone mostly had oil heat to keep warm. I knew several families who lived in basement houses in the winter...
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>>Basement houses? Do you mean basement apartments?
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>>>>When I lived in Edmonton, I loved summer (in fact, I loved Edmonton). The only problem was being awakened early in the morning because the sun was beating in the window. But I enjoyed the fact that it was daylight until late in the evening. Not being [entirely] insane, I wasn't crazy about winters there. You sort of get used to it, but in the end, there isn't much you can do outside in minus 30 or worse weather. In the morning, you turn on the radio to get the news on how long it will take for uncovered skin to freeze today - and it's often measured in single digit seconds.
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>>>>>I love those long days but have to have it dark (very) to sleep. 24 hours of sunlight would drive me nuts! I also hate driving home from work in the winter in the dark (which I do now).
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>>>>>You may enjoy:
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>>>>>
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/sparc/>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>>>SNIP
>>>>>>>>>A few years ago I had a holiday in Ontario, in August. If I'd wanted to, there were but 2-3 days where I could have sunbathed. And that's been true of every time I've visited, and the US, hot and sultry and grey.
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>>>>>>>>Hot and sultry and grey in the U.S.? I don't know where you visited, but I've lived and travelled all over the U.S. and there are few locations that fit that description in the summer. Granted a slow moving front may pass through periodically but they seldom last more than a couple of days. Here in NC we typically have very sunny summers and in fact, it is typically sunny most of the time. In the very hot summer we may have afternoon showers but they seldom last more than a few minutes in the late afternoon/early evening and the mornings and early afternoons are usually sunny. The sunniest places I've been too have been Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Wyoming. Where in the U.S. were you and what time of year was it? How long did you stay?
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>>>>>>>Unfortunately I've only visited the New England states. I wasn't trying to point out that the continent is dull and miserable, only that it's weird for a canuck to crticise English weather.
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>>>>>>Take a trip to Edmonton sometime. Most per diem sunlight hours of any major city in Canada. In the summer, people can be out playing in the sun late into the evening. Of course, you don't want to visit in the winter. Or, if you do, make sure you don't blink around noon, or you'll miss daylight altogether (not to mention the temperature).
