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I'll put together a small photo album shortly.
This morning I woke to 3" of snow and negative 10 degrees F. Chilly!
The heat pump was off, so I turned it on to see what would happen. At this moment it is running for the past 50 minutes and has defrosted once. It isn't blowing much heat, but it's a little. I suppose as much as a small electric fan ceramic heater on low.
It'll be a cold day to work in my office, so I'll work from the dining room instead- something that I don't mind doing a couple days a year.
As to air purification and dehumidication-
the unit has a plastic mesh screen filter that seems to grab dust and such very well. I've rinsed it out in the sink once. There are no other 'ion' charged filter gimics with this unit- just the mesh screen. It is similar to what you would find in the front of a modern window a/c unit.
I can't say I've tested dehumidification. I'll get a chance this summer, as Minnesota's 10,000 lakes can make our area a little steamy.
Something else I discovered that may be of help:
in Mpls our electric utility is Xcel Energy. They offer a 'dual fuel' program for reduced electric rates.
Basicly if you have gas or other fossil fuel 'back up' heat and install electric resistance or heat pumps (for space or water heating) you can (at a cost of about $1500) intall a second electric meter. This meter provides power at a cheap $.045 kwh but has a 'saver switch' which allows it to be shut off at any time. Last year it was only shut off twice for a couple hours during some peak demand.
I haven't installed this yet, and I am contemplating some remodeling and need to consider where to route additional wires, etc. I think this sort of program often exists in other parts of the country and could be a great way to really drop the costs down.
I'd like to add the big heat pump to the basement or main floor, and the heat pump water heater as well, and then install the extra meter.
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