g-and-h_electric
Senior Member
- Location
- northern illinois
- Occupation
- supervising electrician
Hey guys, I am running into an issue that makes no sense to me. I am hoping maybe someone here has an answer.
I am the supervising electrician for an HVAC+ Electric shop, so all electrical problem (and their solutions) fall on me.
I have been running into an issue where the customer wants a heat pump system to replace a conventional gas furnace and central ac system. The estimator and sales staff are going "size for size. By that I mean the furnace ( which is still gas) has the same BTU output, and the A/C has the same tonnage. The problem that I am running into is that the outdoor unit (on a 3 ton system) is now wanting a 42 Amp circuit, 45 Amp breaker. We agree that this needs #8 wire.
My question is why with the outdoor unit being more efficient and having variable speed and inverter drives, am I needing a larger circuit???? I would have expected the exact opposite. I am confused.
Howard
I am the supervising electrician for an HVAC+ Electric shop, so all electrical problem (and their solutions) fall on me.
I have been running into an issue where the customer wants a heat pump system to replace a conventional gas furnace and central ac system. The estimator and sales staff are going "size for size. By that I mean the furnace ( which is still gas) has the same BTU output, and the A/C has the same tonnage. The problem that I am running into is that the outdoor unit (on a 3 ton system) is now wanting a 42 Amp circuit, 45 Amp breaker. We agree that this needs #8 wire.
My question is why with the outdoor unit being more efficient and having variable speed and inverter drives, am I needing a larger circuit???? I would have expected the exact opposite. I am confused.
Howard