Will this work?

Hi..I have an idea that I would put past the pros before I experiment....what would happen if I were to "protect" my heat pump from wind , rain and "Cold" (it has been 10-20 degrees here all week).....If I were to build a "lean-too" off the side of my house....say a 3 sided with a sloped roof....it would be minimum 2 feet clearence from the sides of the unit and high enough for the fan to blow without restriction.....also if I could somehow keep that "lean-too" area between 35-50 degrees....I have a HRV vent relativly close to my outside unit...if were divert/funnel that exhaust air into the "lean-too"....the side would not come all the way to the ground nor would they go all the way to the top...it would sort of resemble a "outhouse" of sorts..

 

Might work if you keep a hot fire going inside the outhouse but then if you are going to do that why not just build a fire in the fire place hmmmmmm. Your heat pump is pulling a lot more BTU's out of the air than you think (you will not keep temps above freezing unless you add a significant heat source) if you enclose around it you will restrict its efficiency. Now a nice roof over the area to protect from rain snow etc. would be a excellent idea just do not enclose it.

 

Ive seen to many of these set up where The heat pump / or AC is just recirculating the same air because the sides or two close and there is a roof over top. Once you start recirculating the efficiency drops. If you build a wall to hide the unit I stay off sides of unit about three feet with no cover over head.