The amount of decisions you have to make to manage your home seems to be endless: carpet or laminate, high-efficiency appliances or standard, paint or wall paper. As if that’s not enough, here’s an additional one – air conditioner or heat pump.
Some may be convinced to invest in a heat pump when they hear the annual energy costs can be lower, but how can you be certain a heat pump is truly right for your home’s heating and cooling needs? And what makes it different from an air conditioner anyway?
When it comes to cooling, heat pumps and air conditioners are essentially the same. The air conditioner pulls heat from inside the home and dumps it outside, giving you cooler air in your home. The heat pump works the same way so, throughout the cooling season, they operate alike and, all things equivalent, cost about the same to keep your home cool.
Yet, unlike an air conditioner, a heat pump can be reversed when the cooling season is over. The reversed system can take heat from the outside of the home and move it inside, producing warmer air in your home. You have product that does twice the work, keeping your home comfortable all year, and lowering your energy.
Whereas a heat pump does the job of a “heater” in cooler temperatures, if you have a standard air conditioner instead of a heat pump, your home uses a completely different system for heating – usually a gas or electric furnace.
A furnace is a more robust heating system and is necessary for certain cooler climates. That’s because a heat pump has difficulty when the weather hits about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. As weird as it seems, during cold weather, a heat pump is intended to pull heat from the outside air and use it to heat the inside air. Although it may be too cool outside for comfort, there is still an adequate amount of heat for the heat pump to function well, but at exceptionally low temperatures there is not enough heat available outside to warm the inside air to higher temperatures needed to stay warm. So while a heat pump may be great during the cooler temperatures for someone in Orlando, someone living in Virginia with a heat pump would likely also need a furnace for the more extreme temperatures. If you don’t have a furnace that kicks in when the freezing temperatures hit, the heat pump can run for hours trying to keep your home warm enough.
In certain areas, heat pumps can function as geothermal systems, and the heating source is better for the environment because it is not burning fossil fuels and, instead, uses the Earth’s native temperature to heat and cool. This is a wonderful alternative for particular northern climates, but extra land must be available in order to install the correct piping for a geothermal system.
When it comes to home comfort, you probably didn’t need anything else to think about; but, remember, it’s important to review the pros and cons of each heating and cooling system so you don’t end up buying a system that doesn’t work when extreme temperatures hit, or investing in additional systems when one would suffice.
If you still aren’t convinced which system is best for your home, call CMRVA Heating & Air Conditioning to schedule a complimentary in-home quote. We are available to answer any and all of your questions to ensure you choose the right option for your home.
https://cmrva.com/services/heating-system-installation/
