Should you buy a Heat Pump or an Air Conditioner? Great question. I would venture to say that most homeowners do not really understand what the differences are between the two and what the differences could mean to you.
For the sake of brevity, we will assume that you already have a good idea of what an air conditioner is and how it works.
If not, a split air conditioning system utilizes outdoor and indoor evaporative cooling coils and a connected refrigeration line to move refrigerant through the system and through evaporation, cool the air in your home that passes by this system. Boring huh?
Well, that’s ok, but because we know that, it makes it easier to understand how a Heat Pump works and why you might consider a Heat Pump System over an Air Conditioner.
Really, a Heat Pump is exactly like an air conditioner, except for one little technology change. When a Heat Pump is cooling, it is an Air Conditioner. But, the Heat Pump can do something that an Air Conditioner cannot.
When the temperatures outside start to drop, and heat is needed in your home instead of cooling, a Heat Pump will reverse the flow of refrigeration and instead of removing heat from the home, will capture the heat that exists in the cooler outdoor air and use that heat to warm your home. Pretty cool ( I mean warm) huh?
Now you are more confused then ever. Let me see if I can help you understand. If you paid attention in grade school, you know that freezing takes place at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. So, when the outside temperature drops and you no longer have the need for cooling and your home starts to cool down and you need to call for heat, a heat pump has the ability to utilize the heat that exists in the outside air that is above freezing.
An example: if the outside temperature is 45 degrees, there is actually 13 degrees of heat that the Heat Pump can convert into usable heat for your home. At 45 degrees outside, the Heat Pump is able to take that 13 degrees and warm your 60 degree home up to 73 degrees. And the really neat part is that other then the electricity cost, this is very efficient energy that you are using. Cool huh? (I mean warm).
Now that you know how the Heat Pump makes heat, it is also important to know that Heat Pumps are best used in specific climates. If you live in the northern reaches of the country where winters are long and average winter temperatures are well below freezing, a heat pump will not return the efficiency advantages of say, a high efficiency gas furnace. But, if you live in an area of the country that has a more temperate climate, which is actually a large part of our country, a heat Pump may be your best choice.
In the end, Heat Pumps are COOL and WARM.
