You may not think much about your HVAC heating system. This disregard is actually how the situation should be. You likely only think about the system when it’s not functioning properly. If the system is doing its job, you don’t have to worry.
However, do you know if you have a heat pump? If you don’t, you might consider investing in one. Below are some important facts about heat pumps.
1. Heat Pumps Can Both Heat and Cool
Despite its name, a heat pump can double as both a heater and an air conditioner. When in heating mode, it pulls energy from the outside using electricity. It takes the heat from the air and transfers the warmth into your home. Some heat pumps function by taking heat from the ground rather than the air.
Heat pumps can also act like an air conditioner. Heat pumps feature a cooling mode, where they take coolness out of the air or ground and transfer the cool air into your home. So, you can actually replace both an air conditioner and a furnace with a single heat pump system.
2. Heat Pumps Come in Three Varieties
As noted above, heat pumps can get their warmth or coolness from two different sources. Heat pumps also come in three varieties.
The most common variety is the air-to-air heat pump. These are the pumps that take warmth from the outdoor air and transfer it into the relevant building.
For homes that have large yards, geothermal heat pumps may be preferable. These are the pumps that take heat from the ground. These pumps require a system of underground coils to collect heat. The pump transfers the heat to surrounding air and pumps it into your home. In the summer, it takes the heat out and transfers it into the soil.
Some homes are next to wells, lakes, or other natural sources of water. These homes are candidates for water-source heat pumps, which run like the geothermal pump but use water instead of soil.
3. Heat Pumps Require Little Maintenance
A big advantage of heat pumps is you can use one unit to replace two separate systems. Cutting the systems in half means that you’ll cut the maintenance tasks in half. You only have to service one system, and heat pumps require little maintenance.
Just like with your air conditioner system, you should change out the air filters at least once a season, though once a month is preferable during high-use months. A dirty filter decreases the efficiency of your system and can even introduce allergens into the air. You can buy a washable filter or a disposable one.
Likewise, you should keep the area around the heat pump free of blockage, which includes grass, shrubbery, leaves, and other debris. This task is especially important if you have the style of heat pump that uses surrounding air to provide conditioned air for your home, as the system needs easy access to that air.
Finally, every three or four years, you should oil the fan motor to keep your heat pump working at peak performance. Your owner’s manual can guide you to this fan, or you can call for professional maintenance.
4. Heat Pumps Offer Different Feature Options
When you shop for a heat pump, you’ll notice that you have different feature options. One of those features is a desuperheater coil. This coil is an energy-efficiency option. It recycles waste heat, which means the coil reclaims extra heat and transfers it into a separate water tank. Essentially this system pre heats the water coming into the water heater saving energy by running the water heater less.
Another feature is either a dual-stage or modulating compressor. This feature is another one that works toward energy efficiency. It adjusts up or down according to how much heating or cooling your environment needs.
Heat pumps already save you money — if you look for a model with one of the above features, it can help cut your energy bills even further.
Save on energy bills and maintenance with a heat pump. Advanced Heating & Cooling has a variety of heat pumps to choose from.
