While heat pump technology has been around for over a century and a half, it’s only been used as a common residential HVAC system for the past 40 to 50 years. Due to its growing popularity, it’s no wonder that heat pumps are becoming a must-have technology for many homes.
What Is a Heat Pump System?
A heat pump is an HVAC system that provides heating and cooling for a household. This system relies on refrigerant to transport heat from one location to the next. Unlike other types of heating systems on the market, a heat pump does not produce heat but transfers it.
Types of Heat Pumps
Two types of heat pumps work in residential settings. The first is the air-source heat pump that extracts heat from the air outside and transports it into your home to warm it for the winter months. Air-source heat pumps are more affordable and offer a non-invasive installation process.
The second type of heat pump is the ground source, also known as a geothermal heat pump. This type of system extracts heat from the soil instead of the air. This makes it more reliable in extreme climates. However, geothermal heat pumps are fairly expensive and very invasive to install.
How Does a Heat Pump Work?
Because air-source heat pumps are the most popular kind, we’re going to go into more detail about how they operate. Three components make up a heat pump. An indoor air handler unit, outdoor condenser unit and refrigerant lines connect the two units. For your heat pump to cool your home in the summertime, the indoor air handler unit will pull in hot air from your home and pass it over the evaporator coil inside the unit.
Inside of this evaporator coil is low-pressure liquid refrigerant. Heat pumps work on the idea that heat will naturally move from high-pressure substances to low-pressure substances. As the warm air passes over the evaporator coil, its heat naturally moves to the low-pressure refrigerant inside the coil. This results in cold air that gets delivered throughout the various rooms of your home via your ductwork or the indoor mini-split units.
As heat transfers into the refrigerant, it turns into a gas. This hot gas moves to the outdoor condenser unit via the compressor pump. The compressor pump will compress the hot refrigerant to increase its pressure. As the now high-pressure hot gas refrigerant enters the outdoor condenser unit, low-pressure air is pulled into the condenser unit and forced over the coil. Heat naturally transfers from the refrigerant inside the coil to the low-pressure outdoor air. This hot air gets dispersed to the air outside.
The refrigerant is pumped back into the indoor unit via the compressor pump. As it travels through the refrigerant line, it will enter through an expansion valve. This valve is responsible for releasing pressure from the liquid refrigerant to ensure it gets down to a low-pressure rating. This will ensure that the refrigerant is ready to absorb more heat from the air inside your home. During the winter months, this entire process happens in reverse to remove heat from the air outside and bring it inside your home.
Ducted vs. Ductless Systems
Heat pumps are available in both ducted and ductless setups. Ducted heat pumps rely on the existing ductwork inside your home to deliver treated air to all the rooms. Ductless heat pumps, also known as mini-split units, are ideal for homes that don’t have any ductwork. A mini-split unit is positioned in each of the major rooms in your home and is responsible for pulling in air and treating it to get it to your desired temperature. Ductless mini-split units allow homeowners the ability to enjoy different temperatures in different rooms of their home.
Energy Efficiency
One of the biggest draws of heat pumps over other types of heating and cooling systems is their high operating efficiency. Heat pumps tend to shine during the winter months where they can have an efficiency rating of up to 400%. That is much higher than any other type of heating system on the market today. Ductless mini-split units further increase the operating efficiency of heat pumps because there is no air loss through gaps or leaks in ductwork.
Operating in Cold Climates
One of the main reasons that heat pumps are not used in every home throughout the nation is because air-source heat pumps lose their efficiency when temperatures drop below freezing. These units will struggle to pull any heat out of the outdoor air and, in most cases, they’ll switch over to auxiliary or back-up heating mode. This heating mode functions very similarly to that of an electric furnace where there’s an internal heating element that warms the air. This backup heating mode is very inefficient as compared to the normal functioning of a heat pump.
Considering Dual-fuel Heating Systems
While heat pumps aren’t a reliable heating system for cold climates that experience temperatures below freezing often, they can be part of a great dual-fuel heating system. Homeowners can opt to run their heat pump at temperatures above freezing where it can operate extremely efficiently.
When temperatures dip below freezing, their heating system will switch over to their backup source, like a gas furnace. In freezing temperatures, a gas furnace operates more efficiently and is more cost-effective than a heat pump. Having a dual-heating system in your home can be a great way to ensure optimal efficiency throughout the winter and take advantage of all the benefits that a heat pump can bring for the summertime.
The Top Benefits of Heat Pumps
One great benefit of heat pumps is that they can make you eligible for a federal tax credit. Most homeowners can claim up to $3,200 under the Inflation Reduction Act when they purchase a new heat pump for their home. Even some state and local governments are offering tax incentives as well to get homeowners to invest in more energy-efficient appliances for their homes.
Another benefit that heat pumps hold over other types of heating systems is that they don’t produce toxic fumes. There’s no carbon monoxide to worry about building up inside your home and causing your family harm. Heat pumps simply transfer heat from outside your home to indoors. They don’t burn anything, which makes them super safe for homeowners to operate.
Furthermore, heat pumps are very versatile in their installation practices. You can opt for attaching your heat pump straight to your existing ductwork. Or, if you don’t have ductwork, you can enjoy using ductless mini-split units to provide more precise temperature control for each room of your home. These units come in wall-mounted, floor-mounted, and ceiling-mounted applications.
Expert Heat Pump Service
Precision Heating & Air offers expert heat pump services for the Dallas, GA area. We’re also here to assist with all your heating services as well as your air conditioning, thermostat, duct cleaning, water heater, indoor air quality, generator, blow-in attic insulation, and dehumidifier needs. Contact us today to book your next service consultation.
