As many homeowners are starting to look at their energy usage, some are making it a goal to reduce their carbon footprint. When it comes to your home, one great improvement you can make is investing in a heat pump. This HVAC system is ideal for providing year-round comfort for your family, regardless of whether it’s in the winter or the summer.
What Is a Heat Pump?
A heat pump is a specialized type of HVAC system that relies solely on electricity to help transfer heat from one location to another. During the summer, it will move heat from the interior of your home to the outdoors so that you can have a nice cool environment inside. During the winter, it will transport heat from the outdoors into your home so you can stay nice and warm.
Types of Heat Pumps
There are two main types of heat pumps that you can purchase for your residence. The geothermal kind, also known as a ground-source heat pump, relies on extracting heat from the soil. This requires an extensive installation in order to get appropriate looping underneath the surface of the ground.
On the other hand, air-source heat pumps work by extracting heat from the air, and they’re more affordable. One major drawback of air-source heat pumps is that they do not work in all climates at all times. When temperatures get below freezing, air-source heat pumps will struggle to work and eventually won’t be able to extract sufficient heat from the air outside. In harsh climates, they can be combined with another heating device.
The Components of a Heat Pump
Because most homeowners invest in an air-source heat pump due to its affordability and ease of installation, we’re going to focus solely on this style of heat pump for the remainder of this article. Before we dive into how these heat pumps work, it’s important to first understand their main components.
The system is comprised of an indoor air handler unit, an outdoor condenser unit, and refrigerant lines. The direction of the flow of refrigerant will determine whether your heat pump is providing heat or air conditioning for your home.
How Does a Heat Pump Work?
To better understand a heat pump, we’re going to go through the process of how a heat pump will heat your home during the winter months. It all starts at the outdoor condenser unit. The blower fan inside this unit will pull air from the outdoors and pass it over the condenser coil. Inside of this coil is a low-pressure refrigerant. Because heat naturally wants to move to low-pressure substances, as the outside air passes over the condenser coil, heat transfers to the refrigerant. This causes the refrigerant to increase in pressure and turn into a gas.
The compressor pump in the outdoor unit is responsible for pumping that gas through the refrigerant line to the indoor air handler unit. Inside this unit is another coil known as the evaporator coil. As the blower components of the indoor air handler force cold air from your home over the evaporator coil, heat naturally transfers from the high-pressure refrigerant to the low-pressure air. This results in warm air that’s delivered throughout your home via your ductwork or directly from a mini-split unit.
The refrigerant then returns to a liquid state and continues its journey back toward the outdoor condenser unit. As the refrigerant flows through the line, it will go through an expansion valve. This valve is responsible for ensuring that the refrigerant goes back to low pressure so it’s ready to absorb more heat from the outdoor air. This process happens over and over again until your home reaches the desired temperature setting on your thermostat. It’s also vital to know that this operation happens in reverse during the summertime to provide cooling for your home.
No Toxic Emissions
One of the biggest advantages of using a heat pump over other types of traditional heating systems, like furnaces and boilers, is that it doesn’t burn fuel. Heating systems that burn fuel create toxic fumes. These fumes have to be vented to the outdoors to prevent any harm from happening to the inside of your home. With a heat pump, there are no safety risks involved as no toxic fumes are produced.
Great Operating Efficiency
Another reason that heat pumps are considered a more sustainable source of heating is their great operating efficiency. Heat pumps can have an efficiency rating of between 300% and 400%. The only other type of heating system that comes anywhere close is an electric furnace that operates at 100% efficiency. It’s clear to see that a heat pump will use far less energy to produce the same amount of warmth as other types of heating systems on the market today. Much of their efficiency is attributed to the fact that they only transport heat instead of having to waste energy creating it.
Ductless vs. Ducted Heat Pump Systems
Air-source heat pumps can come in both ductless and ducted models, depending on your individual preferences. Ducted models are very common because many homeowners who are looking to enhance their operating efficiency already have existing ductwork. They can simply replace their central air conditioning system or furnace with a heat pump. While these models can operate very efficiently, they are restricted by the condition of your ductwork. If your ducting has any gaps or leaks that have opened up over time, your hot air can escape into wall and floor cavities. That can greatly reduce the efficiency of your heat pump.
Ductless systems are becoming more popular due to their ease of installation. The systems don’t require you to have any existing ducts, which makes them ideal for home additions as well as older homes that simply lack ductwork. Instead of using a central indoor air handler, ductless systems use mini-split units. Each mini-split functions as an indoor air handler for a specific room of your home.
Instead of transporting air through your ducting, each unit has its own blower components. It pulls in air from the room, treats it, and then redistributes it back into the same room. These ductless mini-split units can all be set independently, which gives you the ability of zone temperature control. When you have more control over the individual temperature of each room, you can be more strategic with your system’s energy usage. For example, you can turn the heat down in your bedrooms while leaving it up in your other rooms. You can even turn off the mini-split unit for a room that you don’t use often.
Reliable Heat Pump Service
Emergency Air Heating Cooling & Plumbing offers reliable heat pump service for the Phoenix, AZ area. Whether you require installation, maintenance, or repair, our HVAC technicians can assist with all your air conditioning, indoor air quality, and heating services needs. We handle plumbing as well, everything from sump pumps and rooter services to leak detection and gas lines. Simply contact our office staff today and book an appointment with one of our professionals.
