A heat pump is an alternate way to heat your home if you desire a non-fossil fuel method that does not produce greenhouse gases.
Heat pumps consist of two primary types:
A heat pump works by moving heat through a refrigerant which acts as a heat transfer fluid. The pump which moves the heat is the compressor which is the primary part similar to your heart in your body pumping blood!
In the summer a heat pump cools your house by removing heat and taking it outside your home. In the winter months the cycle reverses and a heat pump collects heat from outside your house and dumps it into your house to heat it.
While many people find it difficult to understand how a heat pump produces warm air when it is cold, it is during the heating cycle that the heat pump can produce the most significant savings. Since a heat pump moves heat and does not burn a fuel like oil or gas to create heat, the heat pump will produce 2 or 3 times more heat than the electrical energy it uses.
With the new energy efficiency rebates available this is a great time to consider a heat pump especially if you rely on electric as your primary source of heating. upgrade today by replacing your older equipment to a newer Goodman or Lennox
A heat pump savings depends on these three factors:
Cooling efficiency is rated by the S.E.E.R. or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating. If your old equipment is over 8 years old it would be rated at only a 7 or 8 SEER. A new higher efficiency heat pump can be as much as 50%, more efficient!
Heat pumps are rated for heating efficiency by HSPF or (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor). Lennox heat pumps have HSPF ratings up to 9.0! Since a heat pump combines the heat it produces with the heat from outside. the coefficient of performance COP of a heat pump is more than 1! A ground source heat pump has COP as high as 5.0 This means for every dollar of energy spent to run the heat pump up to $5.00 worth of heat is produced. What a deal! The best high efficiency gas furnace can only produce .96¢ for every $1.00 worth spent on fuel.
Heat pumps are a great alternative to other types of heating and are worth checking into for more information. Visit www.lennox.com for more information on the best heat pumps money can buy and made by one of the world's best heating and cooling companies: Lennox.
This concludes our discussion on heat pumps. I can be contacted by Email at glenn@comfortshoppe.com for more information on this or any other pertinent information pertaining to this column. Due to the E-mails received each week please allow 1-3 weeks for replies, as well as items & questions of popular interest will be published in this column.