Can a Heat Pump Heat & Cool Your Home?

Highly efficient and versatile, heat pumps provide hot and cold air and can lower energy costs by as much as 50% compared to baseboard heat or furnaces. Offering year-round comfort, they do not require fossil fuels, and you can use them in colder climates with subfreezing weather.

Below, we will explore the many benefits heat pumps have to offer. An HVAC contractor or technician, like those at Total Air, can help you find the best model for your home size and budget.

What Is a Heat Pump?

A heat pump is an HVAC system that transfers heat from outside and brings it indoors through thermal energy using a refrigeration cycle. An alternative to boilers, furnaces, and air conditioning, heat pumps are like refrigerators and use refrigerant and electricity to work.

Heat Pump Components 

Heat pumps have an outdoor unit and an indoor air handler with subcomponents, including compressors, expansion valves, reversing valves, and refrigerant.

Heat pumps can improve air quality, create more pleasant room temperatures, and are up to 3 times more efficient than traditional heating systems. Hence, if your existing unit is faulty or causing higher utility costs, consider replacing it.

When choosing a heat pump, factors include your weather and home size, the model’s efficiency, price, fuel consumption, and required heat output. Heat pumps can range from 1.5 tons to 5 tons, and suggested models include:

• Warmest to coldest climates: 18-19 SEER and 9-10 heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF). 
• Moderate to cool climates: 14-17 SEER and 8.5-9.5 HSPF.

Heating & Cooling Your Home With a Heat Pump

Because heat pumps transfer hot air instead of generating it, they require less energy than traditional heating systems. In climates with weather below 40 degrees, these durable systems can work effectively with other heating equipment if you want to partner them with your HVAC system, a gas furnace, or radiant heat.

Heating Your Home

In the winter, heat pumps pull heat from outside to help warm your home:

• A reversing valve redirects refrigerant as coils outside serve as evaporators, and the indoor coil works like a condenser.
• The refrigerant turns heat energy into a cold gas, adds pressure, and creates a hot gas that heats and turns into a warm liquid.
• Once outside, the liquid will lose its pressure and cool before restarting the steps.

Cooling Your Home

In the summer, heat pumps work in reverse to transfer indoor heat to the outside:

• Liquid refrigerant runs through a coil and absorbs heat from the air in your home.
• The fan blows cold air throughout your house as the gas refrigerant heats, evaporates, and moves through a coil to the outside air.
• The refrigerant cools and becomes a liquid, which runs back into the valve to restart the process.

Benefits of Heat Pump Installation

Heat pumps are an excellent choice for homeowners who want to help the environment and lower heating and cooling costs. Playing a major role in climate change mitigation, heat pumps offer several benefits that include:

• Energy efficiency (lower utility bill): Environmentally friendly, heat pumps are among the cheapest heating sources.
• Reduced carbon footprint: Heat pumps can lower as much as 7.6 tons of carbon emissions annually.
• Long lifespan: With routine service, a heat pump can last 10-12 years or longer.
• Versatility in heating and cooling: Because they offer AC and heat, they can expel cold or hot air outside.
• Ease of use: Among the most comfortable heating systems, they offer quieter operation and dehumidification features.

Why Choose Total Air for Heat Pump Installation?

Backed by a great reputation and industry-leading experience, Total Air provides flexible financing and online specials to offset costs. Founded in 1957, we provide top-notch HVAC services in the Dallas Metro Area and are Carrier Factory Authorized Dealers. With 24/7 emergency service and convenient payment plans, whether you need a heat pump, repair, installation, or heat pump replacement, rely on us for your home comfort needs!

We’re not comfortable until you are. Schedule a heat pump installation in Plano, TX, by calling Total Air at 972-881-0020 and asking about home improvement tax rebates with heat pump installation.