Now that we have made the move into June, the chill of winter is fading into memory. Before long, though, we will be right in the thick of it in terms of summer heat. If you are at the point when you need an AC installed in a new property, or if the time has just come to schedule an air conditioning replacement, we have a tip for you. Consider the use of a heat pump in Capitol Hill.
Heat pumps are not a new invention. They have, however, gained a lot of traction in the residential sector over the past few years. There are a few different reasons for this. One is the ongoing quest for energy efficiency–more on that later. The other is word of mouth. Modern heat pumps work more reliably than ever before, in all facets of their operation. That may sound mysterious, but read on and all will be revealed…
Year Round Comfort Is the Heat Pump Difference
Remember how we just said that heat pumps today are more dependable in “all facets of their operation”? We don’t just mean cooling the air in your home and running the fan effectively. We also mean heating the air in your home during the winter season, as well. That’s right. When you invest in a heat pump when shopping for an AC, you are actually investing in a new heater, as well.
Wait, What?
To understand the way in which a heat pump is able to both heat and cool a home, you first need to understand how it is that an air conditioner cools the air in a home. It doesn’t somehow generate “coolness” to cool the air, the way that a furnace will generate heat to warm it. Instead, what you are feeling is the absence of heat in the air. That is because an air conditioner works by evaporating refrigerant in the evaporator coil of the system, and drawing heat out of the air moving over that coil in the process.
Right, But How Is Heat Generated?
The answer to this question is pretty simple: it isn’t. Not exactly, anyway. A heat pump does not burn fuel in order to generate heat for warming your home. What it does is essentially reverse the cooling cycle, which is made possible by a component called a reversing valve. Rather than evaporate heat in the indoor evaporator coil, the outdoor condenser coil takes over that task, and the flow of refrigerant is reversed. Now, heat is drawn out of the air outside, warming the refrigerant. That refrigerant is then compressed and its thermal energy is used to heat the air in the living space.
But Why Bother?
Efficiency, that’s why. When you utilize the heat transfer process to heat your home, as you essentially do when cooling it, you use far less electricity–and no gas or oil–than you otherwise would. That means that you not only get an effective air conditioner with a heat pump, but also an incredibly affordable heating experience. Plus, modern heat pumps are more effective than ever before at heating homes even in very cold temperatures.
Leave your heat pump and AC services to Polar Bear Air Conditioning & Heating Inc.