If your HVAC system has been declining in performance, or if you’re energy bills are higher than you’d like, it may be time to reconsider your heating and cooling configuration. Working with a heating contractor can help you identify more reliable and efficient options, like heat pumps. Here is a beginner’s guide to these devices to help you decide if they’re right for your home.

Understanding Heat Pumps

What Are They?

Instead of using fuel or electricity to generate new heat energy to warm you home, heat pumps feature extract heat from the outside air or earth and transfer that warmth inside your home during the winter. These appliances reverse the process in the summer to create a cooling effect.

Air source heat pumps change the temperature by absorbing heat from the outside air, while ground heat pumps take in energy from the soil before heating or cooling the house. 

These systems rely on outdoor units to extract heat energy. For example, air units absorb heat using a coil of refrigerant that changes to cool gas. The gas is pressurized and grows hot before passing through the system to the indoor unit. There, it heats the air as the gas warms and becomes a liquid again and flowing back to the outdoor unit. This process reverses to cool the home as the appliance brings heat from inside and releases it outside.

What Are the Benefits?

Heat pumps are energy efficient because they don’t generate heat—they transfer existing energy instead. Look for a heat pump that is ENERGY STAR certified to ensure you’re using the least amount of electricity possible to keep your home comfortable.

Homeowners who are concerned about air quality may prefer heat pumps because they run on electricity and don’t create emissions that may contaminate the indoor air or harm the environment.

If you’re ready to upgrade your HVAC system, contact the reliable heating contractors at Moeller Furnace Co in Webster County, IA. The third-generation business has catered to the Badger and Barnum area since 1912. Call these expert contractors at (515) 573-5831 or visit their website for information about their on-call emergency team and regular installation, maintenance, and repair services for residential and commercial HVAC systems.