When choosing cooling and heating solutions for your home, the local climate is an important factor. While homes farther north might need a strong focus on heating, Alabama’s winters are mild. This allows you to skip the heavy-duty furnace and choose modern options like a heat pump. Here’s a closer look at this popular technology and why it’s ideal in the South.

How a Heat Pump Works

This system uses the same basic principles as an air conditioner. There are hollow coils inside the unit full of a chemical refrigerant. When this refrigerant is compressed, it heats up, and when it’s expanded, it cools down. Heat travels from hot areas to cold ones. Pumps inside the unit compress the refrigerant on one side of the wall so that it sheds heat. Then the system moves the same refrigerant to the other side of the wall and allows it to expand so that it cools off, which allows it to absorb heat from its surroundings and cool down the area.

With an air conditioner, this process only works in one direction, moving heat from inside the home to outside of it. With a heat pump, you can move heat in either direction, either warming or cooling the inside of your home as needed with just one device. There are several types of heat pumps that can exchange heat with the surrounding air, the ground below your home, or any water sources beneath you—meaning you can get a system that’s perfectly suited to your house and yard.

Why They’re Ideal for Mild Climates

In colder climates, the heat pump becomes less efficient the further below freezing the temperature gets. For that reason, a family in Minnesota will likely need a furnace to stay comfortable. However, Alabama’s temperature rarely even drops to freezing, so there’s always enough warmth in the winter air to heat the home. In this warm climate, a heat pump is all you need to keep your home comfortable throughout the year.

Since the heat pump takes the place of a traditional air conditioner and furnace, you can meet all your HVAC needs with just this one device. It’s energy-efficient and saves you space and money to have just one system in your home.

When you’re ready to install a heat pump in your new or existing home, choose Long's Air Conditioning & Refrigeration in Silverhill, AL. For over 40 years, they’ve provided Baldwin County with prompt, certified HVAC service for residential and commercial clients. They now use Clover POS systems to ensure your credit card information stays secure. To schedule an estimate or service, call (251) 947-9499 today. Learn more about their expertise by visiting the website.

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