A heat pump is an electric cooling and heating system used to compress and decompress gas to heat or cool a house. This mechanical device pumps heat from a cooler to a warmer location and can extract heat from air, water or the earth. Heat pumps functions like an air conditioner in the summer and an electric furnace in the winter, thus encompassing both a heating and cooling unit in one device. The COP, or coefficient of performance, which calculates the ratio of heat output to electric power consumption, measures the performance of a heat pump.
Energy Efficient Electric Heating & Cooling
Heat pumps are the most resourceful form of electric heating in moderate climates, and cool a house by collecting the heat inside the house and effectively pumping it outside. There are three types of heat pumps that one can install: air-to-air, water source and ground source. Heat pumps can collect heat from air, water or ground and can utilize the same to heat or cool your home. When installing a heat pump at home, one should consider using an energy-efficient heat pump system, keeping in mind the climate of the region. Northern regions need either a specially engineered heat pump such as the Arcadia heat pump system or they need a geothermal heat pump as the typical convention air source heat pump will not work efficiently in the colder weather of the Northern regions of the USA and all of Canada.
Geography & Heat Pumps
For instance, air source heat pumps are a good option for mild and moderate climate regions, and ground source or geothermal heat pumps are efficient in climates with similar heating and cooling loads. The most common types of heat pumps are the air-source and ground-source heat pumps. Although ground source heat pumps are more expensive to install, they are more efficient and less noisy. A different alternative to ground source heat pumps that have high efficiency ranges is the inverter duty heat pump like inverter duty mini-splits. The are some conventional inverter duty air conditioner and heat pumps system produced by Maytag, Broan, Westinghouse, and Frigidaire that can come close to matching the efficiency of geothermal or ground source heat pumps. As a high efficiency alternative these high efficiency air source heat pumps can be installed for less than a geothermal system and give the consume good value along with reduced utility bills.
Heat Pump Installation & Size
However, to make heat pumps work efficiently, they should be installed properly, and one should choose the right sized pump that can fulfill the heating and cooling demands of the house. While selecting a heat pump one should buy a device with a higher Heating Seasonal Performance Factor, or HSPF. The heat pumps should also be fitted with demand-defrost control, which minimizes the defrost cycles and reduces supplementary and heat pump energy use.
Heat pumps are much more cost-effective than other conventional heating devices, and are also becoming more commonly used to heat swimming pools, and hot water for household use. See our reviews listings pages for hybrid hot water heaters reviews. Geothermal ground source heat pumps can be outfitted with a desuperheater that will heat water for domestic use so someone with a geothermal heat pump system that is outfitted with a despuerheater will not need a regular hot water heater as their heat pump can produce hot water.
Goodman Heat Pump Condenser Flood Protection
This heat pump condensing unit has been installed atop the platform. The area where this air conditioning condenser is located is prone to flooding and the platform raises the heat pump condenser at least one foot above flood plain. This is usually required depending on the municipality or government agency in charge of mechanical and electrical inspections. If you live in a flood prone area it is wise to protect the equipment from flood damage. It is possible for the air conditioner condenser unit to run after being flooded but the life expectancy is drastically reduced and you will definitely experience mechanical and electrical problems with the equipment.
It is not uncommon for air conditioner or heat pump condensing units to experience corroded electrical connections and mechanical-electrical parts to fail after being flooded especially with salt water or brackish water. Take measures to protect your equipment in flood prone areas and you will save yourself a ton of hassles in the future if Mother Nature were to decide to flood your air conditioner condenser. It could mean the difference of you having heating and cooling after a flood or not having heating and cooling after a flood. A wise person would want to have some air conditioning and heating comfort inside their dwelling to ease the stress of going through a major disaster.
High Performance HVAC: Heat Pump Information
Heat Pumps 2
