Heat Pumps

A heat pump is an all-in-one heating and air conditioning system that works year-round to keep you comfortable. Heat pumps are best for moderate climates (much like we have here in Cincinnati), in keeping homes warm even when temperatures outside are at or even below freezing. A supplemental heating source (typically called a heater pack which is located in the inside air handler unit) is part of a heat pump system. The heater pack will add supplemental heat to your home when it gets real cold outside.

During warmer months, a heat pump works as a normal air conditioner. It extracts heat from inside the home and transfers it to the outdoor air. In colder weather, however, the process reverses—the unit collects heat from the outdoor air and transfer it inside your home.

Even when the air outside feels extremely cold, the air still contains some heat. The heat pump pulls the heat from this cold outdoor air and sends it inside to warm your home. When there's not enough heat in the outside air to meet the demand of the thermostat setting, an internal electric heater (often called a heater pack) supplements the outdoor air to warm the home. Extremely efficient, this process produces two to three times more heat than the energy it uses.

A heat pump can be an effective add on option to use in conjunction with an existing gas furnace. With this dual-fuel option, the two systems share the heating load, but never function at the same time. Each system operates when it is most cost effective. The heat pump will be the primary heating and cooling system. However, when the temperature drops below the heat pump's ability to operate as efficiently as the gas furnace, the gas furnace will take over until the temperature rises enough for the heat pump to operate more efficiently.

Think of a heat pump as a heat juggler. Even in outside air that’s below freezing temperatures, heat energy is present. When it’s cold outside a heat pump extracts this outside heat and transfers it inside. When it’s warm outside, it reverses directions and acts like an air conditioner removing heat from your home.

One advantage of a heat pump is that it moves heat instead of generating heat, giving you more energy efficiency. Also, it is powered by electricity, so you can save substantially on fuel consumption.

HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor) is a measurement similar to SEER (for air conditioner units), but it measures the efficiency of the heating portion of a heat pump. The lower the HSPF number the lower the efficiency and thus the higher the energy usage. The higher rated units operate with higher efficiency and thus utilize less energy.

Yes, this is normal. A heat pump generally produces air that is 80°, which is considered warm, and will heat the house evenly. However, 80° may feel cool to your hand, which is usually closer to 90°.

Yes. During the cold weather months, frost will accumulate on the outdoor coil. This will cause the heat pump to go into a defrost cycle anywhere from 1-10 minutes, depending on the amount of ice on the coil. The system will return to the heating mode once the ice is gone.