Heat Pump or Furnace: Which One Fits Your Home?

January 10, 2022

When it’s time to purchase a new heating system for your home, you have a few different options. You could go with a furnace that burns propane or fuel, or you could go with one that uses electricity to generate heat. Alternatively, you could go with a heat pump, which absorbs heat from outside and transfers it into your house. Each type of heater has its own advantages, and you’ll want to find the one that’s just right for your household. Heat Pumps Save Money Because heat pumps don’t actually have to generate heat, they need far less energy to operate than furnaces do. Heat pumps use pressurized refrigerant coils to absorb heat, and they also have the ability to reverse this process and provide cool air instead. This means that when you have a heat pump, you don’t need to purchase a separate air conditioner. On average, heat pumps are also slightly less expensive to have installed than gas-powered or electric furnaces. Furnaces Are Better in Cold Weather Gas-powered furnaces generate heat via a constant combustion process, and electric furnaces warm your home by blowing air over a hot element. These processes are the same for the furnace regardless...

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How Ductless Mini-Split Heat Pumps Work

February 29, 2016

Today, homeowners have an unprecedented array of choices when the time comes to replace a heating/cooling system. For example, instead of installing a standard centralized system, you can opt for a new type of system arranged around something called a ductless mini-split heat pump. Here are a few details that help explain why this temperature control system has a broad-based appeal. Heat Pump Basics Heat pumps don’t directly generate heat like a traditional furnace or an electric furnace. Instead, they pull heat from the surrounding environment, concentrate that heat and conduct it into your home’s interior. Depending on the model in question, a heat pump may pull heat from the ground, from the outside air or from a lake or some other water source. Despite their names, heat pumps can also cool your home in the summertime. They achieve this goal by reversing the direction of their air flow and pulling warmth out of the interior of your home. Ductless Systems Most homes in America have a standard, centralized indoor ducting system that carries air to and from all connected rooms at the same time. The individual ducts in this type of system are usually placed behind walls, above ceilings...

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Choosing the Right Size Heat Pump for Your Home

February 26, 2016

Heat pumps are energy-savers and can operate effectively in a wide range of micro-climates. These dual-purpose appliances make functional and affordable additions to just about any type of HVAC system, and in places that don’t experience temperature extremes they may be able to handle the entire heating and cooling load. However, heat pumps are an efficient and sensible choice only if they are properly sized. If you buy and install a heat pump that is too powerful or too weak you will undoubtedly live to regret it. So how does one go about choosing the perfect size heat pump? By hiring an installation company that uses a method called Manual J, which we will explain more fully in the next section. What is Manual J and How Does it Work? Manual J is the standard procedure used by HVAC professionals to evaluate a home’s potential for heat loss in cold weather and heat gain when it is warm. Once they know what your true heating and cooling needs are, then and only then will HVAC technicians be able to make a correct determination about what size heat pump you actually need. The parameters HVAC installers use to make Manual J-based...

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