Where To Buy A Heat Pump VERIFIED
As with heat pump sizing, the ultimate energy efficiency of your entire home will depend on a number of factors in addition to the heat pump itself, such as weatherization and air filtration, the climate in which you live, and how often you plan on using your system.
where to buy a heat pump
One of the best ways to find a contractor is to find someone else who worked with a contractor they liked. If you see a friend or a neighbor with heat pumps at their home, ask them about their experience. Check your local community social media forums on Facebook or Neighbors, as well. People may even recommend that you try a different contractor, or they may offer some advice on unexpected issues that surprised them, and all of that is helpful, too.
Many statewide incentive programs do not merely encourage but require updated weatherization before you qualify for a heat pump rebate or a loan. Some of these states also provide free weatherization consultation services. If you live in a drafty home, this is something to look into even before you start reaching out to contractors about installing a heat pump.
There are a few situations where installing a new heat pump and keeping your gas- or oil-fueled burner as a backup might actually be cheaper and less carbon intensive than strictly relying on the heat pump. This kind of installation is called a dual-heat or hybrid-heat system, and it works best in places that regularly deal with temperatures below freezing. Since heat pumps can be less efficient in extremely cold weather, the idea is to offset the difference by using fossil fuels to help get the room up to a temperature where the heat pump can perform best, typically somewhere between 20 and 35 degrees Fahrenheit. Think of it as being similar to how a hybrid car works.
Do you, like so many, live somewhere being wracked by unusual heatwaves? Are you facing the summer heat without air conditioning (AC)? Or maybe your AC went belly up this year at the worst possible time, and now you need a replacement.
Modern heat pumps are super-efficient and can deliver heat efficiently down to -15 degrees F and use electric resistance backup below that, so they work in all U.S. climates. In fact, one of the leaders in adoption of heat pumps in the U.S. is the state of Maine, which is not known for mild winters.
NRDC and partners continue to advocate for programs that make the healthiest and most climate-friendly technologies available to all. Heat pump incentives and deployment programs can reduce the price of new heat pump ACs by providing rebates to families with lower incomes. They can also reduce the cost of electricity for families to keep their homes at a healthy temperature.
Most homeowners who have heat pumps use them to heat and cool their homes. But a heat pump also can be used to heat water -- either as stand-alone water heating system, or as combination water heating and space conditioning system.
Heat pump water heaters use electricity to move heat from one place to another instead of generating heat directly. Therefore, they can be two to three times more energy efficient than conventional electric resistance water heaters. To move the heat, heat pumps work like a refrigerator in reverse.
While a refrigerator pulls heat from inside a box and sends it into the surrounding room, a stand-alone air-source heat pump water heater pulls heat from the surrounding air and transfers it -- at a higher temperature -- to heat water in a storage tank. You can purchase a stand-alone heat pump water heating system as an integrated unit with a built-in water storage tank and back-up resistance heating elements. You can also retrofit a heat pump to work with an existing conventional storage water heater.
Heat pump water heaters will not operate efficiently in a cold space since they tend to cool the space they are in. Installing them in a space with excess heat, such as a furnace room, will increase their efficiency.
You can also install an air-source heat pump system that combines heating, cooling, and water heating. These combination systems pull their heat indoors from the outside air in the winter and from the inside air in the summer. Because they remove heat from the air, any type of air-source heat pump system works more efficiently in a warm climate.
Homeowners primarily install geothermal heat pumps -- which draw heat from the ground during the winter and from the indoor air during the summer -- for heating and cooling their homes. For water heating, you can add a desuperheater to a geothermal heat pump system. A desuperheater is a small, auxiliary heat exchanger that uses superheated gases from the heat pump's compressor to heat water. This hot water then circulates through a pipe to the storage water heater tank in the house.
Desuperheaters are also available for tankless or demand-type water heaters. In the summer, the desuperheater uses the excess heat that would otherwise be expelled to the ground. With frequent operation during the summer, the geothermal heat pump may provide the majority of your hot water needs.
During the fall, winter, and spring -- when the desuperheater isn't producing as much excess heat -- you'll need to rely more on your storage or demand water heater. Some manufacturers also offer triple-function geothermal heat pump systems, which provide heating, cooling, and hot water. They use a separate heat exchanger to meet all of a household's hot water needs.
Proper installation depends on many factors. These factors include fuel type, climate, local building code requirements, and safety issues. Therefore, it's best to have a qualified plumbing and heating contractor (or geothermal heat pump system installer/designer) install your heat pump.
After your water heater is properly installed and maintained, try some additional energy-saving strategies to help lower your water heating bills. Some energy-saving devices and systems are more cost-effective to install with the water heater.
The technology can heat and cool homes, and supply hot water. A high-efficiency electric heat pump that replaces a fossil fuel furnace or boiler resembles an air conditioner unit and is installed outside the house.
To heat the home, a liquid refrigerant in a copper coil extracts heat from the atmosphere as warm air naturally moves toward the cold. The heat transforms the refrigerant into a cold gas; a compressor then pressurizes the gas, raising its temperature and heating the air inside the house. In the summer, the appliance cools a home by absorbing heat from inside and transferring it outside.
Heat pumps are as much as four times as efficient as natural gas furnaces because they merely move heat from one place to another rather than burn fuel. A heat pump water heater works on the same principle and is as much as four times as efficient as conventional gas or electric water heaters.
Another alternative to reduce the electrical load is to install a lower-voltage heat pump water heater. Right now, just a couple of 120-volt models are available, including Ruud and Rheem, which is sold only in California. But other major manufacturers are expected to bring 120-volt versions to market in the next year or so.
The biggest difference between a heat pump and a ductless (also known as mini-split) heat pump is the amount of space in which the system can control the temperature. A traditional heat pump is part of a central heating and cooling system, which means it utilizes ductwork to distribute newly warmed or cooled air throughout your entire home. On the other hand, a mini-split heat pump does not use ductwork; instead it heats and cools just the room or space where it was directly installed.
When it comes to a heat pump vs. furnace, there are two big differences to keep in mind. First, a heat pump can both heat and cool your home, while a furnace typically only heats your home. Second, these two HVAC systems generate heat in different ways. While a furnace uses a fuel source like gas or propane to create heat, a heat pump uses electricity.
Heat pumps vary in the number of stages or speeds they offer. Different speeds, or stages, can affect your comfort and the consistency of indoor temperature. The most basic is a single-stage heat pump, with airflow on or off, which can cause fluctuations to your indoor temperature and comfort. Two-stage models offer high- and low-stage heating and cooling to more efficiently heat or cool your space when outdoor weather changes to very cold or very hot conditions. These advanced features can provide more consistent comfort levels than a single-stage model. Premium, variable-speed heat pumps have multiple stages for more precise temperature control and more consistent comfort.
Heat pumps are rated by their Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF2), which is a measure of a heat pump's overall energy efficiency during the heating season, their Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER2) and their Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER2). These ratings are similar to miles per gallon (MPG) for a car: the higher the rating, the more energy-efficient the system.
Carrier offers a wide selection of heat pumps or a heat pump system to virtually any home or budget. With a variety of options available from the Infinity, Performance, and Comfort series, you are sure to find the right option to keep your home comfortable. Contact a local Carrier HVAC expert to help choose the best cooling and heating systems for your needs.
Many Carrier residential heat pumps are Energy Star qualified, providing energy efficient heating or cooling for your home. A local Carrier expert can help you choose a heat pump system with an impressive HSPF and SEER rating that might qualify for local utility rebates.
A heat pump is an alternative to an air conditioner. As cooling systems, an air conditioner and a heat pump system are very similar, drawing heat from the air inside your home and releasing it through an outdoor unit. But, unlike air conditioning, a heat pump can reverse the process, heating your home by collecting heat from seemingly cold outside air and releasing it inside. Learn more about the difference of a heat pump vs air conditioning. 041b061a72