The facts about Heat Pumps

If you are literally shopping for a new home or actually looking for some ways to trim down the costs, the Heat Pumps can provide both the heating and cooling in a very convenient manner, and in some cases, the hot water heating.

The use of the heat pumps In areas where the natural gas is not at all available, the heat pumps are a very popular alternative, but using only an efficient heat pump for all your heating needs wouldn't be very economical, or even at all possible. Most of the heat pumps use the electricity as a power source, and most of them just don't cut the overall mustard in very cold weather. Supplementary heat such as the gas, oil, electric and the wood are used when the temperature falls below about 5C, or around 42F. However, if you already have a very solid heating system and you are considering the air-conditioning, a heat pump can be an economical way to very efficiently heat or cool the house for most of the year.

The summer cooling will add to your annual energy bill! Heat Pumps warm the house in the much cooler weather and cool it in the warm weather. They are powered by the electricity. If you add a very efficient heat pump or actually convert from another system, and you didn't have the air conditioning before, you are going to find your electricity bills higher than before for sure.

"How Do They Work?" Most of the heat pumps are "air-to-air" and use a fluid medium in order to absorb the heat from the air at one location and then to transfer it to the air at another. The Refrigerators and the air conditioners are indeed both examples of one-way heat pumps. But the cycle is completely reversible, and the heat pumps can be very well used almost year-round in order to move and circulate the heat either way in an efficient manner. However, they can only extract the heat from the outdoor air down to a point where they are no longer economical; and at some of the lower point, most don't work at all. Ground and water source heat pumps are indeed more efficient, but the several times more expensive, and not suitable for all the locations. "Bi-valent" heat pumps use a gas or oil-fired heater to pre-heat the outdoor coil, so that the heat-pump can particularly continue to operate more efficiently in the colder weather.

Bottom line There are indeed several factors in order to consider before the purchasing of any of the heating or cooling system. Carefully weigh the much anticipated savings against the cost of the new installation that is to be done. What kind of the system do you already have, how old and how efficient is it, and will it be most compatible, economical and very convenient to use with an efficient heat pump? What kind of the energy sources are readily available in your area and how reliable are they? Will you have to probably open the finished walls and ceilings in order to install duct work? All these parameters are to be checked before the installing of a heat pump.