If you’re looking for a way to better control the temperature inside your home, Arthur Hagar offers you many options. A heat pump, despite what its name might suggest, can be a solution to both cooling and heating your home. It works well for moderate climates like the Fort Worth area, and heat pumps are often a more energy-efficient option than central air conditioning units.
How It Works
The laws of thermodynamics may not be familiar to most of us, but we have all experienced them in action. Heat moves to cooler areas in order to find a balance. All heating and cooling units play on this principle, although in different ways.
While central air conditioning units spend energy trying to generate heat, heat pumps simply speed up the process of moving existing heat between your home and the outdoors. In the summer, they can pull heat from your house and redistribute it outside. In the winter, the process reverses, and it pulls in heat from outside to be circulated through your house. It does this by pumping a refrigerant between two coils, known as the evaporator and condenser coils.
When you want to cool your house, the coil outside of your house operates as the condenser and the coil inside becomes the evaporator. Refrigerant is pumped through the closed-loop system and absorbs heat from the air inside your house. The cooled, dehumidified air is pumped throughout your home and the heat is carried outside to the condenser coil, where it is released into the air. The refrigerant recirculates and the cycle repeats itself.
When you want to heat your house in the winter, the outside coil becomes the evaporator and the indoor coil the condenser. No matter how cold it is outside, there is always some heat in the air, and the refrigerant pulls in this heat. Once inside your home, the heat transfers to the air that is then pumped throughout your house.
Types of Heat Pumps
There are three main kinds of heat pumps: air source, water source, and geothermal. Air source pumps transfer heat between your home and the outside air, while water source pumps do the same with water, and geothermal units transfer heat with the earth under your property. They all come at different prices with different advantages, but air source heat pumps are the most common.
Maintenance
According to the Department of Energy, the difference in energy consumption between a well-maintained heat pump and a neglected one can range from 10 to 25 percent. To keep your heat pump working well, make sure to change or clean your filter once a month. You can also remove plants and clutter from around your outdoor unit and clean the supply and return registers in your home. You should also have your heat pump inspected by a professional once or twice a year to make sure everything is working properly.
Questions? Arthur Hagar’s experienced sales team can help you determine if a heat pump is the best fit for you, your home, and your budget. As a Carrier Authorized Dealer, we sell products you can rely on, and we offer repair, maintenance, and replacement services. Call for an estimate today!