Homeowners on the lookout for increased savings from energy-efficient equipment should consider a heat pump system. Heat pumps receive praise for their ability to effectively move heat around. Because they don’t actually generate heat from a fuel source, much like gas furnaces do, they can provide comfortable heating and cooling functions while doing so efficiently.

Heat pump systems work like this. In winter, they extract heat from the air outside and move it into the home. The cycle flips in the summer, and the heat pump extracts heat from inside the home and exhausts it outside.

Heat pump efficiency is graded on two scales: Seasonal Energy Efficient Ratio (SEER) for cooling, and Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) for heating, with minimums of SEER 9 and HSPF 5.9 set by the government. Obviously, the higher the HSPF and SEER, the higher your energy savings.

Today’s heat pumps benefit from several technological advancements that have increased their efficiency. These include bigger heat exchangers, better refrigerant flow and improvements to compressors and controls. Some units have demand frost control, essential for avoiding defrost cycles and decreasing reliance on the secondary heat source.

Pumps also have sound ratings. To minimize noise factors for the outdoor unit, choose a heat pump with a rating of 7.6 decibels or less.

Sizing a heat pump system correctly for use in colder climates is critical, because our regional temperatures require much more heating than cooling. You can size a pump to provide all of your heating needs; however, it would be so much larger than the cooling load required that the pump’s cooling cycle would be compromised and inefficient.

Adjusting sizing to accommodate increased heating needs is necessary to some extent. However, the pump’s ability to heat effectively decreases as the temperatures outside get really cold. The best option for heat pumps in frigid climates is to have a backup source for about 10 percent of the heating load.

Have you considered a heat pump as an option? If you have questions, call Air Flex. Our experts are happy to help you evaluate and select a heat pump system.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Air Flex Ltd services the Greater Toronto area. To get started, check out our website or see our current promotions.