Are you considering a new heating installation in Palm Coast? Heating isn’t a major priority for Florida homes, although it’s still important—we don’t have unceasing sunlight and warmth, after all—and when you’re thinking of heating your home, you want to find a method that’s cost-effective.
We think you should give serious consideration to having a heat pump installed. Heat pumps are excellent HVAC units for the Florida weather, and we want to explain why using one might be exactly what your home needs for heating … and cooling!
The Two-in-One Deal
Yes, you read that correctly. A heat pump isn’t just a heating system. It’s also an air conditioning system. You only have to make an adjustment to the thermostat and your heat pump will switch over from heating your house to cooling it.
How does a heat pump pull this off? It’s actually simple (at least to explain). Think of a central air conditioning system in a home. When it’s running, you’ll feel cool air coming from the vents. Now think about the outdoor unit of the AC, the condenser. What do you feel when you stand near the condenser while the AC is running? That’s right: heat. An air conditioner works by pumping heat out of the house to cool it down.
Imagine now if you could tell your AC to run in the opposite direction: pump heat into the house from outside. The heat you feel coming from the condenser would not instead be coming from the indoor vents. This is what a heat pump is able to do. It operates similarly to an air conditioner, circulating refrigerant to move heat from one place to the other, but can also switch the direction the refrigerant circulates so it changes the direction it moves heat.
The Question of Efficiency
There’s one potential hitch to how a heat pump operates, and you may have already noticed it. If the heat pump is moving heat from outside to inside, where is this heat coming from in cold weather, i.e. the time when you would need to run the heat pump? There’s always thermal energy in the air, no matter how cold it is. But a heat pump will struggle to pump in enough heat when the weather is cold, causing its energy efficiency to drop.
This is why Florida is great for heat pumps. Heat pumps can operate without losing efficiency in temperatures down to around freezing. We almost never run into temperatures that low in Florida. Heat pumps have no problem drawing on the outdoor heat they need during our mild winters.
An Energy Saving Choice
If you have an all-electric home and have used an electric furnace for heating, a heat pump offers an even greater enticement: major savings on energy costs. A heat pump doesn’t generate heat the way an electric furnace does. Instead, it moves heat from one place to another, and this consumes far less electricity. You can expect a significant drop in your energy bills if you replace your current AC and electric furnace for a heat pump.
If you have any questions about getting a heat pump, our team is happy to help you. We’ll guide you toward the best HVAC option for your house.
Arrange for a new heat pump installation with Climate Masters. Serving St. Johns County since 1988 with quality, hometown service.
