Winter is over, and summer isn’t far off. As the days start to heat up, you’re going to want to make sure that your home is ready for the warmest months of the year. Part of those preparations is making sure that you have a good air conditioning system in place. If you don’t, now is a great time to have a new one installed. Before you go for that traditional AC system, though, you should take a look at what heat pumps have to offer.
What is a Heat Pump?
A heat pump is very similar to an air conditioning system in a lot of ways. There are two units, one installed inside and one outside. These two units are connected by power and refrigerant lines, allowing them to work together during operation. When in cooling mode, the indoor unit evaporates refrigerant to absorb thermal energy from the air. It then sends that refrigerant gas outside to be condensed back into liquid, which vents the heat out of the home. This is all the same process that a normal air conditioner uses.
The main difference between the two system types is that a heat pump contains a part called the reversing valve. This valve allows the system to act as either a heater or air conditioner, by reversing the flow of refrigerant through the heat pump.
Advantages of Heat Pump Use
A heat pump can keep your home just as cool as a traditional air conditioner, and in the same way. The real reason that you want to install a heat pump, though, is its ability to switch back and forth between heating and cooling modes. By condensing both functions into a single unit, you can save thousands of dollars that would have been spent on a separate system.
Call Climate Masters for more information on heat pumps in St. Johns, FL.
