HVAC systems have come a long way over the years. Now, homeowners have a variety of options to choose from depending on their specific needs and budget. Let’s compare some of the traditional HVAC systems to heat pumps to help you better determine which one is ideal for your home.
What Are Heat Pumps?
Heat pumps are dual-purpose HVAC systems that can cool and heat your home in the summer and winter. This system uses two main components to operate: an indoor air handler unit and an outdoor condenser unit. It’s important to note that heat pumps come in a whole-home model that works similarly to a furnace or central air conditioning system and a ductless mini-split system. The latter entails multiple indoor air handler units and doesn’t rely on ductwork to deliver treated air throughout your home.
During summer, the cooling process starts at the indoor air handler unit. Its blower components will pull in air from the rooms of your home. This hot air passes over the evaporator coil. Inside the evaporator coil is low-pressure refrigerant. Because heat wants to move from high-pressure substances to low-pressure ones, the heat will naturally flow from the air to the refrigerant.
This refrigerant is pumped to the outdoor condenser unit via its compressor pump. At the outdoor condenser unit, the hot, high-pressure refrigerant enters the evaporator coil. The outdoor unit also has blower components responsible for pulling in outdoor air and passing it over the condenser coil. As this air passes over the coil, the heat will move from the high-pressure refrigerant to the low-pressure outdoor air.
To finish the process, refrigerant gets pumped back toward the indoor air handler unit and goes through an expansion valve. This helps to reset the refrigerant to a low pressure so that it can absorb heat. Refrigerant will circulate throughout your heat pump until your home reaches the desired temperature on your thermostat. In winter, this process works in reverse where refrigerant moves from the outdoor condenser coil into the indoor evaporator coil.
There are two main types of heat pumps that you can purchase for your home: air-source and ground-source. We’ve described the air-source heat pump, which removes heat from the air. Ground-source heat pumps remove heat from the soil and are less common due to their higher upfront cost.
What Are Traditional HVAC Systems?
Traditional HVAC systems are designed to either heat or cool your home. The most common options for heating include furnaces, boilers, and radiant heating. For cooling, there’s one main system known as a central air conditioning system. This system works similarly to how a heat pump cools your home.
Because furnaces are the most popular type of heating system on the market today, we’ll explore them in more detail. A furnace can operate on one of four different types of energy: electricity, heating oil, propane, or natural gas. It all relies on ductwork to deliver warm air throughout the various rooms of your home.
An electric furnace uses an internal heating element to warm the air. The blower components of your ductwork pull air into your furnace and pass it over the heating element to warm it. Any other type of furnace has an internal burner responsible for burning a consistent supply of fuel. These fuel-burning furnaces require chimneys to vent the toxic exhaust fumes from the combustion process to the outdoors.
A Look at Energy Efficiency
One of the most concerning topics for any homeowner regarding an HVAC system is its overall energy efficiency. The more efficient your HVAC system is, the less you’ll have to spend on utility bills throughout the year to keep your home comfortable. When it comes to cooling your home, heat pumps can offer more efficiency.
You won’t find central air conditioning systems with the same SEER efficiency rating as you’ll find with heat pumps. It’s important to note that ductless mini-split heat pumps are the most energy-efficient. This is because they don’t rely on ducting, which the EPA has estimated can increase your utility bills by 30% due to gaps that develop over time. These mini-split units also allow you to set different temperatures in each room to better control your energy usage.
When it comes to heating your home, heat pumps are the most efficient in mild climates. They can offer an efficiency of 300% to 400%. The next best thing is an electric furnace. Most furnaces have an efficiency in the 80% range. However, the available high-efficiency models can operate in the 90% range.
It’s important to note that air-source heat pumps can only operate efficiently at temperatures above freezing. When temperatures dip below freezing, the system struggles to pull heat out of the air and switches to its auxiliary mode. This auxiliary mode works similarly to an electric furnace, which has an internal heating element.
Tax Rebates
One attribute of heat pumps that can be particularly enticing for homeowners is they make you eligible for federal tax rebates. This is because heat pumps are extremely energy efficient, and the federal government encourages homeowners to invest in more energy-efficient appliances for their homes. You can receive a tax rebate of up to $3,200 when you invest in a heat pump for your home. You may even find that there are state and local tax incentives that you can also take advantage of. These incentives aren’t offered for traditional HVAC system purchases.
Safety
Another factor we can’t overlook when it comes to heating your home during the winter time is safety. Anytime your HVAC system is burning fuel to create heat, it poses a safety risk in the form of toxic gases backing up inside your home. This is why it’s necessary to have carbon monoxide and smoke detectors throughout your home to alert you when there is an issue. Fortunately, when you use a heat pump to heat your home during the cold winter months, there is no production of toxic fumes. This fact makes these systems safer in your home than fuel-burning heating systems.
Lifespan
When it comes to the lifespan of an HVAC system, it varies depending on a number of different factors. However, heat pumps tend to have a lifespan of around 15 years. Furnaces and central air conditioning systems can have a lifespan of around 20 years. It’s important to keep in mind that a heat pump is going to run throughout the entire year to control the temperature in your home. On the other hand, furnaces and central air conditioning systems are only going to be running around half the year.
Reliable HVAC Service Providers
Snowbird Heating & Cooling offers reliable heat pump service for the whole Auburndale, FL community. Our technicians can help with all your heating, air conditioning, plumbing, indoor air quality, ductless mini-split, and ductwork needs. Call us today to schedule your next service consultation.
