Here's Why Heat Pumps Are Becoming Attractive To Homeowners

By: Brian Sodoma, for Service Experts

When considering a new HVAC system, you’ve probably seen heat pumps. While they’ve been around for more than a century, in 2020 they overtook gas furnaces in sales. Compared to traditional heaters, which rely on natural gas, propane gas or oil to generate heat and electricity for cooling, heat pumps are fully electric.

Heat pumps are enticing since they are extremely energy efficient and eco-friendly; they don’t burn fossil fuels like natural gas. Heat pumps are considered a big solution for cutting carbon emissions and studies show that heat pumps are a greener option for your home heating system. That being said, doubts about their effectiveness in cold weather have held back some consumers. But that’s no longer an issue—thanks to advances in technology.

Continue below to learn how heat pump technology innovations are making these HVAC systems more attractive than ever for today's eco-conscious homeowner.

The Benefits of Heat Pumps

Producing roughly four times the amount of energy than it takes, a heat pump is much more efficient than conventional gas furnaces and can even be more efficient than a high-efficiency model. And even though coal-based energy plans still provide a portion of our power, new renewable energy sources like wind and solar are on the rise, making all-electric heating and cooling systems even more appealing to today’s environmentally aware consumers.

On top of that, federal tax credits that provide up to $2,000 for qualified heat pumps are another factor driving the rise of heat pumps. When combined with other state and local incentives, homeowners can further increase their total savings.

“Heat pumps are increasingly more energy efficient than standard gas furnaces, and they can help you dramatically reduce your power bill—and for some homeowners, by $500 or more each year,” said Cary Reed, a Service Experts HVAC professional.

How It Works

When it's cold outside, heat pumps extract heat from the outside air to use it for home heating by transporting it through coils. The heat is sent to one or more indoor units, maintaining the home’s temperature. The key player here is the heat pump's refrigerant, which changes from liquid to gasÐand then back to liquidÐas it gathers and releases heat along the way.

When it's hot, the process switches the other way. Heat is extracted from indoors and pumped outside through the same coolant coils.

This is how the cycle works:

• When it's cold, a coil heat exchanger paired with a metering device moves heat from the outside air to the liquid refrigerant inside the coil. Even at lower outside temperatures, there is still heat accessible in the outside air. As the heat is absorbed by the refrigerant, it raises its temperature to its boiling point and transforms it from liquid to gas.
• Next, a compressor pumps the gas refrigerant throughout the system, raising the pressure of the gas so the heat is emitted into the house by a fan or blower. As the heat is released, the refrigerant changes back to liquid. The process goes on until the home’s thermostat is set.
• A reversing valve is used to reverse the system from heating to cooling. The reversing valve is controlled by the thermostat and will invert the cycle during the summer, sending heat from the home to the outside.

Advances in Heat Pump Technology Push Efficiency Even Further

Once the outdoor temperature drops, heat pumps become less efficient and have less capacity for heating. But manufacturers have adopted important technological improvements to improve the capacity AND efficiency of heat pumps during cold weather.

For one thing, these brands are updating their designs to meet higher SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) minimum ratings. Installing a heat pump with a high SEER rating means smaller electricity bills for the system. While SEER largely pertains to cooling, the heat pump’s energy and cost savings during the summer rise considerably as minimum SEER standards rise.

When it comes to a heat pump's total capacity, top brands have developed systems capable of maintaining peak efficiency and heating capacity even after the temperatures fall as low as -15 degrees. This is a dramatic 20- to 30-degree improvement compared against standards just five years ago.

“How are they doing it? They have access to upgraded variable-speed compressors to more quickly change power levels while using less of it overall. In addition, the heat exchangers found in modern units are much larger, which described. During extreme cold weather, the systems also use auxiliary heaters that will start below certain temperatures.

This new technology has been partially driven by the Department of Energy’s Residential Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge, a federal program focused on advancing heat pump innovation.

“The heat pump boom is actually an ideal situation,” Reed said. “People want to help the climate while reducing energy costs, and there are major programs from the federal and state governments. We are even seeing some customers, who purchase a heat pump, will also upgrade their insulation to maximize their energy efficiency and savings.”

To learn even more about high-efficiency heat pumps, go to serviceexperts.com/heat-pumps. To set up an appointment with a heating and cooling pro, visit our scheduling page.