One of the benefits of living in places like Covington, LA is our mild winters, which tend to be warmer than they are further north and allow our residents’ heating systems some manner of relief from cold temperatures. But that doesn’t mean we can simply ignore the heating needs of our home, and while many of us rely on forced-air furnaces and similar systems, there’s an elegant solution tailor made for our environment: heat pumps.
How Do They Work?
Heat pumps operate according to the same principles as centralized air conditioners, which rely on circulating refrigerant to do their jobs. The refrigerant starts out in gaseous form. As it moves through the system, heat is bled off of it — released outside your home — and it is shifted to liquid form. The liquid, under immense pressure, then moves inside, where it enters a series of coils that shift it back to gaseous form. As it does so, it pulls heat from the air near the coils. A blower then blows the cool air into the ducts to lower the temperature of your home.
The heat pump is no different, save for one key factor: the system is set up to reverse that process, allowing cold air to be released outside and warm air to be released inside. That allows it to function as a heater and an air conditioner as one: warming your home in the winter as readily as it cools it in the summer.
Why Use It?
The advantages of heat pumps may not be immediately apparent, besides the obvious one of allowing you to heat and cool your home without having to purchase a second unit. The main benefit comes now, in the winter, when monthly heating costs tend to go up. Because heat pumps rely on refrigerant — a renewable resource — to generate heat, it tends to cost much less to do so. Natural gas and electrical power tend to cost much more. In addition, heat pumps tend to be more reliable in the winter, since they’re not subjected to as much strain.
The one drawback of heat pumps is that they become less effective the colder the weather gets. In the most extreme cases, a dual fuel heat pump can be used, which marries a smaller traditional furnace to the heat pump in order to make up the difference. But here in Louisiana, those concerns are greatly reduced, and for households looking to keep warm without paying more than they have to, a new heat pump is a great addition.
Best of all, because they are designed to work in summer and winter alike, you don’t need to wait to start using one right away. If your heating system has suffered a breakdown and you’re ready to replace it with something new, consider the benefits of a heat pump, and talk to the professionals who can help you explore your options.
A Professional Heating and Air can provide quality heat pump installation, as well as repair services and maintenance checks. Give us a call today!