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A heat pump is a device that uses a small amount of energy to move heat from one location to another. Heat pumps are usually used to pull heat out of the air or ground to heat a home or office building, or they can be switched into reverse to cool a building. If you know how an air conditioner works, you already know a lot about how a heat pump works, because heat pumps and air conditioners operate in very similar ways. And that’s the reason why it is becoming popular. Heat pump are all around you, reverse cycle air conditioners are heat pump, as are dehumidifiers, many heat recovery/water heating units and process dryers.

Heat pumps are a unique kind of heating system, because they can do the work of both a furnace and an air conditioner. Thus, there’s no need to install separate systems to heat and cool your home. Heat pumps can also work extremely efficiently, because they simply transfer heat, rather than burn fuel to create it. Now with the rapid development of technology, heat pump technology is available today, heat pumps offer levels of efficiency unattainable by boilers or electric heating, heat pumps reduce CO2 emission and are recommended by the government sponsored carbon trust as a renewable technology.

Heat pumps work best in moderate climates. If you live in a moderate climate, using a heat pump instead of a furnace and air conditioner may help you save money on your utility bill. Most heat pumps are somewhat limited by the cold, however, so it is important that you learn which kind of heat pump is best for your area before installing one in your home or office building. If you install the wrong kind of heat pump, you may end up paying even more in energy costs than you do already

Heating and cooling uses the relatively constant temperature of the earth to heat and cool homes and businesses with 40% to 70% less energy than conventional systems. While conventional furnaces and boilers burn a fuel to generate heat, heat pumps use electricity to simply move heat from the earth into buildings, allowing much higher efficiencies. The most efficient fuel-burning heater can reach efficiencies around 95%, but a heat pump can move up to 4 units of heat for every unit of electricity needed to power the system, resulting in a practical equivalence of over 400% efficiency.

The heat pump is an air conditioner, which can heat and cool your house. One simple explanation is that the best heat pump will extract heat that is found in air or ground outside your home and will transfer that heat in your house in its place. Under the exact conditions it will do this considerably more cheaply than gas or oil furnace.

Consider the following questions while buying the best heat pump:

· Is heat pump a best choice — or it would be better buying furnace and central air conditioner?

· What is the perfect size that you should buy?

· What is the heat pump efficiency, also how efficient should your pump be?

· Which brand name is best for your house?

· Who must install it?

As the best heat pump can heat and cool your house, do not buy a heat pump then the central air conditioner. In addition, would you rather have a single device to buy, install as well as maintain than both central air conditioner and furnace? While the answer can be easy, you must consider some factors.

Seasonal weather in your area is probably the most significant factor in this preference. If temperature hardly ever dips under 40 degrees Fahrenheit, then you can most likely heat your house affordably with a heat pump than a furnace. However, if the temperature is colder, then you must consider having a backup heat source. Many people select a gas or an oil furnace to serve up this purpose — for reasons of price and because the furnace will keep temperatures warm when the temperature outside and inside increases.

Second, the best heat pumps are normally a little more expensive than central air conditioners of same efficiency and capacity. For instance, at one direct to consumer retailer, 1.5 ton, and 13 SEER Rheem pump retails for $100 more than an equivalent 13 SEER Rheem air conditioner. The contractors
may charge more to install the heat pump than the central air conditioner.

The third criterion to think of is longevity. As the central air conditioner is usually used only during summer months, and the best heat pumps are used during summer and winter, the lifespan of the pump is usually shorter than of central air conditioner. The maintenance costs are usually higher also, since compressor, controls as well as other components can run more months out of a year.

Heat pumps are becoming a more common alternative to central air conditioners because they also can heat your house. The cost of electricity for heating and cooling a house, although it gradually increases as do most prices over time, is much less volatile than natural gas, oil or propane. You also may get up to a $1,500 tax credit for installing a heat pump.

A geothermal heat pump is one of the most energy-efficient heating and cooling systems for any climate. Even though it provides a good payback on the investment, particularly in very hot or cold climates, the initial installation costs are considerably higher than for air-source models.

An air-source heat pump is basically a central air conditioner with a few extra parts. During the summer, it draws heat from the indoor air and, through a refrigeration cycle identical to an air conditioner, expels the heat outdoors. The cooling efficiency is rated by its SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio).

During the winter, a reversing valve inside the outdoor condenser unit switches position. This reverses the flow of the refrigerant, so it begins to draw heat from the outdoor air and transfers it to an indoor coil. Heating efficiency is rated by HSPF (heating seasonal performance factor).

There have been many recent developments in air-source heat pumps. The modulating, multistage-output rotary compressor design is now available. This produces extremely high efficiencies for both heating and cooling (HSPF, 10; SEER, 22). You can get $2 to $3 worth of heat for each $1 on your utility bills.

This heat pump uses a rotary compressor with inverter technology to allow it to vary its heating or cooling output from about one-third to full capacity output. This not only saves electricity, but it also produces extremely good comfort, quiet operation and even room temperatures. Two-stage heat pumps also improve efficiency and comfort over standard single-stage models.

Another new heat pump design is for cold climates. It uses a second booster compressor to allow it to continue to produce heat efficiently at lower outdoor temperatures. It offers four heating and two cooling stages. Other non-booster heat pumps can be coupled with a high-efficiency gas furnace for a hybrid system in cold climates for efficiency and better comfort.

Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), often called ground-source heat pumps, have been proven capable of producing large reductions in energy use and peak demand in buildings.If the federal government set a goal for the U.S. buildings sector to use no more nonrenewable primary energy in 2030 than it did in 2008, based on previous analyses, it is estimated that 35 percent to 40 percent of this goal could be achieved through aggressive deployment of GHPs. In addition, $33 billion to $38 billion annually in reduced utility bills (at 2006 rates) could be achieved through aggressive deployment of GHPs.

The key barriers to rapid growth of the GHP industry, in order of priority:

1. High first cost of GHP systems to consumers.
2. Lack of consumer knowledge and/or trust or confidence in GHP system benefits.
3. Lack of policymaker and regulator knowledge of and/or trust or confidence in GHP system benefits.
4. Limitations of GHP design and business planning infrastructure.
5. Limitations of GHP installation infrastructure.
6. Lack of new technologies and techniques to improve GHP system cost and performance.

The following actions would address the barriers and facilitate rapid growth of the GHP industry:

1. Assemble independent, statistically valid, hard data on the costs and benefits of GHPs.
2. Independently assess the national benefits of aggressive GHP deployment.
3. Streamline and deploy nationwide programs to provide GHP infrastructure.
4. Develop and deploy programs to provide universal access to GHP infrastructure.
5. Develop the data, analysis and tools to enable lowest life-cycle-cost GHP infrastructure.
6. Expand geographic areas where high-quality GHP design infrastructure exists.
7. Expand geographic areas where high-quality GHP installation infrastructure exists.

1. You will definitely be relying on professional contractors to properly install a heat pump, be it air-source or ground-source. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be equipped with some basic installation guidelines to ensure that the job is well done.
2. If installing a ground-source heat pump that draws on well water or a local water source, make sure the water quality is high and that this process is legal in your area. Poor water with lots of particulate matter, or highly acidic water, will hamper the performance of your heat pump.
3. The manufacturer’s product literature will tell you how loud the heat pump can be. Make sure that this noise level falls within the acceptable bounds of your area. If using an air-source heat pump, the contractor should install it ideally where it won’t be near neighbors.
4. Be sure the installation is made in the proper location relative to pre-existing furnaces.
5. The outside portion of the air-source heat pump should be on a platform to promote drainage and ensure that it won’t be snowed in. A windy location should be avoided.
6. No matter what type of heat pump you chose, make sure you have chosen a reliable, experienced contractor with a good track record. The contractor should be able to examine your home and tell you how much work your heat pump will have to do to heat and cool it. Also, the contractor should check to make sure your ductwork and electrical system can handle the addition of a heat pump.

1. Temperature. First of all, you must come to terms with what you can expect from your heat pump. What is the climate in your region? Does weather remain pretty temperate, or do temperatures swing violently in either direction during a year? A heat pump will not suffice in freezing and the most extremely cold weather. For much of the year, the heat pump will work like a charm for you, but when the temperatures drop into the deep freezing dead of winter, you really need a backup heating source. If you can afford both heat pump and gas furnace, this setup makes the most sense; the gas furnace will be most efficient below 30 degrees Fahrenheit, while above that temperature (until around 70 degrees) the heat pump will work best.

2. Air-source. We’re all fairly familiar with the function of air conditioners. An air-to-air heat pump works basically the same way, except that it can switch from providing cold to providing heat (these heat pumps each have a valve that determines the direction that the refrigerant flows within the device).

Air-source heat pumps won’t require the contractors to dig into your yard and bury anything, as will the ground-source heat pumps. (Who knows what they might dig up?) However, you’ll have to deal with the fact that the heat pump extends out into the cold, where frost can build up. Because the frost hampers the ability of the heat pump to provide heat, the heat pump has to occasionally divert its attention to thawing itself out! This disrupts the flow of heat into your house until the heat pump has satisfactorily thawed itself.

3. Ground-source. Ground-source heat pumps serve the same purpose, but instead of moving heat from the outside air into your home, they move heat from the ground (earth) into your home in cold months, and transfer heat from your house back into the ground in the summer. Since earth temperature is pretty steady, and warmer in winter months than the outside air, performance can remain closer to the same level year-round.

Though digging (vertically or horizontally, depending upon available space) will be required to install the piping of the heat pump underground, these heat pumps will not suffer the frost frustration that air-source heat pumps have to endure; the whole heat pump unit, minus the underground piping, is actually indoors.

4. SEER and HSPF Ratings. Consider these ratings when choosing a heat pump. SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) refers to the efficiency of the heat pump acting as an air conditioner, while HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor) tells you how efficient the heat pump works as a heating unit. If you can, choose the heat pump that is most efficient.

5. Size. You could probably get away with heating and cooling exclusively on a heat pump, but you’d be better off relieving your heat pump with a different heat source in the coldest parts of the year; heat pumps aren’t as efficient in extreme cold.