Buffalo, NY is no stranger to scorching hot summers and brutally cold winters. With such drastic temperatures throughout the year, it’s crucial to have an HVAC system that can keep your home at a comfortable temperature and keep your energy costs as low as possible while it does so. Many homeowners in this area are turning to heat pumps to take care of their heating and cooling needs. A heat pump can save you money and keep you from being uncomfortable in your own home. Keep reading to learn more about this all-in-one HVAC solution.
Heat Pump Basics
When considering new plumbing and heating solutions for your home, it’s important to understand the basics of how they work. When you’re using a heat pump to heat a house, it works by pulling heat from the environment (either from the air or from underground) and moving it inside the home. When you look at how a heat pump works in the winter, it’s essentially the opposite. It pulls the heat from the environment and moves it outside of the home to keep it cool.
What heat pump do I need?
Although heat pumps all work the same way at their core, there are different kinds of heat pumps and which heat pump you need can vary depending on your home. Here’s a brief overview of the three types.
Geothermal Heat Pumps
Also known as ground-source heat pumps, they can work to heat or cool your home; these work by extracting heat from underground and using it to heat water. The water holds the heat until it’s time to get distributed to the home to provide warmth.
These are best for single family homes with lawn space.
Air-Source Heat Pumps
These heat pumps pull heat from outside air and bring it inside the house. The process reverses in the winter, so the pump can work to both heat and cool your home. This type of pump can be used to control the temperature of an entire home or a single room.
These are best for apartments, additions, or specific rooms in a home that don’t get hot/cold enough.
Heat Pump Water Heaters
These water heaters are much more efficient than traditional water heaters since they don’t generate heat on their own but work to pull heat from one place to another instead (by pulling heat from the surrounding air to the water inside the tank).
These are best suited for homes with a basement or utility room to store the tank.
Does a heat pump or furnace work equally well?
When comparing a heat pump to a furnace, a heat pump has many advantages. Both are HVAC options that can work to heat your home and keep it comfortable during even the coolest of temperatures. But a heat pump has the added bonus of working to cool your home as well, eliminating the need to use air conditioners throughout your home.
Benefits of Heat Pumps
Now that you know how heat pumps work, it’ll be easier to fully appreciate the other benefits they can provide you when you invest in one. Aside from providing heating and cooling in one system, they bring more to the table.
Affordability
Heat pump efficiency leads to affordability. They run on electricity but their efficiency makes them an incredibly affordable, low-cost solution. In addition to that, there are several incentives and programs that can help pay for the cost of installing one. You can learn more about that here to see if you would qualify.
Environmentally Friendly
If you care about the impact your day to day life has on the environment, then installing a heat pump is one good step you can take to reduce your carbon footprint. Unlike burning oil or gas, electricity from the grid that powers heat pumps only gets cleaner every year.
Healthier/Safer
Aside from being able to achieve both heating and cooling with one unit, heat pumps are also able to filter and dehumidify the air. This can improve the air quality in your home and make it more comfortable for people who suffer from allergies or asthma.
Also, by using electricity rather than burning fossil fuels to heat your home, a heat pump eliminates the need to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning and other dangers from gas leaks like increased risk of fires and explosions.
Customization Options
The three types of heat pumps mentioned earlier only scratch the surface of the available system configurations. There are many different ways that heat pumps can be customized to fit the needs of your family, make sense for your home, and stick close to your budget.
Cellino Plumbing is a full service authorized Trane dealer and installer, so you can be sure you’re getting top-notch quality products installed regardless of the customization options you need.
Turn to Cellino Plumbing, Heating and Cooling for a Heat Pump Today!
It’s always the right time to get a heat pump for your house! But it’s an especially good time because HVAC rebates can help you save extra money up front and make the investment all the more worthwhile. Whether you need a tune up, maintenance, repair, new system installation, have a question, or anything in between, we’re here to help! Please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.
