April 2021

Should I Get an Air Conditioner or a Heat Pump? Heat pump, air conditioner, they're all the same thing aren't they? I mean they both sit outside and look the same right? Well, kind of, but they are also both quite different in how they operate and their overall energy costs. Depending on where you live, one may be more economical than the other. Let's take a look at both units and see which one might be better for you in the long run. Heat Pump: A heat pump system can both cool and heat your home. Heat pumps work by having the ability to literally reverse it's operation through the use of a reversing valve. During the hot summer months, the heat from the indoor air is collected at the evaporator coil inside and then transferred to the outside condenser through the use of refrigerant. If you feel the copper refrigerant lines going into your indoor coil, you can feel the heat being removed from your home. Once at the outside unit, the heat is dispersed into the air. This process happens in the opposite order during the colder months in heating mode. Heat from the air is collected at the outdoor unit and then transferred inside to warm your home. The only downside to this is that sometimes it is too cold outside for your heat pump to adequately heat your home. Normally, once temperatures drop below 32 degrees you will need to use your auxiliary heating source,...