When it’s time to invest in a new HVAC system for your home, it’s important to do your research to ensure that you choose a unit that fits your needs. One of the newer products to hit the market in recent decades is the heat pump. We’re going to dive into more detail about what a heat pump is and how it compares to a traditional HVAC setup so that you can determine which one is right for your home.
What Is a Heat Pump?
A heat pump is an HVAC system that offers both heating and cooling. This type of system runs solely on electricity and operates at a high efficiency level. Heat pumps are comprised of three main components, which are the outdoor condenser unit, indoor air handler unit, and refrigerant lines. You can buy different styles of heat pumps, but the most cost-effective style is the air-source heat pump. It’s also the easiest to install.
This particular type of heat pump will pull heat out of the air outside and transfer it into your home during the wintertime. This will help to heat up your home without any need for burning fuels like natural gas or propane. During the summer months, your heat pump will function in the opposite direction. This will allow it to absorb heat from inside your home and transport it to the outdoors. By effectively removing heat from inside your home, a heat pump will be able to lower the air temperature inside your home.
Heat pumps can work with existing ductwork, or they can work with a ductless mini-split setup. With a ducted setup, a heat pump will use the blower components of its indoor air handler unit to deliver the appropriate temperature air throughout your home and pull in stale air to have it treated. If you don’t have ducting, you can opt for a ductless mini-split system. These will have multiple indoor air handler units throughout the main rooms of your home. Instead of traveling through the ducting to be treated, these individual units will pull air in from the room and treat it themselves.
What Is a Traditional HVAC System?
A traditional HVAC system will be comprised of two different components. The first will be an air conditioning system, known as the central air conditioner. The second will be a heating system, which will vary depending on the specific type of fuel and system that you want to use in your home. Furnaces tend to be the most popular type of heating system. However, a traditional HVAC system can also include a boiler or radiant heat setup.
Both central air conditioning systems and furnaces use ductwork to provide treated air inside your dwelling. A central air conditioning system will work very similarly to a heat pump in the summertime, where it transfers warm air to the outside of your home. When it comes to a furnace, it can use either electricity to generate heat or burn fuel to do so.
Fuel-burning furnaces can run on natural gas, propane, or heating oil. Any heating system that burns fuel to create heat will produce toxic exhaust fumes. These systems will require a chimney to properly vent out those exhaust fumes for the safety of the home’s residents. Both your heating and cooling systems will utilize the same thermostat to control the temperature inside your home.
A Closer Look at Efficiency Levels
When trying to determine whether you want to invest in a heat pump or a traditional HVAC setup, it’s important to take the efficiency of either system into account. The more efficient a system is able to operate, the lower your heating and cooling bills will be throughout the year. While efficiency is not the only factor that you want to consider, it’s going to be a big one.
Heat pumps can have an operating efficiency of up to 400% during the winter months. In comparison, an electric furnace has an operating efficiency of 100%. When it comes to fuel-burning furnaces, their standard efficiency is around 84%. However, there are high-efficiency models available that can have an efficiency around the 94% range and up. A heat pump and a central air system will operate around the same efficiency level.
To be more precise with determining efficiency ratings, you’ll want to look at the given rating for any system you’re thinking about purchasing. When it comes to cooling systems, this is given in the form of a SEER rating, which stands for seasonal energy efficiency ratio. The higher the rating, the more efficient the system. When it comes to heating systems, their rating is given in the form of AFUE. This stands for annual fuel utilization efficiency, with a higher rating translating to more efficiency.
A Note on Tax Incentives
We can’t compare traditional HVAC systems to heat pumps without mentioning tax incentives. It’s become very well-known that, when you invest in a heat pump for your home, it makes you eligible to receive a federal tax incentive. Homeowners can recoup up to 30% of the total cost of their new system up to a maximum amount of $3,200.
When it comes to purchasing a new central air conditioning system or a furnace, this tax incentive only applies in certain scenarios. One of the most common is the purchasing a high-efficiency furnace model. These units will need to have an ENERGY STAR certification. You can look on ENERGY STAR’s website to determine which heating systems qualify for a tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2020.
Maintenance and Lifespan
When it comes to maintenance service, heat pumps will need to receive service every spring and fall to stay in good working condition. With a traditional HVAC setup, your central air conditioning system will need service in the spring and your heating system serviced in the fall. Both systems will require that you change their air filter on a regular basis and remove any debris that gets stuck against their outdoor condenser unit.
On average, a typical air source heat pump will have a lifespan of about 10 to 15 years. A central air conditioning system will last between 15 and 20 years. A furnace can have a lifespan of anywhere between 15 to 30 years depending on the type of fuel that it uses. When comparing lifespans, it’s important to remember that a heat pump acts as both your heating and cooling system, so it will naturally have a shorter lifespan than a furnace or central air conditioning system that only operates half of the year.
Reliable HVAC Installation Service
George’s Air Conditioning offers reliable heat pump and furnace installation service for the Galveston, TX community. We can also help with all your heating, cooling, commercial HVAC, duct cleaning, and indoor air quality needs. Simply contact George’s Air Conditioning to book your next service appointment with one of our knowledgeable technicians.
