Homeowners have to decide every year what kind of heating and plumbing services they want for their home. There are two main options: a heat pump or a furnace. Both have their benefits, but there are also some drawbacks to each that you should be aware of before making your decision. In this guide, we’ll talk about the pros and cons of both so that you can make an informed decision about which one is right for you.
What is a Heat Pump, and How Does it Work?
A heat pump is a system that transfers thermal energy from one location to another. It works by transferring heat and cold between the inside of your home and the surrounding area outside. This can be done in two ways:- By absorbing the warmth or coolness from an external source such as groundwater, water bodies, rivers, lakes, and the air exterior. Heat pumps use the outside air, ground, or water to provide thermal energy during the winter months and moves it inside your home, while in summer months, they move heat from your house out into cooler external sources such as groundwater or lakes.
- By moving the warmth/coldness between two indoor spaces, which are different temperatures, for example, heating your home during winter while cooling it in the summer.
What are some benefits of a heat pump?
- It uses about 60-70% less electricity than electric resistance heating and other heating and plumbing services, making them more efficient and cheaper to run. As they produce both hot water & warmth within your home at lower energy costs, this is an obvious benefit for homeowners with high energy bills.
- Heat pumps are very flexible systems, which means they can be used to heat or cool different spaces within your house throughout the year, depending on how you want it heated/cooled at any particular time. So, for example, in summer months when air-conditioning is required, heat pump technology can remove warmth from inside and then transfer it to exterior spaces.
- Heat pumps are also very quiet when operating and produce little noise, so they can be used without disturbance within your home. And since they run on electricity rather than gas, there is no need for venting, which means installation costs are lower.