Please reach us at Atlanticcoldcontrol@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
A heat pump, is an apparatus (device) that uses the outside air to both heat a home in winter and cool it in summer.
Technically, a heat pump is a mechanical-compression cycle refrigeration system that can be reversed to either heat or cool a space. Think of a heat pump as a heat transporter constantly moving warmth from one place to another, to where it’s needed or not needed, depending on the season. Even in air that seems extremely cold, heat energy is present. When it’s cold outside, a heat pump extracts what heat is available in the outside air and transfers it inside. When it’s warm outside, it reverses directions and acts like an air conditioner, removing heat from your home and expelling it outside.
A heat pump consists of two main components: an indoor air handler or fan coil and an outdoor unit similar to an central air conditioner, but referred to as a heat pump. The outdoor unit contains a compressor that circulates refrigerant that absorbs and releases heat as it travels between the indoor and outdoor units.
Heat pumps and air conditioners use the same technology to cool your home. They share the same energy-efficient features with the exception of a few small technical differences, heat pumps and air conditioners cool your home in the same way, with no real difference in comfort quality, energy efficiency or energy costs.
The main difference between heat pumps and air conditioners is that a heat pump can also heat your home while an air conditioner can’t.
A ductless heat pump, also called a mini-split heat pump, is an efficient and convenient way for homeowners who don’t have ductwork to heat and cool their home. Unlike central systems, which feed air through a system of ducts and vents, ductless systems are installed directly in the room they’re intended to heat or cool.
The smallest and most basic ductless heat pumps are single zone systems and include just one indoor unit and one outdoor unit. But, you can also install up to five indoor units or more to form a Multi Split Ductless System . This means you can heat or cool up to five or more spaces without ducts , providing each space with independent temperature and operational adjustments, making this mini split unit an easy and flexible solution for comfortable indoor temperature control.
While electric baseboard heaters offer a reliable, effective heating option by transforming electricity to heat by using a resistive heating element, Heat Pump systems use a closed loop refrigerant circuit to circulate refrigerant that absorbs or collects heat from the air outside your home, and releases that heat indoors. Unlike baseboard heaters that turns electricity directly to resistive heat, a heat pump only uses electricity to run a compressor that circulates the refrigerant to move a larger amount of absorbed heat, this allows heat pumps to provide up to three times more heat than the energy they consume for operation, and thus operate up to 3 times more cost effectively than baseboard heaters.
It must be noted that Heat Pump systems loose efficiency as the outdoor temperature drops, as less heat can be absorbed from colder air. Modern heat pumps can operate extremely reliably at very cold temperatures, but you may still require baseboard "back up" heat for a short timeframe during the heating season when outside temperatures are below about -15° C. However, as these low temperatures do not normally occur for long periods of time in Atlantic Canada the overall seasonal efficiency of heat pump system or Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) are far greater than that of baseboard heaters, and you will still notice a dramatic effect when switching to a heat pump to reduce your heating bill.
Note: The above is also highly dependent on the building efficiencies and the specific heat pump system utilized. Cold Climate Heat Pumps are available and these can operate extremely efficient down to -30°C, and can reduce or eliminate the need for baseboard heaters. However careful consideration should be made based on the higher first cost of cold climate heat pumps, that may or may not be justifiable based on extreme cold temperature seasonal occurrence percentages.
Conventional heat pumps have a on/off method of control, if heating or cooling is required the thermostat switches the compressor on at full speed regardless of the amount of cooling or heating needed, when the required room temperature is reached the thermostat switches the compressor completely off. This not only waists energy but cause large temperature swings between on and off cycles.
Inverter heat pumps use a variable speed compressor that precisely adjusts the amount of cooling or heating to exactly match the building heating or cooling requirements. When cooling or heating demands are high the compressor speeds up, and when they are low, it reduces speed. This provides very comfortable and constant temperature control in your home compared to conventional "on/off" heat pumps, while saving energy. Think of it as the accelerator pedal on your car that can be adjusted precisely to drive at a constant speed to meet road conditions. Now, imagine driving a car that had only full speed an stop, that would certainly not be comfortable or economical.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.