With summer temperatures heating up, Indianapolis homeowners wonder which is the better cooling system option: air conditioner vs. heat pump? With different options available for home cooling, how are you to know the right solution for your family, your home, and your budget?
Many Indianapolis homeowners believe air conditioners create cooling. Unfortunately, this is a common misconception, but it is easy to see where it stems from in the air conditioner vs. heat pump debate. Because air conditioners are commonly installed in homes that also use furnaces for heating, they way an air conditioner operates is often lumped in with the way a furnace works.
AC Vs Heat Pump: The Cooling Battle!
For cooling, the air conditioner vs. heat pump debate is more difficult, as both systems essentially function in the same manner! They both work to move heat from the home to the outdoors, which creates a cooler indoor environment.
To heat a home, a heat pump runs in reverse. Instead of the way the system functions for cooling, the condenser coils extract heat from the air, transporting it through refrigerant lines to the evaporator coil, where it mixes with indoor air and is circulated back into the home. Instead of having an air conditioner and a furnace, one heat pump does the job of both.
The Central Indiana area experiences hot and muggy summers most years. In these conditions, an air conditioner vs. heat pump is an important comfort question. Sometimes, it seems as if your air conditioner just cannot keep up when outdoor temperatures are in the extremes. This is because air conditioning systems are only designed to provide adequate cooling at temperature differentials of up to about 20 degrees.
For cooling, the air conditioner vs. heat pump race is dead even. As long as the units have the same SEER rating, your electricity bills run the same no matter which cooling system you choose. A heat pump lowers heating bills for a good chunk of the winter, but if you rely on your backup heating system more days than not, an air source heat pump may not be the most efficient choice.
For help deciding between an air conditioner vs. heat pump, the NATE-certified professionals of Williams Comfort Air help you choose. Let us introduce you to amazing Carrier cooling systems, no matter the outcome of your air conditioner vs. heat pump choice. Call Williams Comfort Air today for quality air conditioner or heat pump installation in and around the Indianapolis area.
When searching for the ideal solutions for heating and cooling a home, many of us often come to the conclusion that an air conditioner is better than a heat pump because it can provide heating and cooling at the same time.
In hot weather, an air conditioner works much like a refrigerator, trying to cool the air in an enclosed room and let the heat out. The air passes through the cold heat exchanger in the indoor unit, where the refrigerant absorbs the heat, passes through the compressor and blows it outside through the heat exchanger in the outdoor unit. When the air conditioner is on in cooling mode, this cycle is repeated continuously.
How does a heat pump work?In cold weather, a heat pump takes heat from the outside, from the air or ground, and transfers it to a refrigerant. The hot refrigerant then passes through a heat exchanger where the heat is transferred to water and then transferred to various heat sources such as radiators, underfloor heating, hot water cylinders or even fan coils, which can be used for cooling during the warm season.
When selecting the best option for your home HVAC system, you are always faced with the comparison of heat pumps vs air conditioners. An air conditioner is mostly the better choice when you put it together with a furnace for delivering heating during cold weather. The heat pump, however, can do both heating and cooling, and it could be an efficient choice as long as the climatic temperature changes are moderate.
This working principle, despite being common for both of them when comparing heat pumps vs air conditioners, does not suggest that they both do the same task. Air conditioners and heat pumps can both deliver cooling, based on this principle. The evaporator coil would be placed inside the conditioned zone, while the condensing coil is placed outside, paving way for the cooling process. Nonetheless, there is a mechanism within heat pumps that reverses this thermodynamic cycle and lets them also deliver heating, while it is not the case for air conditioners.
Air conditioners lose to heat pumps in terms of range of applicability for HVAC systems when you compare heat pumps vs air conditioners. Heat pumps can work as heating units for a building, while the air conditioners can only be used for cooling. There is a device located in a heat pump that alters the journey of the refrigerant through various system components, called the reversing valve, which makes it possible for heat pumps to also act as heaters.
Since air conditioners only perform cooling, we need to compare the cooling efficiency of heat pumps vs air conditioners when comparing their performance. Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio or SEER is a measure of how well the cooling system operates. This measure is calculated by dividing the total provided cooling of the system in BTU by the amount of electricity consumption of the system in Watts. It is clear that we want a system that delivers more cooling while consuming less power; hence, higher SEER scores.
Since both of them follow the same refrigeration cycle during cooling, they operate quite the same in terms of efficiency. However, for the same cost, air conditioners could have slightly higher SEER scores compared to heat pumps. This is naturally not the only factor that helps with the proper choice; heat pumps can also work in heating mode while air conditioner cannot. This means that they could be more cost efficient compared to air conditioners.
JL Anderson Heating and Cooling provides a complete lineup of commercial services for all companies in Battle Ground, IN, and the surrounding areas. Our skilled commercial heating and cooling experts have the technical skills and tools to tackle any commercial project, large or small.
We are not suggesting that heat pumps are bad for the climate! If your AC craps out, and you need to replace it today, the climate will benefit if you choose a heat pump and replace your furnace. Here in California, targeting heat pumps at new construction and homes where folks need cooling now to adapt to intense heat today makes sense.
Apart from the refrigerants: We know from refrigerators that if they are not properly isolated, they consume a lot of energy. Also if you have a large fridge, they consume lots of energy. Thus, isolation is key, no matter whether you do cooling or heating.
It is recommended for individuals living in the City of Battle Creek to have access to cooling and heating systems inside their homes. Battle Creek is in a region of the United States where homes become susceptible to harsh weather conditions during the summer and winter seasons. The average daytime temperature highs range from the low to mid-80s. When heat waves pass through the community, temperatures rise above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooling units like central air conditioning units provide sufficient cooling power to homes in Battle Creek and keep residents cool and comfortable indoors when temperatures rise.
In addition to cooling units, residents of Battle Creek should have access to heating systems inside their homes. The average daytime temperature highs during December, January, and February range from the low-30s to upper-40s in Battle Creek. At night, the average temperatures drop well below freezing. Also, precipitation is common during the winter seasons. Heating units like furnaces provide sufficient heating power to homes in Battle Creek and keep residents warm and protected indoors during the harsh winter seasons.
Did you know that a heat pump allows you to both cool your home effectively and to heat it with incredible efficiency? This is thanks to the fact that heat pumps are able to reverse their operation, cooling homes just like central ACs and working in the opposite fashion when temperatures drop. By making use of existing heat in the air outside - and there is always heat in the air outside - heat pumps and ductless mini splits offer up affordable heating all winter long.
As you can imagine, your geothermal heat pump will always be effective and efficient at cooling your home, even in the hottest summers. Installing a geothermal air conditioner can reduce your electricity use by 25 to 50 percent! Taking advantage of geothermal cooling is a great way to avoid those painful spikes in your utilities bills over the upcoming hot summer months.
Then, in the summer, none of this equipment is used and your attention turns to the central air conditioner with its various parts, both inside and outside. At a minimum, conventional heating and cooling require two distinctly different systems for different seasons.
A geothermal system is made up of only two parts: ground loops and a heat pump. This simple, straightforward, and convenient system can provide both heating and cooling, which saves you money, space, and so many headaches. Instead of installing, operating, and maintaining at least two separate pieces of HVAC equipment in your home, you could just have one that serves your home year-round.
Central AC systems, unlike window units or portable ACs, can distribute cool air around the entire house through its duct work. The cycle begins when the thermostat prompts the air handler to pull warm air from the house to be cooled. This warm air flows over the evaporator coils containing cool refrigerant, so heat is transferred from the air into the coil, warming the refrigerant and cooling the air. This newly-cooled air is then returned back into each of the rooms of the home through air ducts.
Most geothermal systems have one visible hardware component and no software component. However, Dandelion Geothermal comes included with monitoring software that regulates your heating and cooling, and anticipates problems before they arise. Outside the home, ground loops are functionally invisible, buried deep underground in your yard. Inside the home, the heat pump replaces both your evaporator coils and your furnace to save space. 2ff7e9595c
Comments