Gainesville Heat Pumps

The goal of most homeowners is to make sure that their home is comfortable: cool in the summer and warm in the winter. In order to accomplish this, a proper Air Conditioning and Heating Unit is needed. However, there is no one-fits-all solution. Every home is different, which means the best Air Conditioning and Heating system options will vary from home to home, and heat pumps may be required.

Installation and use of a Heat Pump is very common here in the Gainesville area. Heat pumps provide all the heating and cooling for a home by moving heat from one location to another, using very little energy. They use electricity to move heat from a cool space to a warm space, making the cool space cooler and the warm space warmer. During the heating season, heat pumps move heat from the cool outdoors into your warm house, and during the cooling season, heat pumps move heat from your cool house into the warm outdoors (see picture to left).

However, is a Heat Pump right for your home? Listed below are some benefits and drawbacks to installing a Heat Pump in your home:

Benefits:

• VERY energy efficient (and thus saves you money on your energy bill!)
• No need to add separate systems to heat or cool your home
• A good option for Florida residents, given the weather doesn’t go far below freezing very often.
• High-efficiency heat pumps dehumidify better than standard central air conditioners

Drawbacks:

• If the weather becomes too cold, it may be harder for the system to heat (although, as stated above, this isn’t ordinarily an issue in Gainesville)
• It can be more expensive to operate than a furnace since it uses electricity rather than gas.
• The life span of heat pumps tends to be about 10-15 years, while a furnace’s life span may be 20-30 years.

Types of Heat Pumps

The most common type of heat pump is the air-source heat pump, which transfers heat between your house and the outside air. If you heat with electricity, heat pumps can trim the amount of electricity you use for heating by as much as 30% to 40%. High-efficiency heat pumps also dehumidify better than standard central air conditioners, resulting in less energy usage and more cooling comfort in the summer months. However, the efficiency of most air-source heat pumps as a heat source drops dramatically at low temperatures, generally making them unsuitable for cold climates, although there are systems that can overcome the problem.

For homes without ducts, air-source heat pumps are also available in a ductless version called a mini-split heat pump.

Geothermal (ground-source or water-source) heat pumps achieve higher efficiencies by transferring heat between your house and the ground or a nearby water source. Although they cost more to install, geothermal heat pumps have low operating costs because they take advantage of relatively constant ground or water temperatures. Whether a geothermal heat pump is appropriate for you will depend on the size of your lot, the subsoil, and the landscape. Ground-source or water-source heat pumps can be used in more extreme climates than air-source heat pumps, and customer satisfaction with the systems is very high.