If you have a heat pump system, then you know how great of a heating and cooling system it makes. Your heat pump uses the same components for both heating and air conditioning, and it does so efficiently. But this also means that instead of working hard for just one season, it’s working hard all year long, which results in a higher need for care.
Our winters may be mild and short, but when it comes to caring for your heat pump system, our first word of advice is to schedule your HVAC maintenance biannually, versus once a year like you would a conventional Boynton Beach, FL air conditioning system or heating system.
Understanding a Heat Pump’s Cooling Process
The cooling process your heat pump goes through each summer (and beyond summer) involves the use of refrigerant to transfer heat. The refrigerant does not create cooling, because “cool” is not an energy, but rather heat is moved from one place to another—from inside your space to the outdoors.
Refrigerant cycles continuously (it does not/should not deplete—if it does, you have a leak that needs repairing) through the inside coil, compressor, and other components. Under the right temperatures and pressure levels, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the air inside your home in order to move that heat outdoors.
Then, the refrigerant turns into a gas (it evaporates) indoors as warm air blows over the indoor coil, and it absorbs heat from the air. As the refrigerant condenses (turns to liquid), it releases the heat outdoors. This cools down a coil to start the cooling process.
Your Heat Pump Works Year Round
In cooler climates, heat pumps can struggle to heat a home, because they’re reversed and thus tasked with pulling heat from the outside air and bringing it into the living space. Heat pumps, then, are ideal for climates that have mild winters so that they can work efficiently and effectively all year round. That is, climates just like ours!
But even though we have brief and mild winters, your heat pump is still working to do its job both in warm weather and in cold. This is why it’s vital that you schedule maintenance twice a year. Ideally, this service is scheduled once in the fall, and once in the spring. When you schedule maintenance, however, matters less than the fact that you schedule it biannually.
What Makes Your Heat Pump So Efficient
Your heat pump uses electricity, which is typically an inefficient means of cooling and heating a home. However, heat pumps use electricity in a different way. As we mentioned above, heat pumps move heat from place to place rather than generating either cooling or heat. And moving heat is a far less energy-dependent process, which means a reduction in your HVAC usage and a subsequent reduction in your energy bills.
When you use your heat pump system for cooling, which is the majority of the year for us, you can expect efficiency ratings to be comparable to new central air conditioning systems. They are some of the most efficient systems on the market, but can only remain that way year over year if you schedule maintenance for them as needed.
When you’re searching for an HVAC company that truly does it all, look no further than Envirotech Air Quality Services. Contact us today!
