The Tech Fueling the Heat Pump Boom

By: Brian Sodoma, for Service Experts

If you’re considering a new HVAC system, you’ve probably seen heat pumps. While they’ve been around for more than a century, in 2020 they officially surpassed gas furnaces in sales. Compared to furnaces, which rely on natural gas, propane gas or oil combustion for heating and electricity for cooling, heat pumps are entirely electric.

Heat pumps are appealing thanks to the fact they are very energy efficient and environmentally friendly; they don’t use fossil fuels like natural gas. Heat pumps are regarded as a key solution for reducing carbon emissions and studies reveal that heat pumps are a better option for the environment for efficient heating. That being said, doubts about their effectiveness in cold weather have discouraged some people. But that’s changing—thanks to new technology.

Continue below to learn how heat pump technology improvements are making them better than ever for homeowners across the country.

Why Heat Pumps

Producing roughly four times the amount of energy than it takes, a heat pump is more efficient than conventional gas furnaces and can even be better than a high-efficiency model. And while coal-based utilities still operate today, new renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are on the rise, making all-electric heating and cooling systems even more attractive to today’s green-minded consumers.

On top of that, federal tax credits that provide up to $2,000 for qualified heat pumps are another reason for the increasing demand of heat pumps. When combined with other state and local rebates, homeowners can save even more.

“Heat pumps are increasingly more energy efficient than typical gas heaters, and they can help you dramatically reduce your power bill—and for some homeowners, by $500 or more a year,” said Cary Reed, a Service Experts heating and cooling pro.

The Inner Workings of Your Heat Pump

During the colder months, heat pumps use heat from the outside air to increase indoor temperature by transporting it through coils. The heat is released indoors, increasing the home’s temperature. The key player here is the refrigerant, which transforms from liquid to gas–and then back to liquid–as it absorbs and emits heat during the heating cycle.

In warmer weather, the process is flipped. Heat is taken out of the home and sent outside through the refrigerant coils.

The process works as follows:

• In colder weather, a coil heat exchanger together with a metering device moves heat from the outside air to the liquid refrigerant inside the coil. Even at lower outside temperatures, there is still heat available in the outside air. As the heat transfers to the refrigerant, it boosts its temperature to its boiling point and changes it from a liquid to a gas.

• Following that, a compressor pushes the gas refrigerant throughout the system, boosting the gas pressure where the heat is expelled into the home by a fan or blower. As the heat is released, the refrigerant becomes a liquid again. The process continues until the home’s thermostat is satisfied.

• A reversing valve is used to reverse the system from heating to cooling. The reversing valve is controlled by the thermostat and will invert the cycle during the summer, moving heat from inside the home to the outside.

Advances in Heat Pump Technology Push Efficiency Even Further

Once the outdoor temperature falls, heat pumps become less effective and have less capacity for heating. But manufacturers have implemented significant technological advancements to enhance both the efficiency and capacity of heat pumps during cold weather.

For starters, these brands are designing systems to reach higher SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) rating standards. Installing a heat pump with a high SEER rating means lower energy use for the system. While SEER primarily relates to cooling, the heat pump’s energy and cost savings throughout the summer go up noticeably as minimum SEER standards do the same.

And in regards to a heat pump’s total capacity, many brands have created systems that can sustain peak efficiency and heating capacity even once temperatures drop as low as -15 degrees. This is a dramatic 20- to 30-degree improvement compared to what was typical just five years ago.

“How are they making this happen? They have access to enhanced variable-speed compressors to more quickly change power levels while using less of it overall. In addition, the heat exchangers inside modern units are much larger, which enables more effective heat transfer. During severe cold, the systems will employ secondary heaters that turn on below a specific temperature.

These innovations have been in some part due to the Department of Energy’s Residential Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge, a government initiative focused on advancing heat pump innovation.

“The heat pump boom is actually an ideal situation,” Reed said. “People want to do their part for the environment while cutting costs on monthly bills, and there are strong incentives. We are even seeing some customers, who purchase a heat pump, will also upgrade their insulation to make the most of their energy efficiency and savings.”

To learn more about heat pumps, visit serviceexperts.com/heat-pumps. To schedule an appointment with an Expert heat pump installer, visit our scheduling page.