What is a heat pump and how does it work?
Heat pumps are heating and cooling systems that work with electricity instead of oil, natural gas or propane. Unlike traditional heating systems that generate heat via combustion of gas or oil, heat pumps transfer heat from the outside air into your house, using the same technology as an air conditioning unit.
Heat pumps are 2.5x - 4x more efficient at heating your home than a furnace
In winter, liquid refrigerant in the heat pump absorbs heat from the cold outdoor air and is transformed into a gas. This gas is compressed, raising its temperature. The hot gas travels to the indoor unit, where it warms the indoor air. As the gas cools and condenses back into a liquid, it returns outdoors, ready to absorb more heat and restart the cycle. Unlike furnaces or boilers, which generate heat by burning fuel or using electrical resistance, heat pumps move existing heat from outdoors to indoors, which makes them a more energy-efficient heating solution.
The same heat pump is also a very efficient cooling system
Heat pumps can also cool your home thanks to a component called the reversing valve. This part changes the direction of the refrigerant flow, enabling the heat pump to operate in reverse. Instead of absorbing heat from outside, the pump now takes in heat from your home's interior, just like an air conditioner. The warm indoor air is absorbed by the refrigerant, then transferred outside and released. The refrigerant, now cooled, returns inside to absorb more heat, continuing the cycle to keep your home comfortably cool.
What are "ductless" and "mini-split" systems?
You’ll hear the terms “mini split” and “ductless heat pump” used to describe heating and cooling systems. What exactly do these terms mean? As described above, a heat pump is a device that uses electricity to transfer heat energy between the indoors and outdoors. Ductless heat pumps don’t need ducts to distribute forced air. Instead they have separate wall-or floor-mounted heads for each room they serve. This allows great flexibility in design, as well as zone control. It also makes it easy to install them in houses with radiators or baseboard heat.
Mini split heat pumps are “split”--they have separate indoor and outdoor units. This makes them much quieter and more efficient than window air conditioners. “Mini” refers to the fact that these systems were originally designed to serve a single room or small apartment. Modern mini splits are capable of heating and cooling even the largest homes.
