Heat pump technology is ideally suited to Yuma’s dry desert climate, with its hot summers and short, mild winters. The ability to provide both heating and cooling is one of the main heat pump advantages.
Heat pumps have indoor and outdoor coils and a compressor that pumps refrigerant between the two units. In the summer, they function just like an A/C. Refrigerant flowing through the evaporator coil’s tubing absorbs heat from air in your home as it converts from a liquid to a gas. The refrigerant the travels outdoors to the condenser, where the captured heat is released as the refrigerant converts back to a liquid.
A distinctive feature of a heat pump is the reversing valve that switches the refrigerant flow direction. This lets the unit reverse operation in the winter to pull latent warmth from the outdoor air and release it indoors to heat your home. Most units are equipped with electric resistance heat strips to provide warmth when outdoor temperatures dip below 40 degrees.
Key Advantages of Heat Pump Technology
Today’s heat pumps offer a number of advanced features that boost efficiency, such as variable-speed air handlers, two-speed compressors and improved coil designs. Compared to buying an air conditioner and a furnace, investing in a heat pump also brings you several key advantages:
- Energy savings – Heat pump technology can save you money during the cooler months compared to operating a furnace.
- Lower equipment cost – Since a heat pump has both heating and cooling capabilities, you’ll only need to purchase one unit, rather than an air conditioner and a furnace.
- Ease of installation – Heat pumps run on electricity, so they don’t require the installation of a gas line or a complicated venting system to remove exhaust fumes from fuel combustion.
- Fewer safety concerns – Since fuel isn’t used to create heat, there’s no risk of dangerous gas line leaks or exposure to hazardous carbon monoxide due to a malfunctioning furnace vent system.
Before buying a new cooling system for your Yuma home, contact Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company to learn about other heat pump advantages.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about heat pumps and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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