For homes in the Yuma area, heat pumps can be an excellent option when choosing a home comfort system. They do the work of both an air conditioner and a furnace, and usually consume less energy in the process.
If you’re looking to save energy (and, therefore, money) by choosing a heat pump, you’ll want to check out each model’s HSPF and SEER ratings.
HSPF
The heating efficiency of heat pumps is measured by HSPF, or Heating Seasonal Performance Factor. HSPF works a little bit like the miles per gallon rating of cars. Instead of measuring how far you can go on a single gallon of gas, HSPF tells you how much heat you can get from a single watt of electricity. The heating output is measured in BTU’s, or British Thermal Units. So, for instance, an HSPF of 8 means that the unit provides 8 BTU’s of heat for each watt of electricity (on average).
HSPF is only used to measure the efficiency of heat pumps; other home heating systems, such as furnaces, are usually rated by Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE). That can make them hard to compare, but in Yuma’s climate, heat pumps are always going to be more efficient. In fact, the lowest-rated heat pump on the market is about twice as energy-efficient as the highest-rated furnace.
SEER
When it comes to cooling efficiency, SEER is the most common measure to use. SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. It also measures the number of BTU’s per watt of electricity, but this time it’s referring to BTU’s of cooling power, rather than heating power.
New heat pumps are required to have SEER ratings of at least 13, but some can have ratings in the 20 range. In southern Arizona, that kind of difference in air conditioning efficiency can have a huge impact on your electric bills, so you definitely want to consider the benefits of choosing a heat pump with a high SEER rating.
To learn more, contact the Yuma area experts at Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric. We’ll be happy to answer your questions.
Our goal is to help educate our customers 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.
Hansberger Refrigeration & Electric Co services the Yuma area in Arizona. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!
