How Heat Pumps Work

How does a Heat Pump work? This is a very popular question.

A heat pump is an efficient method of cooling your home in the summer and warming it in the winter. Although heat pumps are new to many people, they’ve been around for many years. It hasn't been until the the price of Natural gas has gone through the roof that they have become a real viable option in the Kamloops area.

So why choose a heat pump?

A new energy efficient Lennox heat pump is a wise investment. Not only will it provide years of worry-free heating and cooling but it will actually give you return on your investment through the utility bill savings.

Whether it’s winter or summer, a heat pump works by moving heat to keep indoor environments comfortable. During the summer, a heat pump operates like a standard electric air conditioner. It collects heat from the air within a home and expels it outside. In the winter, heat is collected from the outside and used to warm the air inside. Even "cold" air contains heat.

Lennox heat pumps are capable of providing years of worry-free heating and cooling and significant savings on utility bills. The amount a consumer can save depends on many factors. For example, the efficiency of old equipment compared to that of a new heat pump can have an effect on how much will be saved. The climate in which a consumer lives, as well as utility costs, are also factors.

While many people find the winter operation of a heat pump difficult to understand, it is during the heating cycle that the heat pump produces the most savings. Unlike a furnace that turns fossil fuel or electricity into heat, the heat pump collects heat that already exists in the outdoor air by means of its refrigeration cycle. Consequently, a heat pump will produce two to three times more heat than the energy it uses.

A heat pump also produces savings while cooling a home. A SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) rates cooling efficiency. A higher SEER produces greater savings. A SEER of 7.0 is typical in homes over eight years old and a new, higher efficiency heat pump can be as much as 56 percent more efficient.

We have find customers in this climate save between 30% - 50% of their annual utility bills.

If your existing furnace is less than 12 years old, an add-on heat pump can be an effective option. With a dual fuel system, the two systems share the heating load, but never at the same time. Each system operates when it is the most cost effective. The heat pump will be the primary heating and cooling system. However, when the temperature drops below the heat pump’s set point, the furnace will take over until the temperature rises enough for the heat pump to operate more efficiently.