Typically, springtime is the season in which many homeowners get rid of their old air conditioners and invest in a Nashville, TN air conditioning installation. But if you were uncertain of whether or not to replace your air conditioner at the beginning of the cooling season, perhaps you’re thinking about it now, near the end.
If you are considering a new air conditioner, or even a new heater, sometime soon, then you would do well to consider a heat pump. Heat pumps operate on the same principles as air conditioning, but can be used as a heating system, too. Keep reading below to learn about how this works and what makes a heat pump a worthy investment for many homeowners.
The Anatomy of a Heat Pump
The typical air conditioning system relies on refrigerant in order to do its job, which circulates in an endless loop that enables it to cool the air in the system. Heat pumps use this same method to cool the air, however there’s a little twist.
In a conventional air conditioner, the refrigerant is shifted from gaseous to liquid form and placed under a high level of pressure. The process releases heat into the air, which is usually vented outside of your home via the outdoor portion of the AC unit.
The liquid refrigerant then enters the evaporator coil in a specific amount, where it shift back into gaseous form. This process lowers the temperature in the surrounding air, which can then be blown into the various rooms of your home via a fan. The gaseous refrigerant then returns to the beginning of the loop to start the process all over again.
We’ve just described how a heat pump operates, too. So, what’s the twist that we mentioned above? Thanks to a component called a reversing valve, in the winter this whole process can be switched, allowing you to pull heat from outdoors and release it into your home. Therefore, you have a heater and an air conditioner all in one neat little package.
The Benefits of Heat Pumps
As we’ve mentioned above, heat pumps do make effective air conditioners. They can provide you with plenty of reliable cooling power in the summer. The biggest benefit of utilizing a heat pump, though, comes when the weather cools, since you can use it as a heater as well. In fact, heat pumps are best in climates like ours, where winters are relatively mild.
Another leading benefit of a heat pump is that it takes up less space and enables you to serve your home with two systems in one. Whether you need cooling in the summer or heating in the winter, you can get it all from this two-in-one appliance.
It’s important to remember, however, that maintenance should be done biannually, since this system does work year-round. As long as you schedule your maintenance sessions routinely, it doesn’t matter too much when they are, but you will likely find it most beneficial to have your tune-ups done once in the spring and once in the fall, when temperatures are a bit more bearable.
At Covenant Heating and Cooling, we are “Dedicated to the Promise of Serving You.”
Contact us today for superior HVAC services.