Heat Pumps — Introduction (VIDEO)

If you are one of the several million people that live in the Southwestern part of the U.S. you most likely have an air source heat pump for the heating and cooling your home. If you have a newer home in California it will most likely have a heat pump. If you live in the Southeastern part of the U.S. you will also most likely be using a heat pump. In these areas air source heat pumps are quite common since normal low air temperatures seldom drop below about 20 degrees F At any temperature above that air source heat pumps work really well.

If you live in a cooler area of the country many people are finding that ground source heat pumps work really well and often have efficiency levels that put 92% efficient gas furnaces to shame. Using a ground source heat pump for both heating and cooling eliminates the concern regarding low temperature operation.

It is also true that many of our air source heat pumps manufactured in the U.S. have a long way to go when if comes to efficiency. Heat pumps manufactured In European and Asian countries have been using variable speed compressor technology for years which significantly improves efficiency. In the U.S. we are still manufacturing heat pumps and air conditioning units using 1950′s start and stop technology.