Heat pump vs air conditioner- How to select the best option.
Your HVAC system plays an important role in making you feel comfortable inside your home or office regardless of the outside weather and hence the selection of the right HVAC system is very important so that you can buy the best option for dealing with the weather changes.
In Fayetteville NC we deal with pretty moderate weather. Sure, we get our snow and our sweltering days, but heat pumps still are pretty common in our region. Often, Fayetteville homes use an HVAC with a heat pump that has heater backup so that if it gets super cold, you can boost the temperature more aggressively.
When working in St louis, heat pumps are still fairly common, but less so as the winters can be more bitter and it is harder for the heat pump to keep up.
But this can be difficult decision that you will need to make especially when you have to decide from among heat pump vs air conditioner as there are some similarities and differences too. Since buying a HVAC system can be a huge investment for you, it is important that you consider all the factors so that you can make the right selection. Moreover, when you make the right choice, you will not have to sleep in the hot summer months without proper cooling and thus you will need to ensure that you are selecting the most cost effective option for your home or office.
When deciding among heat pump vs air conditioner, you need to look for the option that will offer you higher heating efficiency especially in the cold weather and heat pumps is considered as the best HVAC system for people residing in area with moderate climate but air conditioners is the best choice for people who use the furnace along with it for handling their winter heating needs.
Furthermore, a heating pump is different from the air conditioners as it can reverse itself for providing heating when required. A heat pump is also known to pump heat in both the direction from outside to inside and from inside to outside for offering consistent heating inside a home or office. A heat pump is different from air conditioner in terms of its functionality as the former operates on the reverse compression cycle also known as reverse refrigeration cycle while the latter operates on regular vapor compression cycle.
Another important difference between heat pumps and air conditioner is that the heat pump can reverse its direction for transferring hear from outside to indoor temperature as it make it utilizes the valve built into compressor. On the other hands an air conditioner relies on the electrical heat strips inside the air handler and utilizing the furnace heat from distributing and producing warm air.
Major differences between heat pumps and air conditioners
- Heat pumps provide heating while air conditioners do not
- Heat pump can heat and cool but air conditioners only cool the temperature
- Heat pumps can absorb the heat energy from outdoor air so that the inside temperature will become warmer but an air conditioner needs a furnace for heating the indoors during cold months
- Heat pumps functions in heating the indoors while air conditioners helps in cooling the rooms in summer months
Hence when deciding to buy a HVAC system, you will need to consider all the factors like energy efficiency, functionality, price and longevity before deciding on the option that you should buy. It is important to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of both these units before you select the most cost effective option for your home or office.