Although many people outside of Florida assume that we have warm, sunny weather all year long, residents know that the weather can get very chilly. And since your air conditioner uses so much energy the rest of the year, you may dread running your heater if the system you currently own is somewhat inefficient. So when you need to replace your heater, you might decide to go with a hybrid heating system, one of the most energy-efficient heating systems available.
Hybrid heating systems contain both a heat pump and a gas furnace, so that homeowners get the efficiency of a heat pump and the performance of a gas furnace. A hybrid heating system is a heat pump first and foremost, but it uses a furnace as a backup. Let’s look at how a heat pump and furnace work to see how this unit can help your home to run more efficiently.
Heat pumps are essentially just air conditioners with a couple of extra components and settings that allow for both heating and cooling. In air conditioning mode, refrigerant moves from the compressor unit to the indoor air handler, absorbing the heat from the home and then moving it back outside. In heating mode, refrigerant moves in the opposite direction via an additional component called the reversing valve. The reversing valve allows refrigerant to flow the other way while check valves help it to avoid passing through the components reserved for cooling mode.
Moving heat from one area to the next is a very efficient way to heat a space, usually more so than generating heat. But generating heat via combustion, as a furnace does, means reliable heating in any weather. Furnaces don’t rely on outside conditions to heat a home, and all of the parts are located indoors. While a heat pump may struggle to heat when outdoor temperatures drop too low, a furnace typically will not. This means it’s there a source of heating when the temperatures drop or when a component of your heat pump breaks and you need a backup source.
Call Touchstone Heating and Air Inc. to learn about all of the ways homeowners benefit from installing hybrid heating systems in Gainesville.