Heat Pump Basics
Believe it or not there is heat in cool and cold air. Heat pumps can extract this warmth and inject it into your home. They achieve this by doing the same thing air conditioners do only backwards! In hot weather air conditioners, using the magic of special refrigerant chemicals, take heat from the inside of your house and dispose of it outdoors. It only makes sense that the modified machines can do the exact opposite and pull heat from outdoor air and pump it into your home.
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A heat pump is not much different than a car with a transmission. You can go forward or reverse in a car. Flip the switch at your thermostat and the same thing happens within the heat pump. Heat pumps work very efficiently when the outdoor temperature is in the 50 F range. As the outdoor temperature drops, the heat loss of a home is greater and the heat pump needs to operate for longer periods of time to maintain a constant indoor temperature. Around 37 F many heat pumps reach what is called the balance point. At or near this temperature the heat pump needs to run constantly to produce enough heat to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature.
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As the outdoor temperature continues to drop, the heat pump needs help from traditional electric resistance heat coils. These coils resemble the glowing wires inside your toaster and consume vast amounts of electricity as they burn to keep you warm. Your thermostat will most probably have a light that comes on when this happens. It is usually labeled as emergency or auxiliary heat. If this light is on whenever your heat pump is working, you should have a professional service your system.
A heat pump is not much different than a car with a transmission. You can go forward or reverse in a car. Flip the switch at your thermostat and the same thing happens within the heat pump.
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