Articles / Heat Pumps – Pump Up Energy Efficiency
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Heat pumps have been gaining popularity over the past few years as an efficient way to use outdoor air to heat the indoors. The pumps are, in effect, air conditioners that operate in reverse to bring heat from outdoors into a home. They operate on a simple principle of physics: When air or any other gas is compressed, it heats up. When it is uncompressed, it cools down. If you've ever held your finger over a bicycle tire pump and pushed and pulled the handle, you've noticed that effect. When you hold your finger over the exit and push the pump handle, the air inside will become warm. Lift the finger and let the hot air out, and the air cools again. Now, picture that the cylinder of the pump is inside a house and that the exhaust was vented through a window. If you were to pump this indoor cylinder, its heat would be felt in the room. As the air left the pump and expelled outside, it would slightly cool the air just around the port.

For those days in between the coldest days of winter and peaks of summer, heat pumps are at their best. The systems work most efficiently when the outdoor temperature is in vicinity of 50 degrees Fahrenheit. As the outdoor temperature drops, the loss of heat from a house is greater and a pump needs to work longer to maintain a constant temperature indoors. At a bit below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, many pumps reach what is termed a balance point. At or around this temperature, the unit needs to run constantly to provide sufficient heat to maintain a comfortable temperature indoors.

There are several kinds of heat pumps, including those that operate largely from the outside air and those that tap into the earth's own heat about six feet below the ground. Dual or hybrid source pumps are often suggested for climates such as those of the Midwest. These units' warm-weather cooling effects can be reversed, often coupled with a furnace, to supply heat.

Heat pumps are made to operate at different levels of efficiency, and today's models are made to operate at a higher level of efficiency than in decades past. The more heat a system can produce or remove using a given amount of electricity, the more efficient it is. A useful measurement of this performance is the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). SEER numbers show quite a range when comparing older pumps to new ones. Some heat pumps from the 1980s and early 1990s had peak SEER numbers of 6. The minimum SEER available today is 10, with the highest SEER pumps today rating at around 16. Some pumps also qualify for the federal energy tax credit, yet another incentive to consider for those looking into adding a heat pump to the home. For more information, log on to Energy Star.