Air-To-Air Heat Pumps


   Phillip Rye

Air-To-Air Heat Pumps
Author Phillip Rye

The technology of heat pumps first entered the American market back in the 1950’s, but has been around a lot longer. In fact, heat pumps date back another century, first premiering in 1852. Since then, new technological advances have brought this invention up to speed. In the world of heat pumps, there are two main contenders. The first is the geothermal heat pump. The other is the air-to-air heat pump, the focus of this piece.

Air-to-air heat pumps are very similar to geothermal heat pumps. But, instead of extracting heat from the ground beneath your feet, air-to-air heat pumps extract heat from the outside air. Many people aren’t aware that even incredibly cold air still contains heat. Actually, you can find heat in air with temperatures as low as -460 degrees Fahrenheit! So, the way that an air-to-air heat pump works is by extracting heat from a source that is at a low temperature and then discharging it at a higher temperature. This means that the heat pump supplies more heat energy than the equivalent energy it uses, making it highly energy efficient. With an air-to-air heat pump, you can have energy efficiency that exceeds 200%, making it second only to the geothermal heat pump.

How Does An Air-to-Air Heat Pump Work?
An air to air heat pump is made up of two main components, an indoor and outdoor unit. The indoor unit has a coil and a blower that pushes warmed or cooled air throughout the house. The outdoor unit has another coil, a fan and a compressor. The beauty of air-to-air heat pumps is that they aren’t simply restricted to heating, but can operate as an air conditioner too.

In the winter, a refrigerant (Freon) in the system absorbs heat from the outside air, is compressed and pumped to the inside unit where this amplified heat will go through your existing ductwork and heat your home. In the summer time, the reverse is accomplished. This time, the Freon removes heat from the inside air of your home and exhausts the heat back outside while cool air is forced through your home.

As I mentioned earlier, air to air heat pumps can work in even the bitterest of cold winter days. But, if you live in an area where the winters are particularly severe, you can help out your heat pump. By using a built in supplemental heating source, you can help speed up the process to ensure your comfort without wasting extra energy. Even when this is the case, air-to-air heat pumps work at their optimal energy efficiency in the winter time, as opposed to the summer. But, throughout the year, a homeowner with an air-to-air heat pump can expect to save anywhere from 25-30% on their home energy costs!

How Much Does an Air-to-Air Heat Pump Cost?
If you’re looking to buy an air-to-air heat pump, the costs aren’t really bad at all. You can buy a unit for about the same price as you would pay for a furnace and an air conditioner. But, you’ll only have to pay once, and your single unit will happily tackle both of the jobs with less maintenance, operating costs or hassle than you’d have with the two separate units.

Another benefit of air-to-air heat pumps is that they are built to last. The average system will continue working trouble free for about fifteen years, but it isn’t unusual to find one that’s still in tip-top shape after as many as twenty years.

But the best thing about the air-to-air heat pump is that it starts paying for itself the moment you turn it on. The savings from your energy costs alone will be enough to pay the system off long before it even begins to fail.

The past few years, we’ve seen an astronomical increase in the cost of non-renewable energy sources. We’ve heard all of the horror stories of waste, pollution and global warming. But, there’s always a silver lining: with an air-to-air heat pump, global warming means your system won’t have to work quite as hard while at the same time continuing to save you money every day on your heating and cooling costs!