Electric heat pumps

Heating and cooling are the most energy-intensive systems for residential retail electric customers. Many energy consumers do not think much about these systems until they face maintenance issues or system replacement. When replacing a home heating system, there is a multitude of high efficiency models from which to choose. Consumers should become familiar with the technologies available and consider the cost to operate the system in addition to the cost to purchase the system.

Residential customers living in moderate climates have a choice of technologies when it comes to heating their homes. Gas furnaces are a common and cost-effective method of home heating. Electric heat pumps are also widely used. In addition to using different fuels, energy consumers should be aware of how these heating systems operate if they are building a new home or in the market to replace their existing system.

Gas furnace operations are relatively simple. A mixture of natural gas and air ignite in the furnace combustion chamber. A heat exchanger, located adjacent to the combustions chamber, warms the air. A blower fan then distributes the warm air from the heat exchanger throughout the home. Natural gas provides the thermal energy and electricity powers the blower motor. The important concept here is that a furnace actually creates heat.

Heat pumps operate very differently. First, electricity is the only power source used to operate a heat pump. Second, heat pumps do not create heat. Heat pumps simply transport heat from one place to another. There are two main categories of heat pumps. Air-source heat pumps transfer heat between the air inside the home and the air outside the home. Geothermal or ground-source heat pumps transfer heat between the air in the home and the ground or a body of water. This discussion will only address air-source heat pumps.