Heat pumps are a great choice in Florida for year-round residential comfort. One of the reasons they are excellent for our climate is that heat pumps conserve energy when in heating mode while still delivering the right level of warmth for the mild winters. Heat pumps often experience efficiency issues in colder parts of the country, but for Florida they are ideal and can keep a house warm through even our chilliest days.
But what about the air conditioning side of the heat pump? Keeping cool is a higher priority in Florida, and if you are planning on a new comfort installation, you want to make sure the new system can keep your house comfortable during long, often sweltering hot seasons. Does a heat pump compete well with a regular air conditioning system when it comes to cooling power?
The short answer is “Yes”
The longer answer is, “Yes, as long as you have the heat pump professionally installed.” The reason that people sometimes wonder if a heat pump will manage to provide the cooling necessary comes from a common misunderstanding about how heat pumps operate. Some homeowners imagine that because a heat pump provides both heating and cooling, that one mode will detract from the ability of the other or halve the system’s power.
But heat pumps are not two different systems packaged into one unit. They provide heating and cooling in the same fashion: moving refrigerant from one place to another, absorbing heat in Spot #1 and releasing it in Spot #2. This is the same way that an air conditioner works. The difference with a heat pump is that it can switch the direction it moves refrigerant, so it can move heat from inside a home (cooling mode) and then change to releasing the heat inside (heating mode). Neither mode takes away from the other (although in heating mode the heat pump will use less refrigerant).
In other words, a heat pump will provide the same level of cooling comfort as a central air conditioner of comparable size. But, as we mentioned earlier, it’s vital that you have professionals install a heat pump so that it is the correct size to serve your home with the comfort you desire.
If you want a great heat pump installation in Fort Walton Beach, FL, call the professionals at Kool Breeze. We have kept Northwest Florida cool since 1986.