Heat Pump Installed Summer | Sound Heating & Air Conditioning Inc.

There are a number of benefits to investing in a heat pump installation in Puyallup, WA—one of the most important being that it can be used to both cool and heat your home. No, it’s not a furnace and a central air conditioner packaged together—rather, a heat pump is a two-in-one system that uses the same component for both air conditioning and heating, for efficient, year-round comfort.

Read on to discover how this works and how you can benefit from this type of installation this summer if you are looking to replace or upgrade your cooling system.

How the Cooling Process Works

Perhaps you’re already familiar with how the cooling process works in an AC system. It involves the use of a fluid called refrigerant to transfer heat. Rather than generating coolness (remember, “cool” is not an energy), heat can be moved from one place to another (in this case, from inside your home to the outdoors) to effectively cool down your entire living space.

Refrigerant constantly cycles through the inside coil, compressor, and outdoor coil, amongst other cooling system components. With the right temperature and pressure levels, refrigerant absorbs heat from the air inside, as we mentioned above, to the air outdoors.

Refrigerant evaporates—that is, it turns into a gas—indoors as warm air blows over the indoor coil, and it absorbs heat from the air. Then, as the refrigerant condenses back into a liquid, it releases the heat outside, cooling down the coil to begin the cooling process.

Okay, But What about Heating?

Our summers aren’t typically as severe, temperature-wise, as other parts of the country. This is what makes a heat pump a great option for you: instead of operating two different HVAC systems throughout the year, you can use a heat pump all year long for the biggest return on your investment.

But, how does a heat pump heat, exactly? While a furnace uses combustion—the burning of fuel—or electric resistance to create heat, a heat pump uses the same refrigerant process it uses for cooling, but in reverse!

There is a component within the system called a reversing valve. This allows refrigerant to flow in the opposite direction, so that it absorbs heat from the air around the outside unit, and deposits that heat inside of the home, blowing it through your ductwork.

Is a Heat Pump Really That Efficient?

Yes, absolutely. Heat pumps utilize electricity—which, true, is more expensive than using natural gas. However, since they move heat from place to place rather than generating heat, heat pumps actually require far less energy than other heat-producing systems, equating to lower energy costs for you.

Also, when you use your heat pump for cooling this summer, you can expect efficiency equivalent to that of newer, higher efficiency central air conditioning systems—especially if you invest in an ENERGY STAR-labeled system. And don’t forget, if you don’t have ductwork in your home, you can still invest in a heat pump: Our ductless cooling and heating systems operate on heat pump technology.