Heating, Cooling and HVAC

A decision about whether to reinstall a heat pump depends on what is causing the poor performance of your current heat pump. It could be because the heat pump is really not meeting your heating needs, or because you have expectations based on previous experience with other types of furnaces.

There can be several causes of unsatisfactory heat pump performance:

1. Inadequate capacity to meet your home’s heating load
2. Improper installation or servicing, such as improper refrigerant charge or air flow over the indoor coil
3. Leaking, uninsulated, or badly designed duct system

Unfortunately, most of these problems cannot be easily diagnosed by the homeowner, so it is best to have a qualified heating and cooling contractor check out your system. At a minimum, your system should be serviced annually by a contractor. If this does not seem to solve the problem, the contractor should thoroughly seal and insulate the duct system. Finally, if the problem still persists, the contractor can calculate your home’s heating load to determine if your current unit has adequate capacity.

If your heat pump runs constantly, and your house is still uncomfortably cold, you might want to consider converting to natural gas, provided your heat pump is fully charged, and operating properly. Have your heat pump serviced to confirm the unit is fully charged with refrigerant, and has no other mechanical problems. Since air-source heat pumps rely on the outdoor air for the warmth used to heat your house, they are not the optimal choice in really cold climates. In some areas, winter air temperatures are so cold that the heat pump is unable to extract sufficient heat to increase the temperature of your house up to the thermostat setpoint, even with continual operation. When the outside air is below 35°F, air-source heat pumps operate below their rated efficiencies, reducing your savings compared to a more efficient unit. You might want to consider switching to a ground-source heat pump in this situation. Ground-source heat pumps take heat from the ground, or from a water source such as a lake or well. These areas typically have very stable temperatures (approximately 50°F) year-round, enabling the heat pump to work at optimum efficiency.

Its also possible that you might be dissatisfied due to misunderstandings about the way that heat pumps operate. Understanding how they work and finding ways to work around their limitations can alleviate the problem.

Heat pumps produce lower temperature heat than a furnace, maintaining warmth in your house by operating longer. This lower temperature means it takes longer to heat up your hourse. Many people are accustomed to using furnaces in this manner. They are often disappointed with the performance of a heat pump. Heat pumps heat best when they are connected to a thermostat kept at a steady temperature, and allowed to cycle on and off to maintain a constant temperature.

If you’ve been accustomed to the flow of hot air from your furnace, you may be disappointed in the air temperature coming from the heat pump. Once again, this is because of the lower temperatures. It doesn’t mean that your house is colder, overall. However, areas near registers may now seem drafty, because the exiting air is closer to your body temperature. Placing deflectors on registers to direct air away from places where you linger will help.

Source:www.radiant-heat-floor-methods.com