If you’ve never used a heat pump for home comfort before, you’ll likely have many questions about them. Most people in our area grew up in homes that used a combination of a furnace (gas or electric) and an air conditioner, usually housed in the same cabinet and using the same blower fan. A heat pump replaces both the air conditioner and furnace, working as a home’s combined cooling and heating system. It’s a great convenience, and if installed properly a heat pump can be a money-saving addition to a house.
But can a heat pump do as effective a job at heating and cooling as either a furnace or an air conditioner? Does the two-in-one functionality mean sacrificing power? Since summer is coming up, we’ll address the question of cooling first (and we will have a little to say about heating at the end).