Q. What is a heat pump?
A. One kind of air conditioning system is called a heat pump, which is basically an air conditioner that reverses operation to produce heat in winter. In extremely cold climates a furnace supplements the reverse heat pump cycle to give additional heating.

Q. How do heat pumps work?

A. A heat pump works on the same principle as a refrigerator. A refrigerator/freezer continually removes enough heat from inside the refrigerator to keep foods fresh, or even frozen, and discharges it into the room. That's why you feel warmth coming from the bottom of the refrigerator. In winter, a heat pump extracts heat from outdoor air (there's plenty of heat in outside air even when its 40 degrees or colder!) and moves it inside the home. In summer, the heat pump reverses itself and extracts heat from the indoor air and pumps it outside. Winter or summer, the home is comfortable and efficient.

Q. Why a heat pump?
A. By significantly reducing energy consumption, heat pumps can result in major savings on monthly energy bills for many homeowners. The heat pump can supply from 1.5 to 2.5 times more heat than the energy it uses, depending on efficiency of the heat pump and geographic location.

For example, a heat pump can mean savings of 30 to 60 percent on electric heating bills because it uses 30 to 60 percent less energy to supply the same heat as an electric furnace with a resistance heating element. A measure of this advantage of the heat pump is the Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF). The higher the HSPF, the more efficient the unit.

Q. How much does it cost?
A. In most areas the initial costs of heat pumps are competitive with high efficiency fossil fuel heating/cooling systems. This makes it possible for the cost of owning and operating a heat pump to be comparable to or lower than alternative heating/cooling systems, depending on the cost of energy.

Despite the higher installation cost, the heat pump's efficiency can produce significant savings on monthly heating costs. This makes it possible for the cost of owning and operating a heat pump to be comparable to or lower than alternative heating/cooling systems, depending on the cost of energy.

Q. What does SEER mean?

A. Air Conditioning systems are rated based on energy efficiency.

This rating is called a SEER or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating.

It is not related to a brand. That is, each Seer rating represents the number of BTU's of cooling per watt of electricity used. All 10 SEER rated unit produce 10 BTU's of cooling per watt regardless of the brand of the unit.

The purpose of rating the efficiency of an air conditioner is to indicate the relative amount of energy needed to provide a specific cooling output. The more efficient the equipment, the less energy will be used to do the same job. It's similar to the miles-per-gallon ratings for automobiles. Instead of mpg, central residential air conditioners now use the designation SEER. The result (SEER) is indicative of the unit's operation throughout the cooling season.

Q. How big a unit should you select for your home?

A. Systems are sized by considering home size, foundation, building materials, insulation and weather stripping, attic ventilation, and other factors. This sizing is called a heat-loss/heat-gain analysis. This is called a "Manual J" calculation. This service is offered by all reputable dealers.

Proper sizing is important to you because over-sized and under-sized systems can reduce your comfort and increase your utility bill. A system too large will cool the home too quick just to satisfy the thermostat setting, and will not remove enough moisture from the air. This will also cause the product to start and stop more, shortening the life of the equipment. If the size is too small, then the furnace will continually run in the winter; and in the summer, the air conditioner will do the same.

Q. Do these heat pumps really weigh tons?

A. Don't worry, a three-ton air conditioner doesn't actually weigh three tons. When measuring heat pumps each ton is the same as 12,000 British Thermal Units per Hour (BTUH). Furnaces feature an Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating, measuring a gas furnace's efficiency to convert the fuel to energy. Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps feature Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) rating to measure the cooling efficiency. Heat pumps also are rated for Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) to measure the heating efficiency. In all cases, the higher the rated number, the more efficient the product.

Q. What Are Energy Star® Products?

A. ENERGY STAR® was created to help consumers easily identify products, homes, and buildings that save energy and money, and help protect the environment. As the government-backed, trusted symbol for energy efficiency, the ENERGY STAR label identifies highly efficient products and designates superior energy performance in homes and buildings. With ENERGY STAR, money isn't all you're saving -- you are also making a difference in protecting the environment.

Q. What Are Energy Star® Products?

Q. What Is The Energy Star® Program?

A. The Energy Star program is a voluntary labeling program lead by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy. Product literature with this label meet the ENERGY STAR requirements because the product features efficiency ratings beyond the standard rate. For the consumer, this could mean savings on monthly gas and electric utilities.

Q. What Does The Energy Star® Program Mean To Me?

A. ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy efficient solutions -- helping to save money while protecting the environment for future generations. It is possible for your new air conditioning system to pay for itself in less than five years.

Q. What is the difference between a split system air conditioner and a single package unit?

Split System Heat Pumps have an outdoor section and an indoor section. The outdoor section features the compressor and fan, but it uses the indoor sections (such as a furnace or air handler) to distribute cool and warm air.

B. Single Package Heat Pumps features all of the components of a split system but in a single outdoors section. Simply put, the blower is housed with the air conditioning components.