How Does My Heat Pump Work?

Are you wondering how your heat pump works and how it's different from other heaters? Heat pumps came out more than three decades ago. They were usually noisy and broke down easily. Since then, they have become more efficient and durable. Today, the majority of homes in the southern states have heat pumps.

Normally, a heat pump is part of a central air system. Heat pumps offer both heating and cooling in homes and businesses in Vero Beach, Florida. They are the most recommended and most popular in all states where the winters are not very harsh because they work efficiently by heat transference.

Heat Pumps & Heat Transference

Heat pumps work by moving heat rather than generating combustion to heat air. Heat transference is a natural process that heat pumps take advantage of.

Heat pumps move heat energy rather than produce it. The heat is transferred where it's needed. In winter, the heat pump delivers warmth to your home. In the summer, it removes the heat from your home. This is what makes it more efficient and a great choice for our moderate climate here in Vero Beach, Florida.

About Heat Pump Thermostats – What Is The Emergency Heat Setting?

Most heat pump thermostats allow you to manually switch over to the emergency heating system, labeled on the thermostat as "Emergency Heat". Often, the label of Emergency Heat confuses homeowners as to what that means.

This is just a manual switch that allows you to override the heat pump. By doing so, you switch over from the heat pump to a furnace which generates heat by combustion rather than moving heat as the heat pump does. Switching to emergency heat will raise your electric bill because you aren't using the heat pump. A heat pump is more efficient to run.

People in colder climates use the emergency heat setting most often. During the heating season, heat pumps can only warm air to so many degrees warmer than it is outside, so the emergency heat would make up the rest. But fortunately, you will probably never need to switch the thermostat over to emergency heat in Vero Beach unless that it the only system working. Nevertheless, it is good to know more about how it works and what it's for! Contact our heating service team at Star Quality Air Conditioning today!