If you're looking to upgrade your home's heating and cooling, it's worth it to take a look at heat pumps. They're unique in that they're the only option that can provide for both the heating and cooling needs as a single system. How they accomplish this creates a range of pros and cons that you'll want to understand to help you decide if a heat pump is the right choice for your Loveland area home.

Heat pumps have a lot in common with air conditioners, and when in cooling mode, they operate in basically the same manner. What makes a heat pump special is it's ability to run its refrigeration system in reverse, so that they can extract heat from the exterior air and deposit it in your home's air. 
This offers numerous advantages, including:

• Better energy efficiency - It takes much less energy to transport heat from outside into home than it does to generate the heat through electric heating elements or by burning combustible fuels, so heat pumps can offer energy efficiencies in excess of what's possible from traditional heating options.
• No need for gas lines - Heat pumps don't need to burn fuel to produce heat, so they don't need to be connected to a gas line. This can save you the cost of running a gas line if one isn't present and connection charges if there aren't any other appliances in your house that need a supply of natural gas to function.
• Humidity control - Heat pumps can also run in dehumidifying mode. This mode alternates the heat pump between heating and cooling modes. Humidity is only removed during the cooling portion of the cycle, but by alternating, humidity gets removed without changing the home's temperature.

The main disadvantage of heat pumps is that they can't provide as much heating in cold weather and must resort on a less efficient backup heating method if it gets too cold. They also produce noise levels on par with air conditioners year-round.

For help determining if a heat pump is right for your Loveland area home, contact Tri-County Heating and Cooling.

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