Is the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system in your Portland, ME, home old and on its last legs? Perhaps it has broken down multiple times in the past few years, and you’ve grown tired of spending so much money getting it fixed.
If so, you’re not alone. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy reports that U.S. consumers spend about $14 billion on HVAC services and replace around 3 million units yearly!
Now that you need a new HVAC system, it’s time to familiarize yourself with the many benefits of using a heat pump. It’s not just one of the best cost-saving heating solutions; it can also cool your home!
So, join us today at Edge Energy as we explain the top heat pump advantages and why American homeowners have switched to this sustainable home heating option.
Highly Energy-Efficient
Heat pumps are among the most energy-efficient heating systems because they don’t generate heat energy from scratch. Instead, they transfer existing heat from another source to your home. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, today’s heat pumps can lower electricity use for heating by as much as 75%!
Let’s use an air-source heat pump as an example, which extracts heat energy from outdoor air when in heating mode for the winter season. The system’s refrigerant absorbs this heat and raises the temperature through pressurization. The system then pipes the heated refrigerant into your home, warming the air inside.
Depending on the system’s specifications, you can also install a heat pump to provide cooling in the summer. In this case, the system works much like a standard air conditioner, absorbing unwanted heat (and moisture!) from the air inside your home and transferring it outside. The primary difference is that they can dehumidify (remove moisture from the air) better than standard ACs.
Improved dehumidification helps with energy efficiency because the less humid the air is, the easier it is for a heat pump to cool it. By contrast, the more humid it is, the more heat it holds, making it more difficult for an air conditioner to cool it. So, with a heat pump, the system uses less energy to cool the air, given that it dehumidifies better than typical ACs.
Lower Your Carbon Footprint
A heat pump’s energy efficiency not only reduces utility bills. It also minimizes carbon footprint by lowering energy consumption.
Carbon footprint refers to the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) you or your household generate due to your activities. Anything that uses energy, such as heating and cooling your home, adds to your carbon footprint. According to The Nature Conservancy, the per capita carbon footprint in the U.S. is among the highest worldwide, averaging 16 tons per person, whereas the global average is only 4 tons.
The bigger your carbon footprint, the more GHGs you produce. The problem is that GHGs accumulate in the environment over time, enveloping the atmosphere, reflecting heat, and warming the planet. They are behind global warming and climate change.
Global Warming and Climate Change Effects
Global warming refers to the rising temperatures worldwide due to the increase in GHG gases in the atmosphere. On the other hand, climate change refers to the many changes the planet’s climate measures undergo in the long term.
So, global warming is just one of climate change’s many aspects and dangerous effects. Either way, both are dangerous to the planet because of the warmer temperatures and the increasing number of hot days they bring.
For instance, according to FirstStreet.org, Portland, ME, has a moderate heat risk due to increasing average temperatures. Thirty years ago, the city only had one day when the temperature reached 90 °F to 100 °F, whereas this year, it may see up to four days of such temperatures.
In addition, climate change:
- Intensifies and makes storms more intense
- Increases the likelihood and severity of droughts
- Heats the ocean, raising sea levels and making flooding even more likely
- Results in a loss of species
- Endangers food production
- Increases health risks (e.g., due to heat and cold-related illnesses and poor nutrition from decreased food production
Energy-Efficient Heat Pumps to the Rescue
Because using energy, mainly fossil-fuel-based sources, is the primary factor behind global warming and climate change, reducing it is also the number one thing people can do to limit their impact on the environment. Since heat pumps use much less energy than other typical HVAC systems, switching to them enables Portland, ME, consumers to take a step toward helping preserve the environment.
More Energy Reduction With Zoning
Zoning, a technology that divides a house into different cooling and heating areas or “zones,” is another way a heat pump benefits your home and helps reduce your energy consumption. Each zone has individual temperature controls.
Since each zone has a thermostat, you can heat or cool only specific zones. You can avoid wasting energy on heating or cooling unoccupied rooms. You also save more money by ensuring that your heat pump only supplies conditioned air in used areas.
Zoning also improves comfort by allowing you to raise or lower the temperature in each room without affecting the other zones. For instance, you can set the temperature to 68 °F in one zone (e.g., the one for your bedroom). Then, another family member can set the temperature in their zone (e.g., in the living room or their bedroom) to 72 °F.
With heat pump zoning technology, you and your other household members no longer have to disagree about whether your home is too cold or too hot!
Time to Enjoy the Benefits of Using a Heat Pump
Energy savings, lower carbon footprint, reduced utility bills, and increased comfort are the primary benefits of using a heat pump in Portland, ME. So, if you’re ready to enjoy these perks and pros and do your part in battling climate change and global warming, consider investing in a high-efficiency heat pump.
Our team at Edge Energy will happily assist you in installing a new heat pump. Joel Duncan of Edge Energy was among the first in Maine to install heat pumps in new and renovated residential homes, so we have the expertise, skills, and knowledge to do the same for you.
Contact us today so we can answer all your questions about heat pump installation or provide you with a free service quote!
