Eric Niiler of The Wall Street Journal reports on how new heat pumps are lowering heating bills.
- While standard heat pumps generally begin to slow down at temperatures below 35 degrees, newer heat pumps are able to operate at 7 degrees.
- Older heat pumps use a single speed compressor, but newer heat pumps have a mechanism known as an inverter that can push the compressor beyond its normal limits for short periods when it’s extremely cold outside.
- One family in Alaska was able to save nearly $2,000 in winter heating costs by switching from propane to a heat pump.
“A heat pump is a home heating and cooling system with an outdoor compressor that extracts the tiny amount of heat energy that exists in cold outdoor air, concentrates it and then pumps it indoors using a refrigerant and a heat exchange system. From there, fans circulate warm air throughout the house through ducts or units similar to wall-mounted radiators.”
Read the full article here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
