A heat pump takes advantage of outside air temperatures to heat or cool your home. Refrigerant in the system is used to transfer heat or cold into your home, depending upon the season.
In the summer months, the dual-fuel system works like an air conditioner. The heat in your home warms up the refrigerant and sends it to the outdoor unit. The heat in the refrigerant is dispersed, cooling the refrigerant. It's then sent back into the home. The ventilation system extracts the coldness from the refrigerant with air from the cold-air return ducts blowing over the refrigerant, exchanging the heat in the air for the coldness in the refrigerant. This process leaves your home cool and sends the warmed refrigerant outside to start the process all over again.
The process is reversed in cold weather, drawing heat from outdoor air and transferring it to your home. However, a typical heat pump loses the ability to draw enough heat from the outdoor air the closer the thermostat gets to freezing. That just won’t cut it during the cold winters of New England. A dual-fuel system overcomes this by working in tandem with your existing furnace or a new high-efficiency furnace. The heat pump will warm your home during cool temperatures, and your furnace will handle the heating during really cold weather.
Such a system saves you money because it moves heat; it doesn’t create heat or coldness. It uses much less energy than a standard A/C unit or furnace. The dual-fuel system also gives your furnace a break, saving even more.
Call us at Rodenhiser Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning for information about a dual-fuel system for your east Norfolk MA home. We've been proudly serving the heating and cooling needs of the Route 495/128 area, including Framingham and Milford, since 1928.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Solutions Guide.
Image via Shutterstock.com