Home heat pumps are a great way to reduce home energy use in fall and save some extra money in the process. They offer energy-efficient alternatives to traditional home heating and cooling through furnaces and ACs. Through them, you can also access savings through the recently passed Inflation Reduction ACT, which rewards homeowners when taking energy-efficient measures in their home. 

How Heat Pumps Work in the Home

Much like your refrigerator, heat pumps utilize electricity to cycle heat from a cool to warm space, which works to make the cool space cooler and warm space warmer. In the heating season, like fall and winter, home heat pumps transfer heat from the cooler outdoors into your warm home. Due to their transference of heat, rather than heat generation, they can (more efficiently) provide comfortable temperatures for the home. 

Features You Want in Home Heat Pumps

Heat pump performance is at an all-time high because of some game-changing features. For instance, two-speed compressors give heat pumps the capacity to work efficiently based on current outdoor temperatures, saving on energy by better controlling on/off operation and decreasing compressor wear. Zone control systems, commonly seen in larger homes, pair well with two-speed heat pumps. These systems utilize automatic dampers, which lets the heat pump set different rooms at different temperatures. 

Certain home heat pumps feature variable-speed or dual-speed motors on their blowers, outdoor fans, or all of the above. The fans’ variable-speed controls work to keep drafts down, reduce blower noise, and maximize electrical savings. 

Other heat pumps come with a desuperheater, a heat recovery tool that takes excess heat from the heat pump’s cooling mode to heat water. Compared to an electric water heater, a desuperheater heat pump can heat water two to three times more efficiently.

The scroll compressor is another modern feature in some home heat pumps. Scroll compressors typically enjoy a longer service life and produce less noise than traditional piston compressors. These compressors work through the use of two spiral scrolls, one orbiting the other. This process compresses the refrigerant by making it inhabit smaller and smaller spaces. Heating pumps with this adaptation can warm ten to fifteen degrees higher when in heating mode than piston-equipped heat pumps.

Home heat pumps don’t have to be standalone either. In fact, they can complement a gas furnace. This dual-fuel system allows for the heat pump to work more efficiently at lower temperatures and decrease electricity use. Both standalone heat pumps and dual-fuel systems can provide cost and energy-savings depending on the costs of combustion fuel to electricity.

Increase Home Heat Pump Efficacy with Shipshape

Now is the time to make use of the Inflation Reduction Act through efficient home energy use. Implementing a heat pump (standalone or dual-fuel) is a good start. A second way to save is by pairing your home heat pump (and other home energy products) with the Shipshape app. With Shipshape’s Smart Home Predictive Maintenance Platform, you can save time, money, and energy from the palm of your hand! 

Get in touch with Shipshape today.