In these economic times, few people can afford to make mistakes and waste their money on the wrong item. Some tips on heat pump comparisons might just help with that.
When it comes to buying an expensive or “big ticket” item like a heat pump, you should learn how to perform a proper heat pump comparison. In tough economic times, few people can afford to make mistakes and waste hard earned money purchasing the wrong thing. This article will show some tips on how to do a heat pump comparison.
Heat pumps have improved over the last couple of decades. In the dim and distant past owning a heat pump would make you a laughing stock of the neighborhood. Old heat pump systems were noisy, blew cool air in the winter and hot air in the summer and broke down frequently and cost more than any 2 arms or 3 legs!
But as heating and cooling technology has improved, heat pumps, no matter what brand, have become the de facto heating appliance of choice in homes situated in moderate climates. New modern heat pumps are more effective (they can keep a home comfortable and warn even in freezing temperatures) and have better built and more noise-free cabinets and fans than ever before.
However even with all these advances you
should still take the time to do a heat pump comparison. After all a new heat pump system can cost as much as a used car. Heat pump comparisons don’t have to take a lot of time or effort. By using the Internet, you no longer are the mercy of heating and air rip-off artists or scammers.
Now the first step in your heat pump comparison is to understand some basic heat pump information. All heat pumps sold in the US have to two specific ratings:
The SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) and the HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor). The SEER rating is a laboratory test result that describes how well an air conditioning unit in a heat pump works. The higher the SEER is, the better the heat pump efficiency and usually the lower your energy bills will be.
The HSPF rating is a laboratory test calculation that is used to describe how well the heating part of a heat pump works in cold weather. Like the SEER the higher the HSPF the better off you will be in the long run when it comes to your utility bills. Now don’t let higher or lower SEER or HSPF ratings fool you when doing your heat pump comparison. Higher efficiency is one thing (and a good thing) and long term reliability and low operating costs are another.
So what if you get a high efficiency heat pump but if it requires lots of expensive maintenance or service calls then any savings you have in heating or cooling are eaten up by repair bills. So when doing your heat pump comparison, the main thing to keep in mind what is your main usage for a heat pump? Do you primarily think of it as an affordable alternative to a central air conditioner? Or do you think of it as a source of cheaper winter heating?
If you want an air cooling unit most, then focus your attention to finding a heat pump that has a higher SEER rating and that has proven reliable during peak summer temperatures. If you need it more for winter heating, then narrow your heat pump comparisons to units that have higher HSPF ratings and that durable enough to run for long hours during harsh, freezing temperatures. But no matter what type of heat pump you eventually end up with, if you do a proper heat pump comparison first, you will avoid many problems in the future.
