New heat pump technology

There are a number of recent innovations in the heat pump technology. If shopping, consider these new features. They are excellent for energy savings.

Supplemental Hybrid Heating System

Air source heat pumps lose their efficiency when temperatures dip below the 40ºF/4ºC – a major limitation and disadvantage. To overcome it, most heat pumps were supplemented by other heating equipment on colder days: electric resistance heaters. But new heat pumps can incorporate that back-up burner, sharing the same ductwork.

These new heat pumps are often called hybrid heat pumps, and are the best choice for colder climates.

Two speed compressors

Two-speed compressors are a major recent advance in the heat pump technology. They save large amounts of electrical energy while reducing compressor wear. Two-speed heat pumps are also important to zone heating and cooling strategies, allowing the heat pump to keep different temperatures in different rooms.

Spiral-shaped scrolls – instead of typical piston compressors – are another new feature. They allow a longer operating life and make heat pumps quieter and more efficient in heating mode.

Variable speed motors

Dual-speed motors for the indoor and outdoor fans of the heat pumps are another new and important technical improvement. Combined with adequate controls they keep the air moving in the more convenient way, minimizing the noise and cool drafts and allowing electrical savings.

Hot water heating

Another technological novelty is the desuperheater - a device that uses the heat that traditional pumps capture in cooling mode without using: the desuperheater uses it to heat the water...

Heat pumps equipped with this technological advance can heat water much more efficiently than ordinary electric water heaters... See also: New Heat Pump Water Heaters