Until temperatures drop below 32 degrees in Louisville, KY, heat pumps provide efficient home cooling and heating. At lower temperatures, a gas furnace warms your home in the most effective manner. A dual-fuel heating system switches between a heat pump and gas furnace to maximize the efficiency of both fuel sources, depending on the temperature.
How Does a Dual-Fuel Heating System Work?
A heat pump uses electricity to transfer heat energy present in the air outdoors into your home/, as long as the temperature doesn’t drop too low. Heat pumps can also reverse this function to cool a home in summer by pulling heat out of indoor air and releasing it outside.
Once temperatures get down around freezing mark, the efficiency of a heat pump unravels because heat energy in the air is minimal. In freezing weather, a gas furnace can generate heat more efficiently with a gas-fueled flame that warms the air before circulating it through the ducts.
Automatic Fuel Switching
special sensors read the temperature outside the house as well as on the inside. When the external temperature reaches a predetermined level, the controlling mechanism turns on either the heat pump or the furnace. A professional HVAC technician can help you determine the appropriate temperature to set the equipment to switch back and forth between the two units.
When Is Dual-Fuel Heating a Good Choice?
Dual-fuel heating systems adapt well to relatively warm climates that regularly experience at least some cold snaps below freezing during winter. A heat pump can keep your home comfortable when temperatures are between 40 to 60 degrees with relative ease without using an excessive amount of electricity. A single-stage furnace, by comparison, uses the same amount of energy at these temperatures as it does in extreme cold.
A highly efficient heating and cooling system help control your energy costs over the long-term. Contact the experts at Elder Heating and Air to learn more about heat pumps and dual-fuel heating systems.
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