There are a number of ways to heat as well as cool your homes. One such option is the heat pump. Heat pumps are quite suitable for areas where the temperature does not fall below freezing point. In fact, heat pumps can be a great alternative to an existing HVAC system. However, in order to install heat pumps for the purpose of heating and cooling your homes, it is important that homeowners are aware of its advantages as well as disadvantages so that they can take an informed decision. Thus, let us have a look at both the pros and cons of using a heat pump.

The benefits of using a heat pump are the following:

A heat pump ensures year round comfort because with a heat pump you can both heat as well as cool your homes. The result is you will not need a separate system for cooling and thus, you will be spared from worrying about another unit that might need repair and maintenance.

Heat pumps are more efficient. It needs to be mentioned here that there are three types of heat pumps. They are the air source heat pumps, the water source heat pumps and the geothermal heat pumps. Among these three the air source heat pumps are the most common. It has been seen that these air source heat pumps are more efficient than even the most advanced gas furnace. In fact, the geothermal heat pumps are even more efficient. HVAC experts are of the opinion that heat pumps have efficiency as high as 170 and 330 percent.

Disclaimer: Although the above data are typical average data that can be seen across USA, they can vary in certain areas depending upon city and the variables associated with each individual project.

Heat pumps help you to stay away from unstable oil prices. Most often it is seen that during the winter season when cooling is needed the most, oil prices become unreliable. This seems to be a big problem. The best thing about heat pumps is that it completely solves this problem and provides a cost effective way to heat your homes. Heat pumps also take care of unreliable fuel deliveries to the houses which get more affected during the adverse weather conditions.

Heat pumps have comparatively lower heating and cooling costs. This is because as heat pumps are highly efficient, it is enough if heat pumps operate for a shorter period of time. However, in places where natural gas is cheaper than electricity in such instances operating a heat pump might be expensive.

Another significant advantage of heat pumps is that they are environment friendly. As lesser energy is required it is obvious that carbon footprint will be lesser. And among all the heat pumps, geothermal heat pumps are the most efficient.

Some of the disadvantages of heat pumps are that it is not much suitable at subzero temperatures. The result is you will need to operate it in auxiliary mode which in turn will prove to be more expensive. Moreover as heat pumps are running throughout the year it will have a shorter life span when compared to a combination of air conditioner and furnace. Lastly all heat pumps except the geothermal heat pumps make an unpleasant noise while running.