Home cooling is important to keep your family comfortable during the summer. There are two main options that households in Maryland use: air conditioning and heat pumps. Each has its own benefits, but overall, heat pumps are the better option.
Many people don’t understand the difference between heat pumps and air conditioners, so they don’t know why they should upgrade. Below, we’ll explore how each works and show you why a heat pump offers more energy savings throughout the year.
Many people think that air conditioners make cold air, but this isn’t fully accurate. They actually remove heat from the air in your home. Air conditioners pull in hot air from your living spaces, remove the heat from that air with a liquid called refrigerant, and then blow the remaining cooler air back into your home’s living spaces.
Many homes in Baltimore, Frederick, and Columbia Counties have either central AC or a window unit. Window units are installed right into your window and are removed every year. Central air has ductwork that removes hot air from the home and sends it to the main unit. This unit looks like a “box” that’s installed on the ground outside your home. When the heat is removed, cold air is sent back through the ductwork into your living space.
Central air cools the entire home and is normally controlled with a single thermostat. Window units only cool one room at a time.
With “heat” in the name, many people wonder, “Does a heat pump cool?” The answer is yes. For cooling, heat pumps work the same as air conditioners. They use refrigerant to remove heat from the air inside your home, cycle it through their system, and return cold air inside.
Ducted heat pumps use ductwork, an outdoor “box”, and a main thermostat just like central air conditioners. Ductless mini-split heat pumps are different. The outdoor box runs refrigerant lines to individual air handlers in the home, each with its own temperature settings. These air handlers look like slim air conditioners mounted to the wall.
In that case, is a heat pump an air conditioner? Technically, when the heat pump is in cooling mode, yes. The difference is that heat pumps provide more than just air conditioning. They can also be used for heating.
When a heat pump is in heating mode, it works like an air conditioner, but in reverse. It removes heat from outdoor air (even cold air has some heat energy) and sends it inside to keep your home warm.
The main reason why heat pumps are a better option is that they can cool and heat, whereas air conditioners can only cool. This means you only need one type of HVAC unit instead of two. Many people install them to get closer to whole-home electrification, where nothing runs on fossil fuels.
In cooling mode, heat pumps and ACs are equal. The energy efficiency of heat pumps vs air conditioners is essentially the same. But in heating mode, heat pumps offer a range of unique benefits:
Many families in Maryland can receive a no-cost heat pump installation through CAC’s weatherization assistance program. Eligibility is based on income and household size.
If you think a heat pump would be a good option for your home and you’re interested in CAC’s weatherization program, getting started is easy. If your income and household size qualify, CAC will work with a vetted contractor to provide this heating and cooling upgrade. Here’s our process:
