All About Heat Pumps
What exactly is a heat pump?
Atlas Heat Pumps installs and services Mitsubishi products, America's number one selling heat pump. Heat pumps have been come to be known by many names, mini-splits, ductless, ASHP which stands for air-source heat pumps. But we call them heat pumps because unlike a conventional furnace, which burns a fuel to create heat, our systems actually move heat from outside the house and bring that heat inside. Even at -50 degrees, there is heat outdoors, you just can't feel it because the heat molecules are too far apart. But a heat pump can gather these molecules and compress them, then pump them into your home. In the summer this process is just reversed for air-conditioning. Sound like voodoo? Guess what? You already own a heat pump. It's in your kitchen and keeps your food cold. A fridge is just pumping heat from the inside of the cold box to your homes interior. Advanced heat pumps do exactly the same thing but they can reverse that process with a reversing valve.
What does a heat pump look like?
Although called heat pumps, they all provide air conditioning as well as heat. Sometimes they look like your old fossil fuel furnace. We can often simply replace your existing furnace with a heat pump that looks exactly the same. Some times they are high wall units that sit above windows. Sometimes they will look more like a radiator that sits close to the floor and we have units that can be recessed into a ceiling. Mitsubishi even makes a unit that will sit on top of your existing furnace that adds both air conditioning and winter heating to your existing system. If you want to add heating and cooling to your home while saving money on heating bills, contact Ithaca's best heating and air conditioning company.
