Posts Tagged ‘air handler’

Heat Pump systems differ from conventional Air Conditioner and Gas Furnace systems in several different ways and are primarily used in homes that do not have natural gas or propane gas supplies.  The Heat Pump outdoor unit works with the Air Handler inside unit.  The basic concept of a Heat Pump is to remove heat from the air in one location and transfer it to the other.  In the summer, it removes heat from inside the home and transfers it outdoors.  In the winter, it removes heat from the outdoors and transfers it indoors.  You may wonder how much heat is available outdoors in winter temperatures.  The answer is that there is plenty of heat available to remove in any of the cold temperatures that we are able to live in.

The outdoor Heat Pump Unit is very similar to an outdoor Air Conditioner Unit.  There are a couple of additional valves and components that allow the Heat Pump Unit to reverse the refrigerant flow as needed when switching between the heating and cooling modes.  Heat Pump outdoor units run anytime there is a heating or cooling need for inside the home.

The Air Handler inside the home basically consists of the fan assembly, coil, electric heat strips and other electronic controls.  The coil works with the outdoor unit to transfer heat from or to the inside of the home.  In colder weather it takes longer for the Heat Pump to warm up the inside of the home since it is removing heat from the cold outdoors.  This is where the electric heat strips turn on to add additional heat in the home until the Heat Pump “catches up”.

Heat Pumps are considered more energy efficient than Air Conditioners with Furnaces.  Many electric companies provide larger rebates for Heat Pump system upgrades over the Air Conditioner and Furnace systems.

Trane offers several different models of Heat Pump Systems from a basic system to those with variable speed indoor fans and 2 speed / 2 compressor outdoor units.  In all cases, the Trane Heat Pump systems are made with high quality components for long life.

Nothing beat a Trane.