Benefit From Dual-Fuel Heating Technology Over the Heating Season
A dual-fuel heating system combines the best of heat pump efficiency with natural gas availability to heat your home during the coldest winter weather. Advances in heat pump technology are now producing new units that generate reliable heat at freezing temperatures. However, as temperatures dip even further during cold spells, at some point the system may extract enough latent heat from outdoor air to warm your home to your preference. A natural gas backup furnace linked to the heat pump controller is an efficient, dependable plan B to keep interior temperatures comfortable while maintaining your energy budget.
Here’s how a dual-fuel heating system works to assure you get the best heating performance at the lowest available energy cost:
- An outdoor thermostat linked to the heat pump continuously monitors exterior air temperatures. As long as temperatures remain within the range of the unit’s specifications to generate sufficient heat, your home is warmed entirely by low-cost, efficient heat pump technology.
- The temperature where your home can no longer be efficiently warmed by the heat pump is called the balance point. This temperature is precisely calculated by an HVAC contractor taking into account factors such as the heating load on your home, local electricity and gas energy costs and your climate zone.
- When the outdoor temperature drops to the balance point, the controller automatically shuts down the heat pump and activates the backup gas furnace. Once outdoor temperatures rise again to the balance point, the gas furnace automatically shuts down and the heat pump assumes the role of heating the home.
- Adopting dual-fuel technology is particularly appropriate if you already have an existing gas furnace and are upgrading your central A/C. Selecting a highly efficient heat pump at that time and linking both systems in a dual-fuel configuration gives you the best of both worlds in efficiency and reliable comfort.
For the latest in efficient heating and cooling technology, contact Sobieski Services today. Ask us for more information about the benefits of a dual-fuel heating system.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).
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