Difference Between Heat Pump And Regular Ac Unit

An air conditioner is typically paired with a furnace to provide heat during the cold months.

Difference between heat pump and regular ac unit.

However a heat pump is fitted with a reversing valve that allows it to transfer the heat from outside into your home when in heating. Heat pumps are not suitable for every climate. Together an air conditioner and furnace are a complete heating and cooling system. So basically it s an air conditioner that can reverse itself.

And for the most part they use the exact same parts and components during installation and operation. The heat pump and the air conditioner may rely on the same basic refrigeration principle but if all of the cooling details are identical there is still one key difference. The only real difference is that a heat pump can reverse itself so it can provide heating when needed. For the unschooled a heat pump and an air conditioner might seem like the same thing.

Although the difference between heat pump and a c systems is significant they work in a similar fashion. Geothermal heat pumps can be especially energy efficient. Though heat pumps can be a good alternative to an ac unit they can t do the work of a furnace when it comes to heating your home. There are also certain drawbacks that come from choosing vs air conditioners.

The difference is in the valve. A heat pump can heat and cool but an air conditioner cannot which is the primary difference between the two hvac systems. In many ways heat pumps are functionally the same as conventional air conditioners. Both systems are designed to transfer the heat from inside your home to the outside when in cooling mode.

Think of air conditioners as heat pumps that can only pump heat in one direction from the inside to the outside.