You’ve heard of hybrid vehicles — cars that draw on a combination of electricity and gasoline to maximize fuel efficiency and reduce waste. Well, there’s a new home heating and cooling technology that’s built on a similar principle. Known as dual-fuel systems, these climate control appliances draw on both electricity and traditional fluid fuels to meet the changing demands of your interior comfort needs.
Heat pumps are much like air conditioners that operate in reverse. Instead of physically changing the temperature of the indoor air, heat pumps draw thermal energy from the air inside your home and pump it to the outdoors when you want to cool things down, or they draw thermal energy from the air outside your home and pump it inside when you need indoor heat. However, one limitation of a heat pump system is that its overall efficiency declines when the mercury dips below freezing. Here in in the Northeast, that’s commonplace during the winter. Dual-fuel systems are the answer.
A dual-fuel heat pump will use inexpensive electrical energy to power the system when cooling and heating needs are moderate. However, when exterior temperatures make the use of electrical energy inefficient, dual-fuel systems automatically switch over to oil or gas to boost system efficiency. When properly used, dual-fuel systems have the potential to reduce your home heating and cooling costs by as much as 30 percent, which makes investing in one a wise move. While these systems do require a significant up-front investment, you can recoup this money in the form of energy savings. Given that heat pumps tend to require little maintenance and have longer life expectancies than traditional furnaces or air conditioners, you can put money back in your pocket for years to come when you make the switch.
At Glasco Heating & Air Conditioning, we understand that you likely have many questions if you’re considering dual-fuel systems as an alternative to traditional furnaces and air conditioners. They provide year-round comfort, and we’ll be happy to explain further if you need more information. Simply contact us for help with this or other home HVAC issues.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about dual-fuel systems and other HVAC topics, visit our website.
Glasco Heating & Air Conditioning services South Windsor, Connecticut and the surrounding areas.