[VAC] Re: Furnace and A/C: Heat Pump Option?

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Lan,
 A heat pump is nothing but an A/C unit turned around backwards: it's
cooling the outside air and pumping that heat into the living space. In
its "normal" usage, it pumps the heat from the living space to the
outside.

The reason heat pumps don't work when it's cool out is that there's not
much heat in that cold air to extract and pump to the inside. OTOH, if
it's not too cold out, they're VERY energy efficient (up to 200%)
because they're not using the electricity to MAKE heat, just to MOVE it.
If you're not paying for the power, you don't care about that, of
course. 

A heat strip in an A/C unit is kinda nice because you don't need to mess
with a portable electric heater like most of us carry. Of course,
there's a downside to everything: the A/C is on the roof, so that puts
the heat strip on the ceiling. It's best to have the heat on the
floor.....

TANSTAAFL

                                    <<Jim>>