Living in a four-season or cold country, you might wonder about heat pump vs. forced air. Are they actually the same? Are they different? Or are they part of each other? These questions might have crossed your mind—no need to worry anymore.
In this article, you will find a discussion about heat pumps and force. It is important for you to know the heating system and how it works to decide which heating system is more efficient. This way, you can choose which better for you.
Heat Pump
A heat pump is a machine that transfers heat from a cool air area to a warmer area. You can imagine how the machine works. To put it simply, it removes heat from the outside of your house and transfers the heat into your house. This process is called a healing process. This heating process is the same thing as how the air conditioner and refrigerator work.
The only difference is that a heat pump runs in reverse. The simpler definition is that a heat pump is an air conditioner but running in a reverse valve. Thus, heating your house instead of cooling it. All heat pumps are also air conditioners, but not all air conditioners are heat pumps though they are the same thing from an engineering perspective.
It is because of the manufacturer’s preference whether to make the heat pump valve in the air conditioner they made or not. An air conditioner is a heat pump that specializes in hot weather. If an air conditioner has a reversing valve, which can be a heater, the unit is referred to be a ‘heat pump.’
Forced Air Heating System
Forced air or forced air heating system is a heating system that distributes heat throughout your house using air to carry the heat. In this heating system, it travels the heated air through a duct system, and the heat is expelled through vents to different rooms and areas of your room to maintain a particular temperature.
You can set the temperature all the way you want. When the desired temperature is reached, the heat will shut off until the temperature drops. You can imagine it like the way an ironworks. An iron will stop heating if the maximum temperature is reached and starts heating again when the temperature drops.
The difference is that you can set the temperature of the forced air heating system as you like. There are many types of equipment which heats the air. There is a gas furnace, an electric furnace, or a hydronic coil. Forced air heating is made to work together with a central air conditioning system. By doing this, you can control the temperature in your house both in a warmer season or cool season.
The forced-air heating system distributes the heat, while the central conditioning system cools the air. The combination of them is just like the heat pump, which can control your house’s temperature. No more confusing about heat pump vs. forced air, right?
