At SS&B Heating & Cooling, we understand that ensuring your home remains a haven of comfort is your top priority. When it comes to managing the temperature in your home, you have an array of HVAC system options to explore, including air conditioners, heat pumps, and furnaces. Each system possesses its unique strengths and can be combined to create a tailored climate control solution that perfectly suits your home's specific requirements.

How do an AC, Heat Pump, and Furnace Work Together?

When choosing the ideal HVAC system for your home, it's crucial to grasp the distinctions between these systems. Essentially, a heat pump can both cool and heat, whereas an air conditioner provides cooling alone, and a furnace exclusively delivers warmth. These units are often paired together to form a comprehensive temperature management system for your home, with your geographical location playing a vital role in determining the most suitable combination.

Air Conditioners: Cool Comfort

Air conditioners (ACs) are designed to supply cool air to your home and lack the capacity to generate heat. Despite common misconceptions, air conditioners do not create cold air from scratch. Instead, they cool your home by extracting heat and humidity from the indoor environment and expelling it outside. Their primary function is to remove warm air and humidity from inside your home, ensuring your comfort and keeping you cool.

Heat Pumps: Versatile Temperature Control

Heat pumps offer the versatility of providing both warm and cool air to your living space. In the cooling mode, heat pumps operate similarly to air conditioners by transferring heat and humidity from your home's interior to the exterior. When it's time to heat your home, heat pumps come into their own with a reversing valve that enables them to capture heat energy from the outdoor air, even in very cold conditions, and channel it indoors.

Traditionally, heat pumps have been most favored in milder climates, such as the southern United States or coastal regions, due to their historic limitations in freezing temperatures. However, newer heat pump technologies, including energy-efficient variable-speed models, can now perform effectively in temperatures as low as 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Some systems also incorporate backup electric strip heating for extreme cold, while others operate as dual fuel systems, combining a heat pump with a furnace to take over in colder conditions.

Furnaces: Reliable Heating

Furnaces, on the other hand, specialize in heating your home and do not provide cooling capabilities. When your home's temperature drops below the thermostat's heat setting, the furnace receives a signal to start heating and another to activate the HVAC fan. The furnace generates heat from a fuel source like gas or propane and distributes it through ductwork, rapidly raising the indoor temperature. Furnaces are an excellent heating choice for those residing in colder climates, offering swift and efficient warmth.

The Role of Air Handlers

Air handlers are typically paired with an outdoor AC unit or heat pump and play a pivotal role in circulating hot or cold air throughout your home. The air handler's blower motor propels air through your home's duct system. Additionally, air handlers house evaporator coils that collaborate with the outdoor unit to transfer heat when heating your home and remove humidity when cooling it.

How HVAC Units Work Together

Although air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, and air handlers are distinct units, they can collaborate to form a comprehensive HVAC system, ensuring year-round comfort for you and your family. These units are paired together, with at least one unit positioned indoors and another outdoors. The combinations vary according to your location and specific requirements.

For instance, homeowners in regions with fluctuating temperatures may opt for an air conditioner and furnace pairing. The air conditioner cools the air outside, while the furnace operates indoors, using fans and coils to provide warmth. Both systems utilize your home's ductwork and vents to circulate temperature-controlled air.

Alternatively, a heat pump and air handler combination can create a complete system. In this setup, the heat pump resides outdoors, while the air handler is indoors, responsible for circulating the air supplied by the heat pump. An air handler paired with a heat pump offers both heating and cooling capabilities. In contrast, an air handler paired with an AC unit cools your home (with the option for backup heating strips).

It's essential to remember that these are just a few of the equipment combinations available. The ideal system for your home depends on factors such as its size, location, and the number of occupants.

Our Commitment to Your Comfort

At SS&B Heating & Cooling, we are dedicated to ensuring your home remains comfortable year-round. Our HVAC expertise enables us to help you select the perfect combination of air conditioning, heat pumps, and furnaces to create an ideal climate control solution tailored to your unique needs. Our commitment extends to regular maintenance, which is essential to keep your HVAC system running efficiently. We encourage homeowners to replace air filters regularly and schedule annual inspections for heat pumps and gas furnaces, ensuring the longevity and optimal performance of your system.

For all your heating and cooling needs, trust SS&B Heating & Cooling to keep your home comfortable, no matter the season. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can create the perfect HVAC solution for your home.