Finding The Best Rated Heat Pumps
When choosing a heat pump things like SEER and HSPF ratings do matter. However, bigger isn't always better for your situation. Don't spend money you don't have to on a new heat pump. You need to understand energy efficiency ratings.
Today everyone wants to know that they’re getting the best value for their dollar. And, when a homeowner is buying something like a new heat pump they want to know they’re not just getting the best value up front, they want to know they’re getting a heat pump that will be economical to run. Finding the best rated heat pumps will mean learning about things like SEER and HSPF ratings.
When time came to buy a new heat pump for our home we didn’t know anything about HSPF ratings. We were just paying attention to SEER ratings, as most people have for years. All big heat pump manufacturers such as Rheem, Bryant, Lennox, York and Trane based the performance of their units on SEER. SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. What we learned was that the SEER rating was based on the cooling ability of the unit only, not the heating. Living in a very cold climate in Northern New England we weren’t that interested in the cooling ability of the unit, but we were very interested in the heating ability.
We decided that the best rated heat pumps for us to look out would be ones that had high HSPF or Heating Season Performance Factor ratings. This rating simply compares the amount of heat output to the amount of watts input. We knew that we needed a good HSPF rated heat pump and learned that 5,6 and 7 are considered good ratings.
Next came time to find out about heat pump manufacturers. There are lots to choose from. We knew that we had to factor in the cost of installation of the unit. We did a lot of reading online doing heat pump comparison and reading about cold climate heat pumps. There is a wealth of information online for every homeowner. We looked at what heat pumps were offered in our area and found they are Rheem, Lennox, York and Bryant. We then looked at their units. We also noticed that the manufacturers are using ratings combining SEER/HSPF.
We liked the offerings from Rheem and liked that their Prestige and Classic Series offered units that are Energy Star rated. We looked at heat pump reviews for Lennox, York and Bryant. We found it much easier to locate the HSPF ratings of the Lennox heat pumps than the Rheem. All the Lennox heat pumps had an HSPF of greater than 7. The Lennox XP19, XP15 and XP14 were rated 9 HSPF or over.
We noticed that York heat pumps use an AFUE or Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency rating system. We looked at Bryant heat pumps also. The Bryant online site was easy to use and they showed HSPF ratings for each of their systems, Evolution, Preferred, Preferred Compact and Legacy Line.
I have installed a Coleman Echelon heat pump. I compared it with other name brand heat pumps and found its performance to be the best rated. The outdoor unit is quieter than any of the others. I made it a point to listen to the noise level of the other units. I have it outside my bedroom and I cant hear it. I love this unit and am very pleased with it.
If you are shopping for a new home or looking for ways to lower costs, heat pumps can provide both heating and cooling, and in some cases, hot water heating.
In areas where natural gas is not available, heat pumps are a popular alternative, but using only a heat pump for all your heating needs would not be reasonably priced, or even possible. Most heat pumps use electricity as a power source. Additional heat such as gas, oil, electric and wood is used when the temperature falls below about 5C, or 42F. However, if you already have a heating system and you are considering air-conditioning, a heat pump can be an economical way to heat or cool the house for most of the year.
Heat pumps are part of every day life these days. You might not always recognize a heat pump when you see one, but at this moment, heat pumps are working hard in your home, making life more enjoyable.