To improve the efficiency of your current heating system and to save money on heating costs, you may want to add a heat pump. There are a few different ways to use a heat pump to augment your existing heating system, and the right option varies based on your situation and your heating objectives. Here are some of the potential ways you may want to integrate a heat pump.
Bring Heat to New Spaces
A mini-split ductless heat pump offers the perfect solution if you want to heat or cool a room that is not connected to your central heating system. Heat pumps can also bring heat to areas that aren’t reached by your wood burning stove. This includes attics, basements, new home additions, and other spaces. If you want to bring heat to a new space, a contractor can install a compressor outside your home and connect it to an indoor air handling unit located in the space where you want more heat.
Create Heating Zones
In some situations, your current heating system may reach every area in your home. However, if you only use part of your home, you may want to put an air handling unit connected to a heat pump in the part of your home that you use the most. This way, you can use the heat pump to provide efficient electrical heating and cooling in just that area, and you don’t have to worry about heating or cooling the rest of your home. If you ever need to heat or cool all of your home, you can simply revert back to your old system.
Embrace a Hybrid System
With a hybrid system, you add a heat pump to your existing home heating system, and you also install integrated controls. The integrated controls automatically switch between the heat pump and your current heating system, based on temperatures you have selected.
For instance, if you have a heat pump that works very efficiently in temps down to -10 degrees Fahrenheit, you may want to set up the system so that it uses the heat pump by default, and then when the temps drop lower than -10, the system automatically switches to using your other heating method.
A hybrid heating system can save you between 30 and 50% on your heating bills, and in Massachusetts, you may be able to get a rebate to help cover the cost of installing integrated controls.
Connect to Ductwork
If your existing furnace is connected to ductwork, you can hook a new heat pump to the ducts. In this scenario, the heat pump still takes heat from the outside and releases it into your home, but it pushes the heat through the ductwork. This option eliminates the need for indoor air handling units.
However, if you don’t want to connect to existing ductwork for any reason, you can rely on the ductless nature of most heat pumps. With this option, you connect the outdoor condenser to a number of indoor air handling units, and the system carries refrigerant through small flexible piping that runs from the outdoor unit to the indoor units.
Whether you opt for ducted, ductless, or mixed ducted, the system still works in the same way. The heat pump provides most of your heating needs, and your existing heating method kicks in as needed to maintain warmth and efficiency on very cold days.
Enjoy Heat Pump Benefits Today
If you’re tired of inefficiency, need to bring heat to a new part of your home, want to lower your energy bills, or are curious about any of the other advantages offered by heat pumps, you should contact us today. At N.E.T.R., Inc., we are Mitsubishi Elite Diamond contractors, and we have been helping home and business owners improve their heating and cooling methods for years. We look forward to helping you save money while improving your comfort levels.
Stan Serpento says:
We have a gas fired furnace with baseboard heat throughout our two story home , a wall mounted masterbedroom a/c unit, and an exhaust fan in the attic. Our problem is the summer heat and humidity . We used to be able to exhaust heat in the cooler early morning hours by opening all the windows and using the fan but with rising temperatures and increased rain this is no longer very effective. We dont have any ductwork. I would like to be able to move cooler basement air to first floor but this seems impractical. Suggestions?
will perkins says:
I am interested in installing heat pumps into my eggsisting duckwork i have airhandlers in attic and basement
Bob says:
Hello…
1. We have a 5 year old gas furnace. Our 1100 sq ft, 71 year old home has ductwork to each room. Your article mentions a heat pump can be installed and hooked up to the ductwork. Would that be a completely independent unit from the furnace itself? Where can I find trained installers?
2. Would there be any advantage to connecting the heat pump with the furnace and creating a dual fuel system?
3. Which would be more efficient and cheaper to have installed?
Rick Anderson says:
Hello!
Looks like you are active in the New England area.
Can you advise me what to do about connecting a heat pump to our existing [ducted] furnace system?
We live in the Seattle area.
Mike Dunnigan says:
Are you located in western Canada
N.E.T.R. says:
Hello Mike. We are only in the eastern Massachusetts area. For your region, we recommend finding your local Mitsubishi Diamond Elite contractor to discuss heat pump integration into your home.
Irena says:
I am in Ontario. Can I connect heat pump to propane furnace? Irena
N.E.T.R. says:
Hello Irena. Because each circumstance can be unique, we recommend reaching out to your local Mitsubishi Diamond Elite contractor to diagnose whether you can connect a heat pump to your specific propane heating system.
Gary says:
I have an oil fired hot air furnace and would like to install a heat pump outside with an air handler installed next to my existing furnace and tap into my existing supply and return ducts, instead of putting an evaporator a-coil in my oil furnace. Is it possible to install this way?
N.E.T.R. says:
Hello Gary, yes, provided there are no special requirements with your existing system, it should be possible to integrate a heat pump air handler system into your furnace ductwork. We recommend reaching out to your local Mitsubishi Diamond Elite dealer for a consultation to find the best installation design for your home.
JoAnn says:
I have a modular home, 28 X 80 that is all electric. I hav HVAC unit without heat pump and would like to know if one can be installed on current unit and the cost to do it and if it’s efficient enough to add one. I’m in Missouri., zip code 65917.
N.E.T.R. says:
Hello JoAnn, unfortunately we only service the Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire areas. We recommend reaching out to a local Mitsubishi Diamond Elite dealer HVAC company in Missouri to see what the best solution would be for your current system. Thank you for reaching out!
Wayne Upshall says:
I have an existing ducted heat pump system and would like to hook up a ducted wood furnace to it, is this possible and would you have a diagram to show how it is done.
N.E.T.R. says:
Hello Wayne, we don’t handle anything related to installing new ductwork at this time, and we do not install wood furnaces. We recommend reaching out to a Sila company in your area or search for a ducted wood furnace installer near you to get an appropriate quote.