You Can Save on Your Electricity Bills With a Portable Heat Pump
If you’re interested in saving money on your home heating bills, you might want to consider what’s called a mini or micro heat pump. These portable units operate like air conditioners and are often sold in the United States as air conditioners with heating. They install in much the same way as a portable or window air conditioner, so no repairs are required to use them.
How do heat pumps work?
Heat pumps use the process of evaporation to heat air in a process known as latent heat evaporation. Similar to how a refrigerator or air conditioner works, a heat pump draws in air from outside, passing it through coils filled with refrigerant, which turns into steam at low temperatures. This steam is then compressed, causing it to heat up. The air passing through the heated coils is then forced into the heated area. Because this process takes advantage of the physics of evaporation, condensation, and compression, it uses less energy to heat the air than similar coils that are heated only by electricity. The main energy consumption for a heat pump is the energy used by the refrigerant pump and the fan to blow air.
Portable heat pumps heat one room at a time
Portable heat pumps are not a viable replacement for central heating: for that, you’ll have to look into permanently installed whole-house models. But for boosting heating in a separate room, these units can be very effective. To determine the size of the unit you will need for your space, you will need to measure the room and then compare it to the capacity listed on the product packaging.
Determine what size heat pump you will need
To determine the heating output of a heat pump, you must first find the BTUs (British Thermal Units). It takes about 26 BTUs to heat one square foot of room, so a 500 square foot room will need 13,000 BTUs of heating power, and a 350 square foot room will need about 9,000 BTUs of power.
Heat pumps save money by producing heat more efficiently
Once you’ve chosen the right size heat pump, using it to complement your central heating can help you save on your home heating costs – a heat pump will use less energy than most other electric heaters and also give you a significant advantage over another fuel. heating sources such as oil. Because heat pumps are much more efficient than other types of heaters, if you are not using a heat pump as your primary heat source, a portable heat pump can save you money by producing heat more efficiently.
How to choose a heat pump
When choosing a model, it is important to use a portable heat pump with a hose to drain excess condensation outdoors. A dual hose heat pump is a good choice for both heating and cooling a space. For easier installation, a model with a window kit is also suitable. You can find smaller models good for heating a 350-square-foot room for about $500, and larger models good for heating a room up to 500 square feet for about $600.
Withdraw some money from your account every month
A centrally installed heat pump can reduce energy consumption by 20-40%, so a portable unit can do a similar job for one room at a time. While the savings from using a portable heat pump won’t be as significant, it can lower your energy bills, especially if you plan to use it for cooling as well. If you regularly use a portable unit, you can benefit from using a mini heat pump, even if it doesn’t replace your main heat source.