North Carolina has a humid subtropical climate, according to reference books. So what does this mean when it comes time to pick your air conditioning? It means that it’s vital to find a system that not only cools down your house, but does it economically and efficiently.

For that, you’ll want to look into an air-source heat pump. This is a system that will cool down your house in a hurry, but still be able to warm it up on those colder nights.

How does it all work? In a nutshell, to warm up your house, a pump transfers heat from the outside air into the home, pumping it through your vents.

To cool down your house, the air-source pump evaporates a refrigerant in its coil. As the liquid evaporates, it pulls the heat from the air in your house and pumps it outside.

If you’re buying a heat pump, be sure to look at the EnergyGuide label that lists its heating and cooling efficiency rating. The most efficient heat pumps have an HSPF (heating seasonal performance factor) of between 8 and 10. The Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) rates its cooling efficiency. The higher the SEER, generally speaking, the more expensive your unit will be, though also the greater the energy savings you’ll see. The ones with higher SEER ratings eventually pay for themselves with cheaper cooling costs, however, so it really is worth it to pay as much as you can afford. Look for a heat pump with a SEER of between 14 and 18.

The Energy Star label is awarded to units with SEERs of 12 or higher and HSPFs of 7 or more.

Looking for more information? Contact Stewart’s Heating and Air Conditioning today for expert advice. We’ve been serving North Carolina’s Triangle region since 1979.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Stewart’s Heating and Air Conditioning services the Triangle area of North Carolina. To get started, check out our website.