It’s been a while since I posted much of an energy post (other than my TED anniversary post on the 1st of April (here)). So, here we go.
First, for those that don’t know, a heat pump is just what it sounds like. It “pumps” or takes heat from inside (cooling) or outside (heating) and moves it to the other side. Basically, it’s an air conditioner that can “reverse”. See wiki page. When people just say “heat pump” they generally mean an air source heat pump (outside air is the source, or sink/dump for the heat). There are also “ground loop” heat pumps that use the ground as the source or sink/dump. Ground loop heat pumps are more efficient than air source ones, but they are much more expensive, and require more room to install (there are lines that run in the ground, either horizontally or vertically, which takes space/money to install). In my case, I have an air source heat pump.