Due to the mild year-round climate of our area, your home can benefit greatly from the use of a heat pump. With the ability to cool your home in the summer and heat your home in the winter, this single unit does the work of two. There may be issues plaguing your equipment, however, that prevent it from achieving peak performance. If you find yourself needing to improve heat pump efficiency, try these three tips.

• Optimize refrigerant charge.  Units which are charged at the factory, such as room or packaged heat pumps, are most likely charged correctly. Split-system pumps however are charged at installation and may be inaccurate. Being over or undercharged can reduce the efficiency of your unit by between 5 and 20 percent, and cost you even more in repairs as a result of equipment failure.  In order to improve heat pump efficiency, your charge should be within just a few ounces of the amount recommended by the manufacturer.
• Seal ductwork.  Leaky ducts are the biggest culprit of wasted energy in most homes. Leakage not only reduces your comfort, it can also affect the indoor air quality in your home. The same holes that let conditioned air out can also draw polluted air in from spaces like your garage or crawlspace. Ask your contractor to test for leakage, prior to repairing with mastic or metal-backed tape.
• Capitalize on airflow. Adequate airflow is required for the ultimate efficiency and performance of your heat pump. Your ductwork consists of both supply and return registers, and ideally, there should be one of each in every room. When there is only a central supply vent in the hall, a closed door can cut off the airflow and create pressure issues within the home, decreasing comfort. Grilles or extra ducting can be added in these rooms to improve circulation.

If you need to improve heat pump efficiency in your home, give us a call at Powers Heating & Air. We are proud to serve the residents of Peachtree City and the surrounding area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Peachtree, GA and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about heat pump efficiency and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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