HSPF: Why This Rating Matters When You’re Buying A Heat Pump
When searching for a new heat pump for your house, you need to make sure you purchase the right kind that will bring ideal comfort and energy savings to your home. Using the HSPF — heating seasonal performance factor — to compare different pumps is the best way to find the perfect unit for your home.
HSPF is a measurement of the efficiency of heat pumps, similar to SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) for air conditioners. One important difference is that HSPF actually takes things like the amount of energy needed for defrosting in the winter and backup heat requirements into consideration.
High-efficiency heat pumps start at HSPF 9. Equipment that has been qualified by Energy Star has the highest efficiency levels. They can be up to 8 percent more efficient than similar new models, and up to 20 percent more efficient than older pumps.
Before buying a heat pump, you need to figure out what size is going to be best for your home. If you skip this step, you could be stuck with an inefficient heat pump that isn’t able to adequately heat your home for years to come. Have an HVAC contractor perform a heating load calculation, a process that will tell you how much energy your home needs to be properly heated.
Before having the load calculation performed, you can reduce the amount of energy your home requires by making your home as energy efficient as possible. Sealing holes in your ducts with mastic, covering the perimeter of your doors and windows with weatherstripping and caulking air leaks in your attic can improve your home’s overall efficiency. These simple steps will allow you to achieve ideal comfort with a smaller — and more affordable — pump.
To learn more about the impact HSPF has on your heat pump decision, contact Symbiont Service Corp.today. We have proudly Floridians since 1983.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about heat pumps and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Symbiont Service Corp. serves Englewood, Florida and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!
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