What's The Difference Between an Air Conditioner and a Heat Pump?

So, what's the difference between an air conditioner and a heat pump? We'll break it down for you in this video.

Hi, I'm Luke from Fire and Ice. One of the most common questions that we receive from customers is what's the best way to cool my home? Depending on your specific cooling needs, it comes down to either an air conditioner or a heat pump. In this video, we'll cover, what's the difference between an air conditioner and a heat pump? What are the benefits of each system? What system is right for you? And finally, what to do next. We hope by the end of this video you'll know the types of cooling options that we offer and what cooling solution is right for you.

What’s the difference between an air conditioner and a heat pump?

So, let's jump in and see the differences between an air conditioner and a heat pump.

The main difference between an air conditioner and a heat pump is that an air conditioner can only provide cooling for the home. While a heat pump can provide cooling and also heating which is the primary difference between the two HVAC systems.

What’s the benefit of each system?

So now let's talk about what's the benefit between each system. One main feature of an air conditioner is that it cools the home by removing the humidity from the air.

One feature of a heat pump is that in moderately cold outdoor temperatures, a heat pump system can provide energy efficient heating using only electricity.

What system is right for you?

So what system is right for you? If you have a natural gas furnace with an air conditioner, that would be what we would typically call a standard system. If you have natural gas in your home, a standard system is the most common and probably the most practical.

One situation where a heat pump makes sense is an all-electric home where there is no natural gas. In an all-electric home, you would have an electric air handler and an electric heat pump to provide the heating and cooling needs for your home year-round.

A gas furnace combined with a heat pump would be a hybrid system or a dual fuel system. This dual fuel system or hybrid system is most common for someone that is using propane gas versus natural gas. Some people don't have access to gas lines, so an electric system is the only option.

What to do next?

And finally, what to do next So now that you know the difference between an air conditioner and a heat pump. Visit our products page to see comfort and efficiency ratings for each type of equipment that we offer. Thanks for watching or look forward to making your day even better.