A Beginner's Guide to Hybrid Heating

It’s no secret that residential heating costs climb higher and higher with every passing year. Yet that doesn’t change the fact that you and your family require heat to make it through the winter in comfort. Fortunately, furnace manufacturers recognize the need for more efficient--and thus lower cost--furnaces. Hybrid furnaces are one of the most revolutionary ways this feat is being accomplished.

Hybrid heating involves the combination of a traditional gas or propane furnace with a heat pump. The heat pump used may be either an air source (ASHP) or a ground source pump (GSHP). The idea of such a system is that, when the weather is relatively mild, the heat pump can accomplish most of the home’s heating tasks. Yet when the temperatures dip down below freezing, operation can kick over to the furnace, which is able to provide much quicker and warmer results. 

Why Not A Heat Pump Alone 
Many people wonder why they shouldn’t simply invest in a quality heat pump and leave the furnace component out completely. Wouldn’t that result in the most efficient possible heating? In some cases, the answer to that question may be yes. Of course, that answer only applies for those who live in a part of the country whose wintertime temperature rarely drops down below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Many heat pumps will still be able to warm a home below that temperature threshold, yet they will have to do so by using their backup electrical system. This system is hardly an energy efficient way to heat a home. A hybrid system, on the other hand, is able to offer the best of both worlds. Another way to get the best of both worlds is to contact a professional in both heating AND Air Conditioning in Grand Ledge MI.