For households and small businesses looking to cut their electricity bills and shrink their carbon footprints, heat pump systems have become widely popular energy-efficient alternatives to furnaces and air conditioners not only across the United States, but abroad as well. They can provide whole house heating and cooling far more efficiently—and therefore more cost-effectively—than traditional heating and cooling systems.
But do heat pumps work in Colorado? For Colorado homeowners and business owners curious about this popular HVAC alternative, questions about how effective they are in Colorado’s unique climate and environment, especially in famously elevated Denver, abound. Before you spend your money on a heat pump for your house, let’s answer these questions so you can make sure that a heat pump is a smart investment.
How do heat pumps work compared to traditional HVAC?
Traditionally, heaters and air conditioners both generate warm or cool air, respectively, and circulate it through your building. What makes heat pumps different—and more cost-effective—is that instead of generating heat, they just move it around.
Instead of burning fuel to heat the air and then blowing it through your building, heat pumps use a refrigerant to absorb heat from the outdoor air (even in cold weather) and release it indoors. When it’s hot outside and you want it to be cool inside, on the other hand, your heat pump acts as an air conditioner and extracts unwanted heat from your indoor air to pump it outdoors.
You can already see from this basic overview how heat pumps can save on electricity costs and overall costs compared to traditional HVAC. But this basic overview probably also raises some common questions in your mind about heat pumps. Mainly, can they really function in a climate with especially cold winters? Are heat pumps good in Colorado, where even mild winters can see extremes ranging from zero to -10 or -15 degrees on the plains and temperatures dropping to -30 in the mountains?
Do heat pumps work in Colorado winters?
For proud new owners of a heat pump, it’s normal to feel anxious when winter comes around. It’s the first test of a heat pump’s mettle. While heat pumps can generally function around a comfortable range of temperatures, proving especially effective in hot summers, cool autumns, and unpredictable springs, a basic understanding of how they work can leave you with some doubts as to how easily they can heat your home in winter.
And it makes sense to have these doubts—after all, knowing the basics of how heat pumps work, you’re bound to be left wondering where, as the outside air gets colder and colder, the heat pump finds the heat in the outside air to bring into your property.
Even at its coldest, there is heat in the air that heat pumps can extract and transfer. However, as you can imagine, the colder it is, the harder the heat pump has to work to collect that heat—meaning it uses more energy, meaning it heats less efficiently, meaning it runs up your electricity bill, meaning it defeats the purpose of having a heat pump. The typical heat pump design can’t work effectively under subzero temperatures.
That sounds like an open-and-shut answer to the question, “Are heat pumps good in Colorado?” But don’t give up hope so quickly—we said the typical heat pump isn’t good for cold winters.
While most heat pumps are air-source heat pumps, there is another option: ground-source heat pumps. Ground-source heat pumps, or geothermal heat pumps, pull heat from the ground to use even less energy than the standard model. The ground beneath your feet actually does a better job containing heat than the air, and stays relatively warm even in the depths of winter, giving your heat pump an ample source of convenient heat to pump into your home or business property when the temperatures plummet.
The US Department of Energy is also supporting heat pump manufacturers to design more and more efficient heat pumps for use in climates with especially bitter winters. That means in the future, we can see heat pumps become more and more energy-efficient, cost-effective, and reliable through the coldest cold snaps.
Do heat pumps work in Colorado? Yes—But Shop Smart
Heat pumps are a great alternative to traditional home heating solutions such as furnaces and air conditioners. However, Coloradans need to be smart shoppers and look for models that can handle extreme cold, whether on the plains or in the mountains. Geothermal heat pumps tend to cost more to install, since they need underground piping, their reliability in the winter ensures your comfort and leads to more long-term savings overall.
Fortunately, the state of Colorado is here to help you offset those installation costs. The state government offers upfront discounts on your installation in the form of heat pump tax credits, as long as you buy Energy Star-certified pumps from registered contractors.
There are also federal tax credits that can cover up to 30% of your installation costs. The state and federal government want to help you make a smooth transition to more cost-effective, more convenient, more environmentally friendly heating and cooling for your household.
Chiller Systems Service is here to help businesses across the metro Denver area and Colorado Front Range stay warm, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly in the winter. To learn more about cost-effective commercial heating for winter weather, contact us today.