If you’re interested in saving money on your home heating bill, you might consider what’s known as a mini or a micro heat pump. These portable units work like air conditioners, and are often marketed in the U.S. as air conditioning units with a heat function. They are installed in much the same way as a portable or window-mounted AC, so they don’t require renovation to use.
How do heat pumps work?
Heat pumps use the process of evaporation to warm air in a process known as latent heat vaporization. In a similar process to how a refrigerator or air conditioner works, a heat pump pulls air in from outdoors, running it over coils filled with a refrigerant that turns to vapor at a low temperature. This vapor is then compressed, causing it to warm up. The air passed over the warmed coils is then blown into the area you’re heating. Because this process takes advantage of the physics of evaporation, condensation, and compression, it uses less energy to heat the air than similar coils that are warmed with electricity alone. The main draw on electricity for a heat pump is the energy used by the pump for the refrigerant and the fan to blow the air.
Portable heat pumps heat one room at a time
Portable heat pumps aren’t a viable replacement for central heating: To accomplish that, you’ll need to look into whole house, permanently installed models. But to augment the heating in a single room, these units can be quite effective. To determine the size unit you will need for your space, you’ll need to measure the room and then compare it to the labeled capacity on the product’s packaging.
Determine what size heat pump you’ll need
To determine the heating capacity of a heat pump, you’ll need to first find the unit’s BTUs (British thermal units). One square foot of space requires about 26 BTUs to heat, so a 500-square-foot room would require 13,000 BTUs of heating capacity, and a 350-square-foot room would require around 9,000 BTUs of capacity.
Heat pumps save money by producing heat more efficiently
Once you have chosen a properly sized heat pump, using one to supplement your central heating can give you a break on home heating costs—a heat pump will use less power than most other electric heaters as well as giving you a significant advantage over other fuel source heaters like oil. Because heat pumps are so much more efficient than other types of heaters, unless you use a heat pump as your primary heat source, a portable heat pump can save you money by producing heat more efficiently.
How to choose a heat pump
Using a portable heat pump that has a hose to take excess condensation outdoors is important when you’re choosing a model. A heat pump with a dual hose is a good choice for both heating and cooling a room. For a simpler installation, a model with a window kit is also a good idea. You can find smaller-sized models, good for heating a 350-square-foot room, for around $500 and larger models, good for heating up to 500 square feet, for around $600.
Shave some money off your bill each month
A centrally installed heat pump can reduce energy usage by 20-40%, so a portable unit can do a similar job for one space at a time. While the savings won’t be as good with a portable heat pump, they can reduce your energy bills, especially if you plan to use it for cooling as well. If you use your portable unit on a regular basis, you can benefit from using a mini heat pump, even if it doesn’t replace your main heat source.
