Difference Between a Heat Pump & Gas Heat
Unlike gas heat, which produces heat from the combustion of natural gas, heat pumps merely move heat that already exists from one place to another. Air source heat pumps move heat from a cooler place to a warmer place, just like air conditioning, but in the opposite direction, depending on the season and outside temperature. As such, operating a heat pump in heating mode is functionally the same as turning an air conditioner around in the window. Does this Spark an idea?
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Operational Differences
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Gas heat produces BTUs with a blue flame. Unlike gas heat, which produces heat from the combustion of natural gas, heat pumps move heat that already exists from one place to another. Air source heat pumps move heat from a cooler place to a warmer place, just like air conditioning, but in the opposite direction, depending on the season and outside temperature. As such, operating a heat pump in heating mode is functionally the same as turning an air conditioner around in the window.
Economic Differences---Air Source Heat Pumps
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Gas heat always costs more to operate than heat pumps because the owner is purchasing the BTUs outright, and heat pumps take existing BTUs from another place. The electrical energy used by heat pumps to move heat is about half of the amount of energy that would have to be purchased to create heat from gas combustion. Another perspective is that with gas heat, you are purchasing the BTUs, and with heat pumps, you just pay their transportation charges, which are much lower.
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Economic Differences---Geothermal Source Heat Pumps
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Heat pumps that derive heat from geothermal hot or warm water win every time over gas heat as far as operational costs, because the geothermal heat is abundant and consistent throughout the year. Geothermal systems require a large, often prohibitive initial capital outlay, however, because feasibility studies must be conducted, a deep recirculating well must be drilled and permits obtained. The necessary piping, pumps and heat exchanger are costly compared to modern gas heaters.
Constraint Differences
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Heat pumps operating in either heating or cooling mode can only establish a maximum differential temperature between the inside and outside air of about 30 degrees one way or the other before operating efficiency falls off rapidly. This is due to the fixed gas-liquid equilibrium characteristics of the specific refrigerant used. Production domestic heat pumps are designed to be efficient most of the time in the climate zones where they are used. If temperatures plummet far below normal in a given region, centralized heat pump systems have auxiliary resistance electrical heating coils to augment them in keeping the house warm. This is why there are far more heat pumps in use for heating in the South and West of the United States, where winters are more moderate. Gas is used virtually everywhere.
Environmental Differences
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Heat pumps run purely from utility electricity. Modern units boast the high efficiency of air conditioning. As long as the outside temperature doesn't fall too low, heat pumps will use a fraction of the energy to realize the same amount of BTUs, so they are inherently more eco-friendly. While gas burns cleaner than oil or wood, it is still hydrocarbon combustion, and BTUs are created rather than just relocated. Long-term ramifications are that heat pumps are better for the environment.
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- Photo Credit condensseur image by photlook from Fotolia.com gas flame image by Zbigniew Nowak from Fotolia.com
