Heat Pump Efficiency Vs. Electric Resistive

Electric resistive is just one of many heating options for a home.

When deciding how to heat a home, there are many options, including electric resistive and heat pump systems. The efficiency of these systems is a large deciding factor for choosing which will work best for a household.

Identification

Electric resistance heating uses a home's baseboards to heat a room through electricity consumption. Heat pumps can be air-sourced or ground-sourced, pulling heat in from the outside and moving it to the inside of the home for warmth.

Features

Electric resistive heating is extremely inexpensive to install, but uses a lot of electricity to keep the designated room warm. In contrast, a heat pump system can lower heating electrical use by 30 percent to 40 percent. This is due to the fact that instead of creating heat, they merely transfer heat to the home from the outside, saving energy overall.

Considerations

Heat pump systems are more expensive to initially install, but pay for themselves over the years of use. Many heat pump systems need sufficient land space for installation of the piping portion.

References

• U.S. Department of Energy: Heat Pump Systems
• U.S. Department of Energy: Limitations When Replacing Existing Heating Systems