Heat Pump-Gas Heat-Or Resistance Heat-What Does It All Mean To Me?

There are several different types of heaters thaton how many passes and how many stages
you can use to supply heating and air conditioningthere might be.
to your home or business. There is the gas heatHeat pumps are the answer to the resistance
and electric cooling, electric resistance heat andheater. Heat pumps cost less to run then
electric cooling, and there is electric heating andresistance heat does and they tend to produce a
cooling also known as a heat pump. Each has itsmore even temperature rise in the space which is
advantages and there are many opinions as tosupposed to lead to better comfort. The same
which is the best, efficient and most costcompressor that you would normally use to cool
effective to use.your home is used to heat it as well. Through a
The gas heat unit produces heat through thereversing valve and a couple of check valves the
burning of natural gas or propane. The heatrefrigerant that normally removes the heat from
produced is forced into a baffled chamber called athe space actually brings the heat in to the space.
heat exchanger. When the exchanger reaches theEach of these methods does have its merits. If
right temperature the blower turns on forcing theyou do not have access to gas or propane you
heat into the room through floor or ceilingcan have resistance heat or a heat pump installed.
registers attached to duct work. Depending onGas heat is thought to be to hot and dry by
what part of the country you live in the use ofsome, blasting down on the occupants of the
gas for heating is typically the most economicspace. Resistance heat, well it is just to expensive
way to heat a home or business. The heatto use so I would stay a way. Heat pumps are
produced by gas or propane tends to be warmernice for areas with out gas or propane. They tend
and dryer.to require some resistance heat because when
If you want to see your electric meter spin outrunning in heat their out door coils tend to frost
of control, try living through a winter usingup and require thawing to operate correctly.
resistance heat. Resistance heat is all electric, it isDefrost is provided by putting the unit back into
like a space heater on steroids. Inside the heatercooling forcing the hot gas back through the
in front of the fan section there will be a set ofoutdoor coil causing the coil to defrost. Meanwhile
coiled wires stretched between two posts thesethe resistance heat has to be brought on to
are called passes and depending on the amount oftemper the cold air coming into the space.
kilowatts or KW these strips put out will depend