Is Heat Pump Gas Or Electric? 5 Facts You Should Know

A heat pump is a machine which transfers heat energy into mechanical energy. Let us discuss whether the heat pump is driven by gas or electricity.

A heat pump is generated by electricity. For generating the device of the heat pump, fuel is not mandatory. For this reason, substantial fuel consumption can be saved by it.

Using the stages of condensation and evaporation, the heat pump forces the refrigerant in between the inner part coils and the outer part coils to warm up the air before dissolving it. Let us discuss further in this article how the heat pump can be differentiated from the furnace.

Can you use gas in a heat pump?

For absorbing the heat, refrigerants are used in the heat pump mechanism. Let us interrogate whether a heat pump is a source of gas or not.

The gas cannot be used in a heat pump but can only be used to generate for the absorption heat pump rather than electricity. An absorption heat pump is a device which is powered by thermal energy such as the flaming of natural gas, vapor from solar heated water, or geothermal heated water.

The heat pump soaks up all the heat from one particular closed place, then drives it by the process and finally discharges the hotter air in the room. In this method, the enclosed space becomes cooler without adding any extra moisture and device transfers the heated air to cool air.

Do heat pumps use a lot of electricity?

The maximum temperature, which can be achieved by the heat pump, is 55 to 75 degrees Celsius. Let us see if a lot of electricity is needed to drive a heat pump or not.

A lot of electricity is not required to run the mechanism of the heat pump. A small amount of electricity is enough to run a heat pump.

In modern days, heat pumps are able to move three or four times more thermal energy in the form of heat than they consume in the form of heat than they deplete in electrical energy to accomplish this action.

Do heat pumps work during power outages?

The heat pump works on the basic principle of heat transfer. Let us elaborate on whether the heat pump worked during the power outage or not.

A heat pump can work during a power outage if the time period is not too long. The back-up system in the heat pump can work only for 30 minutes.

If any cases of power outages happen for a long time, kerosene heaters or propane heaters can be used as an indoor heater if they are named with indoor safety.

Some alternative ways to keep someone’s apartment warm during a power outage of the heat pumps

  • Keep all the outside doors closed properly so outside air can not enter the room.
  • Use a generator
  • An indoor kerosene heater
  • An indoor propane heater
  • An electric space heater
  • I need to wear layers of warm clothes
  • A fireplace or wood-burning stove
  • Insulate the whole room with bubble wrap.
  • Passive solar heating

The other ways are: if we cover the floor with rugs, then the room can also be kept in a warm situation. We need to fill all the cracks on the frames of the windows and doors. Draft stoppers should be kept near to the doors.

Heat pump vs. furnace

A heat pump and a furnace are not the same device. Let us see how heat pumps and furnaces differ from one another.

Characteristics
Heat pumpFurnace
1. DefinitionA heat pump is an appliance that can easily heat a building by moving the thermal energy from the outside using the cycle of refrigeration.A furnace is a device that can warm up the air and distribute the warm air throughout the building using ducts.
2. LifespanWith maintenance heat pump can run for at least 15 years.A furnace can maintain its performance for up to 20 years with proper maintenance.
3. Better performance in a cold atmosphereCannot perform well in cold climate but in the mild climate heat pump definitely a better option.  Furnaces can operate its function without any problem in the cold and winter season.
4. Noise during operationMoreLess
5. Requires space for installation.Too much space is not required.Furnaces, as they are typically placed indoors, are able to take up a lot of area since craftsmen’s and local building codes often require a 3 inch decontamination on all parts for fire security intention.
Difference between the heat pump and furnace

In the hot weather, a heat pump can perform in a similar way to an air conditioner by reversing the pressure and the flow of refrigerant through its coil. While a furnace is constructed in this way, it can generate heat only, and a heat pump can increase the temperature of a home in the winter season and decrease the temperature in the hot season as per requirement.

Is a heat pump a furnace?

A furnace can work properly at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Let us elaborate on the topic. A furnace can be considered as a heat pump or not.

Heat pump is not a furnace they are independent devices tho both the furnace and the heat pump are heating systems. Heat pumps don’t need fuel to generate heat like furnaces do. While furnaces utilize electric coils to produce heat, heat pumps use electricity to move the heat from the outside to the inside.

Ecodan outdoor unit Internal view
Image – Heat pump;
Image Credit – Wikipedia

In the picture, an internal view of the outdoor unit of an Ecodan air source heat pump shown. Heat pump operations are both to cool and warm up the closed space and furnaces are designed in this process, so they can only produce heat.

Frequently Asked Question

How does a heat pump work step by step?

A heat pump can provide heating and cooling to an entire room. Let us concentrate on the work process of the heat pump in an orderly manner.

Step – 1

At the beginning of the process, with the help of an expansion valve, liquid refrigerant is pumped into the coils of the inside, which operation device is known as the evaporator. Air from inside the house swells over the coils, where the heat energy is worn away by the refrigerant.

As a result, the cool air is swollen by the ducts of the home. The method of absorbing the heat energy has caused the liquid refrigerant to warm up and evaporate in the form of gas.

Step – 2

The refrigerant in gaseous form passes through a compressor; in this step, the compressor pressurizes the gas. The method of gas pressurization causes the gas to warm up. After that, the heated and pressurized refrigerant is transported by the heating system to the unit of the outer coil.

Step – 3

A fan which is situated at the unit of the outer side is moved the outer side air over the coils, theses coils of the condenser are services cooling mode. The air of the outer side of the home is less hot compare to the hot compressed gas refrigerant in the coil.

Hot air is travelled from the refrigerant to the outside air. In this method, the refrigerant is compressed and cooled, and back to the liquid state from the gaseous state. Then, by the expansion valve the warm liquid refrigerant is pumped to the heating system at the unit of the indoor.

Step – 4

From the warm liquid refrigerant the pressure is minimize with the expansion valve, which cools it significantly. In this state the refrigerant reaches at cool and liquid state and ready to pump back to the evaporator coil in the unit of the indoor to start the refrigeration cycle again.

Write three symptoms from which we can identify furnaces are required repairs.

A furnace and water can be connected with each other in some particular cases. Let us discuss the symptoms from which we can identify furnaces are required repairs.

  • Bad furnace odor
  • Difficult to start
  • Discoloration of the pilot light

Bad furnace odor

If a furnace experiences an abnormal smell, in that case, the furnace’s equipment is definitely facing a major problem.  In general, when a furnace is run for the first time, a smell of fuel can be felt, but this smell disappears when the furnace starts to run in the proper way.

So, we must be careful when a bad smell appears.

Difficult to start the unit

When the furnaces are old, the starting of the furnace becomes difficult. If someone tries to start the furnace multiple times to start the unit of the furnace, and then repair needs must.

Discoloration of the pilot light

Someone needs to pay attention to the color of the pilot light of the furnace. When the pilot light operates in a manner, it will appear in a blurred color, but when the pilot light appears in a yellow color, then repair is necessary.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed whether or not a heat pump is powered by electricity. Aside from that, a few questions about heat pumps are attempted to be answered briefly. The furnace and heat are both heating systems, but they are separate appliances. The energy efficiency of the heat pump is better compared to the furnaces.