P.O.

Box 1475
Baltimore, MD 21203-1475
phone: 410-265-4000
toll free: 1-800-786-2000
heat pump
THE
H A N D B O O K

The heat pump is the best choice for heating your home.
Ideally suited for our region, where winters are
relatively mild and the average temperature during the heat-
ing season is about 45 Fahrenheit, the heat pump is the
most practical and economical way to keep your home
warm and comfortable. Heat pumps are energy efficient and
cost less to run than other conventional heating systems.
With your new heat pump, youll be able to maintain the
desired comfort level in your home while saving on your
monthly energy bill.
This handbook, prepared by your BGE energy experts, will
give you a better understanding of the operation, benefits,
and maintenance of your heat pump. It is not intended to
replace your manufacturers/owners manual, which BGE
recommends you review thoroughly.
a great choice for home heating
the heat pump handbook 1
the heat pump handbook 3
To achieve year round comfort in you home, the heat pump
uses the same basic components as the refrigerator: Coils to
carry refrigerant gas, a compressor to increase the pressure
of the gas, and fans to circulate the air.
During the winter, a fan pulls air over the outdoor coil which
extracts heat from the outside air. Even though winter air
feels cold to skin temperature, it holds a great deal of heat.
In fact at 0 F, air contains 89% of the heat available at 100 F.
The compressor pressurizes the gas in the coil, raising its
temperature even further. The heated gas then moves inside
of your home to the indoor coil. A circulating fan blows air
across the indoor coil and through heating ducts, the heat is
drawn from the gas in the indoor coil and transferred to the
air in the ducts.
During the summer this process is reversed automatically by a
valve or switch on the heat pump.
A heat pump also has an automatic defrost cycle for its out-
door coils. During the heating season when the humidity is
high, frost will often form on the outdoor coils. The heat
pump senses the frost buildup and initiates the defrost cycle.
Hot refrigerant is pumped through the outside coils. The
frost quickly melts and the heat pump reverts back to nor-
mal operation. You will not notice the defrost cycle in your
home because indoor temperatures are maintained with
help from resistance heaters built into your system.
how your heat pump works
2
What makes the heat pump so efficient is the way it oper-
ates. Instead of burning costly heating fuels such as oil or
propane, the heat pump moves heat without flame. It does
this by extracting the available heat from the outside air and
transferring or pumping it inside your home. During the
summer the heat pump reverses this operation, extracting
heat from the air inside your home and pumping it outside.
The way the heat pump operates can be explained without
getting too technical. Two basic physical principles with which
you are no doubt familiar are at work in the heat pump. The
first is the movement of heat from a hot object to a cool
object. A hot cup of coffee, for instance, will eventually cool
to ambient room temperature because the coffee transfers
its heat to the surrounding air. Conversely, the ice in a cold
drink will melt as it absorbs heat from the surrounding air.
The greater the temperature difference between the hot
and cold objects, the more rapid this movement of heat.
The second principle of the heat pump is that when a pres-
surized gas is allowed to expand, it cools. Release the pres-
surized air from a bicycle tire and if feels cool. It is in fact cold-
er than the air surrounding the tire.
The refrigerator in your kitchen, which operates in a
similar manner to the heat pump, represents the application
of these principles. Heat inside the refrigerator is transferred
to coils which carry a refrigerant gas. The gas is allowed to
expand and become much colder than the air inside of the
refrigerator. The gas then absorbs the heat and carries it out-
side of the refrigerator into a compressor which compress-
es the expanded gas to start the heat transfer process again.
Because the coils on the outside of the refrigerator are much
hotter than the air in your kitchen, heat is released from the
coils to the surrounding air. Thats why the coils in the back
of your refrigerator give off heat.
Outdoor
Fan & Coil
Compressor
Heat
Return Duct
Indoor Fan
& Coil
Heated
Air
Supply Duct
4
G
1
G
2
G
3
G
G
G
1 Heat is extracted from air by outdoor coil.
2 Refrigerant gas carries heat to indoor unit.
3 Circulating indoor air picks up heat and carries it
throughout home.
winter
Outdoor
Fan & Coil
Compressor
Return Duct
Indoor Fan
& Coil
Cooled
Air
Supply Duct
the heat pump handbook 5
G
2
G
3
G
1
G
G
G
1 Heat is extracted from homes air by indoor coil.
2 Refrigerant liquid carries heat to outdoor unit.
3 Heat is rejected to the outdoors.
summer
the heat pump handbook 7
Year round comfort in all types of weather.
More energy-efficient than conventional heating
systems.
More economical than conventional heating systems.
Uses less energy to generate a greater amount
of heat.
Uses abundant and reliable electricity.
Not dependent on fossil fuels such as coal or oil
which are susceptible to shortages and price
fluctuations.
Heat is always available when you need it.
Maintains a more consistent comfort level in your
home because unit cycles on and off more fre-
quently than conventional heating systems.
Clean, flameless heating system which reduces
infiltration of outside air required to support
combustion in fossil fuel systems.
Easy to add electronic air cleaning and whole-house
humidification to the system.
Like any other machine, the heat pump will perform best if it
is properly maintained. This handy checklist serves as a guide
to simple do-it-yourself maintenance. Follow this list to
assure optimum performance over the life of your unit.
1. Set the thermostat and leave it alone. You may wish
to install a programmable thermostat specifically
designed for heat pumps which will allow you to
more efficiently regulate the temperature in your
simple maintenance plan
for the homeowner
benefits of the heat pump
6
A heat pump that is properly sized for your home is the most
energy-efficient and economical method for heating your
home. To measure the efficiency of a heat pump, you
simply compare the heat generated with the amount of
energy required to generate the heat. The technical name
used by the industry for this measurement is the Coefficient
of Performance, or COP.
A comparison to a standard baseboard electric heater will
give you some idea of the efficiency of the typical heat pump.
To generate 1,000 watts of heat, the electric heater requires
1,000 watts of energy. The heat pump on the other hand, will
produce 2,500 watts of heat for each 1,000 watts of
energy used.
For a heat pump to perform efficiently and maintain the
desired comfort level in your home, the system must be
properly sized. A thorough heat loss/heat gain study of your
home is required to determine the optimum size of your unit.
This can usually be performed by the installing contractor.
A properly sized delivery or duct system is also important.
The air circulated by a heat pump is generally lower in
temperature than the air distributed by other conventional
heating systems. It is important that the duct system be able
to handle the proper volume of air and distribute it evenly
throughout the home.
In general, a duct system which effectively distributes air
conditioning is recommended for heat pumps.The duct work
should be installed to minimize leaks and should be insulated
in unconditioned spaces. Positive return vents should be
located on inside walls in all rooms where it is practical
except the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room. The best
overall comfort level comes from a combination of temper-
ature, circulation, and humidity.
more heat with less energy
maintaining the comfort
level in your home
8
home. (A programable thermostat not designed for
heat pump application will cause the auxiliary heat to
come on prematurely after a nightime setback. This
back up can offset any savings realized during the set-
back period. A heat pump programmable thermostat
allows for a greater recovery time, allowing the heat
pump to gradually recover the desired temperature
with very little or no expensive auxiliary heat.)
2. Clean or replace the air filters monthly. Dirty filters
impede air flow, increase operating costs, and the
need for service calls. Washable filters should be
thoroughly dried before they are replaced in the unit.
3. Check and clean indoor coils (if accessible). Cleaning
may be performed with a soft brush.
4. Check and clean condensate pan, drain, and trap.
5. Get accustomed to the way your heat pump sounds
when it operates. If you notice a significant change in
the sound, have the system checked.
6. Make sure air registers are not blocked by furniture or
boxes. This reduces overall system performance and
efficiency.
7. Keep area clean around outdoor section of the heat
pump. Make sure grass, weeds, debris, shrubs, or snow
drifts do not impede air flow through the outdoor coils.
8. Clean grass clippings and dirt from unit on a regular
basis. Make sure unit is off when cleaning.
9. Never shut off power to outdoor unit unless cleaning.
10. Contact your qualified contractor for annual main-
tenance and at first sign of unusual sounds or operation.
For more information on heat pumps please contact your
BGE energy experts at 410-265-4000 or 1-800-786-2000
outside of the Baltimore metropolitan area.