All HVAC systems come with efficiency ratings. These standardized ratings are designed so that you can make an educated decision about what type of HVAC system to install in your home for heating and cooling. However, most systems are separate. You have an air conditioner and then you have a heater, with each one having its own efficiency rating.
Heat pumps are a little different since they operate as both an air conditioner and heater all in one. That makes their efficiency rating just a little bit different. If you are interested in heat pumps in Chambersburg, PA, our team can help. We can talk to you more about how heat pumps work and why this particular type of system might be beneficial for your home. In the meantime, you can keep reading to learn more about the rating system used to measure energy efficiency for a heat pump.
Heat Pump Efficiency Ratings
Heat pumps are unique since they offer heating and cooling all in the same system. Usually, heaters and air conditioners have separate energy efficiency ratings. Because of this, a heat pump ends up having two different energy efficiency ratings. One is for a heat pump as an air conditioner and the other is for a heat pump as a heater. The two ratings are:
- SEER2 – This acronym stands for seasonal energy efficiency rating 2. It is the most updated efficiency rating available for air conditioners and heat pumps as air conditioners.
- HSPF2 – This acronym stands for heating seasonal performance ratio 2. It represents the efficiency of a heat pump when it is set to heat mode.
These two are the most standard ratings, but there are a couple of other ratings you may see for heat pump variations. Ductless mini split or geothermal systems may use an EER2, or energy efficiency ratio 2 ratings. Geothermal units may also come with a COP rating, short for coefficient of performance. The bottom line is that you want to utilize a single one of these rating systems to compare efficiency between models.
What These Ratings Mean
SEER2 ratings are considered the most standard for a heat pump since they represent efficiency in cooling mode. You can use this rating to compare a single heat pump system to other heat pumps and even central air conditioners since they also use SEER2. Higher SEER2 ratings equate to better overall efficiency.
It is important to note that individual use and weather fluctuations can impact the actual efficiency of your heat pump during operation. A SEER2 rating is an average, so your heat pump efficiency may be slightly higher at some times and lower at other times.
The equation used to determine the rating calculates how much heat gets removed from the home and then divides that by the total number of hours in operation. The average calculation does take varying temperatures into account as part of the calculation. Instead of a best-case scenario, the SEER2 rating should be a fairly accurate average.
The Department of Energy determined that the minimum SEER2 rating for any air source heat pump is 14.3 for US homes. This average rating went into effect on January 1, 2023 when SEER2 replaced SEER as the industry standard for efficiency. Any model that is a SEER2 of 17 or higher is considered to be a high-efficiency heat pump with ratings going up to 22 SEER2. The better the efficiency, the more money that you stand to save on your monthly energy costs.
To schedule your heat pump service, contact Premier HVAC Services today! Our team is here to help with all of your HVAC needs.