I live in an area of the country with fairly mild winters and hot, humid summers. During the winter, the outside temperature rarely drops below forty degrees, and we never see snow. Our summer temperatures often climb into the upper nineties, and the humidity is horrible. We have the perfect weather for an electric heat pump. The heat pump operates a lot like a conventional air conditioner in that it extracts heat from the indoor air, and by way of refrigerant, transports it outside. However, a heat pump is typically more energy efficient than an air conditioner and is better at dehumidification. The benefit is that the system can reverse the operation to provide heat. The heat pump finds ambient warmth in the outdoor air, compresses it to a higher temperature and relies on the refrigerant to deliver the heat into the home. This process eliminates the need to burn fossil fuel to generate heat. There’s no hot surface, fumes, fear of flames or danger of carbon monoxide. The heat pump provides a safe, clean and energy efficient source of year round temperature control. Because the system handles both heating and cooling, and is quite complex, the purchase price and cost of installation is rather high. They are way more expensive than a conventional cooling system. But, it’s only necessary to purchase the one unit, and this simplifies the demands of maintenance. While electric heat pumps are a major investment, the system will typically pay for itself through energy savings. Plus, a heat pump provides very even comfort, quiet operation, and exceptional indoor air quality.