Manufacturers Help Contractors Keep up with Heat Pump Technology as Market Grows

Heat pumps are a growing segment of the HVAC market, but many consumers still know little about them.

Manufacturers and contractors are working to educate end users about the ways heat pumps work ...

COLD AS ICE: A heat pump undergoes testing in an ice chamber at Johnson Controls’ manufacturing plant in Wichita, Kansas.

(Courtesy of Johnson Controls) Heat pumps are a growing segment of the HVAC market, but many consumers still know little about them.

Manufacturers and contractors are working to educate end users about the ways heat pumps work differently from traditional heat sources.

It’s the kind of effort needed to further expand their use.

Eddie Glidewell, owner of Comfort Crew Heating and Cooling in San Marcos, Texas, fielded plenty of calls last winter as temperatures dropped in his states.

Many of them were from customers worried that their heat pumps were catching on fire.

Glidewell explained they were functioning as they should.

“We had to tell them the system is going through a defrost mode to remove any ice that might have built up during the heating cycle,” he said.

ANSWERING THE CALL: Eddie Glidewell, right, and his staff at Comfort Crew Heating and Cooling in San Marcos, Texas, received several calls from customers whose heat pumps went into defrost mode during last winter’s storm.

This ensures proper airflow over the coils.

Glidewell gets so many questions about heat pumps that he posted an explanation on his website.

Many customer questions concern comfort performance.

“I try to explain to them it’s not an intense heat,” Glidewell said.

It’s moving heat from inside and basically transferring it to the inside of your house.” The heat pump gets to the same point as a gas or propane furnace, but it just takes a little longer sometimes, he said.

It’s more fuel efficient in getting there, using half the amps.

San Marcos is located outside of Austin, and Glidewell said high prices in town are driving more home buyers to the exurbs.

Manufacturers are doing their part to educate consumers as well.

Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US (METUS) is consistently developing training tools, brochures, and other materials to help contractors better educate consumers about how heat pumps work, said Tom Overs, the company’s vice president of residential business.