Heat pumps help homeowners looking to upgrade their home’s heating and cooling take advantage of new systems that use less energy while creating a more comfortable home. These all-electric, all-in-one heating and cooling systems are also eligible for money-saving rebates and tax credits, making them affordable for more families.
Sanfilippo Solutions installs high-efficiency cold climate ducted heat pumps and ductless mini-splits throughout Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania.
Heat Pumps Are a Great Choice When:
- You’re looking to replace old, inefficient, or frequently-breaking-down heating or cooling systems
- Your home doesn’t currently have central AC and you’d like it as an add-on bonus to a heating system upgrade
- You have working heating and cooling in your home but there are specific rooms or areas your system can’t reach
- You’re looking for an all-electric, eco-friendly alternative to fossil-fuel-burning heating
How Are Cold Climate Heat Pumps Different from Furnaces, Boilers, Baseboard Heating, and Central AC Systems?
In cooling mode, heat pumps work exactly like an air conditioner, taking heat from indoor air and dumping it outside. But unlike ACs, heat pumps also have a heating mode. Air source heat pumps offer both heating and cooling in a single unit, which means you can run them year-round.
Unlike traditional heating systems, which generate heat through combustion or electricity, heat pumps don’t generate heat at all in heating mode. Instead, they work like an AC in reverse, drawing heat from the outdoors and adding it to the air inside to raise the temperature.
Even very cold air contains some heat. The heat pumps that Sanfilippo Solutions installs are called “cold climate heat pumps” and specifically designed to work well in places like Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania. These systems come with features such as variable-speed, inverter-driven compressor technology and improved defrost-cycle controls that make them capable of providing heat even when outdoor temperatures are as low as -15°F!
Our winters can get downright frigid, but the Samsung and Mitsubishi Electric heat pumps we install can meet 100% of your home’s heating needs.
Ducted Heat Pumps vs. Ductless Mini-Splits: Which Are Better for Your Home?
There are two main types of air source heat pumps.
Ducted heat pumps consist of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. The indoor unit attaches to your central ductwork, just like a furnace or central AC, and sends conditioned air throughout the vents in your home.
Ductless mini-splits have an outdoor unit, but the indoor units are called cassettes or heads and are installed directly in specific rooms, usually on the wall. They don’t need ductwork at all!
Ducted heat pumps are a great option to replace an existing forced-air heating and/or cooling system. Mini-splits offer additional flexibility and can be used in situations where duct access (or lack of ductwork) is an issue. You can install cassettes throughout your home as a whole-home replacement for an old boiler or baseboard heating system, or you can keep your existing heating and cooling system and use 1 or 2 mini-split heads to supplement specific areas where your ducts can’t reach.
Our Approach to Heat Pump Installation: Insulate Well, Operate with Integrity!
Cold climate heat pumps are an excellent option for heating and cooling, but only when they’re installed in a well-insulated and air sealed home. Too many contractors will put an oversized heat pump into a leaky home with poor insulation, wasting energy and costing the homeowner more in the long run.
At Sanfilippo, we will always do the right thing today instead of wasting everyone’s time, money, energy, and integrity tomorrow. That means addressing any problems with insulation and air sealing before we install a heat pump or mini-split. Be careful of contractors willing to cut corners just to make a quick buck!
Save Money with Heat Pump Rebates and Up to $2,000 in Tax Credits
Because heat pumps are so energy efficient, they qualify for incentives that help reduce the upfront cost of installation for homeowners. This includes:
- A federal tax credit of 30%, up to $2,000. As long as you owe Uncle Sam money for the year your heat pump is put in, you can benefit!
- Heat pump rebates: Rebates for ducted heat pump and mini-split installation are available to income-qualified households through NYSERDA’s EmPower+ program. Additional rebates may also be available—as part of our evaluation process, the Sanfilippo team will review with you any incentives you may qualify for and how you stand to save.
