Weather on the Gulf Coast is notoriously warm and humid, and without a reliable air conditioning system, you’ll struggle to maintain a comfortable home. Most people think of air conditioning units as traditional central systems, with a single cooling unit connected to a series of ducts that carry the cooled air to all corners of your home. They’re effective systems and see a lot of use in the Tampa Bay area. But they’re not the only types of air conditioning in Tampa.
For example, you might consider heat pumps. A heat pump operates according to the same principles as central air conditioning. A closed system circulates refrigerant which pulls heat from the surrounding air, then disperses the heat outside the home before blowing the cooled air into the home. With a heat pump, that cycle can be reversed in the wintertime, pulling heat in from the outside air and dispersing it inside the home to help warm it. That combines heating and cooling functions into a single unit, making it easier to operate and more flexible than a traditional air conditioning unit. It’s especially effective in climates like ours, where the temperature rarely drops below 40 degrees. The downside is that heat pumps usually cost more to install that traditional air conditioning units.
Another option is a ductless mini-split system, which sets up mulitple air handler units in your home instead of one big unit. Heat pumps can be a part of mini-split systems, which entail multiple self-contained units established in different parts of the home. Each unit can be tailored to deliver a specific temperature, allowing you to heat and cool different parts of the house to your taste (and even shut off the air conditioning to some parts while keeping other parts cool and comfortable). They’re simple to set up and don’t require ductwork like central air conditioners do: a fact which ranks among their biggest assets.
If you have questions about different types of air conditioning in Tampa, or you’d like to discuss installation and repair options, call the experts at Ierna’s Heating & Cooling. Contact us to set up an appointment today.