Heat Pumps for St. Catharines and Niagara Region


What is a heat pump?


Similar to what your refrigerator uses, a heat pump for the purpose of heating and cooling your home, is an electrical device that removes heat from one place and brings it to another. When it's cold outside, it will move heat still present in outdoor air, into your home. When it's warm, the heat pump will move heat from inside your home to the outside, similar to an air conditioner.


Here in Southern Ontario, a heat pump is mainly used in conjunction with your furnace and air conditioning. It often only runs in the spring and autumn seasons. For summer and winter, your furnace and air conditioner will take over.


Air-source heat pumps are the most common types found in Canadian homes with ductwork. For ductless homes, an alternative option is a ductless mini split heat pump, where a cartridge is mounted on the wall in each room you would like to control the temperature in. One outside system is installed that can support up to eight indoor cartridges.



Heat Pump Pros

  • A heat pump can decrease the use of your furnace and air conditioner and therefore reduce bills for homes using oil or electric furnaces.
  • A heat pump uses less electricity by moving heat instead of generating heat, this uses less electricity and is therefore more energy efficiency.


Heat Pump Cons

  • A heat pump mainly only operates in temperatures as low as -5 to -10 degrees Celsius, then your furnace needs to kick in to heat your home.
  • Savings using natural gas or propane far outweigh the cost of a using a heat pump in conjunction with an electric or oil furnace.
