Common heating systems like furnaces, boilers, and wood stoves create heat through combustion. Heat pumps, however, don’t generate heat; they move existing heat from one place to another, providing both heating and cooling to a home.

Heat pumps can cool things down in your home during warmer months by removing heat from the air inside and moving it outside. When it gets cold outside and you want your house warmed up, a heat pump will remove heat from the air outside and move it inside.

If you’ve heated with a furnace, you’re familiar with the intermittent blasts of hot air that cycle on and off again. A heat pump’s operation differs, providing a constant stream of air at low volume.

Today’s heat pumps are more efficient than ever. They’re also able to deliver reliable heat at much lower outside temperatures. This is due, primarily, to technological improvements in compressor design. The compressor is the “engine” of the heat pump. Single- and two-stage compressors operate at one and two speeds, respectively. Newer variable speed compressors use an inverter motor that allows for a full range of speeds. This provides added flexibility, enabling a heat pump to run at the speed that best suits current outdoor temperatures.

Check out our Electric Heat Pump Customer Buying and Operation Guide. A comprehensive resource, our guide contains everything you need to know about heat pumps, including a closer look at the mechanics of this energy-efficient technology.