At MillTown Plumbing, Heating, AC, Drain Cleaning, and Electric, we recently completed a heat pump installation project for a customer in Andover, MA. The customer was experiencing excessive heat in their home during the summer and needed a reliable and efficient solution to keep their home cool and comfortable. After analyzing their needs, we recommended a heat pump installation as the ideal solution. A heat pump system is an energy-efficient and versatile solution that can provide both heating and cooling to the home. With the installation of the heat pump system, the customer can now enjoy optimal indoor comfort all year round while saving energy and reducing their energy bills. In this blog, we’ll go over the multiple benefits that a heat pump can provide for your home, as well as the process we took to install a heat pump for our customer.

What is a Heat Pump System?

A heat pump system is an HVAC system that provides both heating and cooling capabilities using electricity. During the winter months, a heat pump system extracts heat from the air outside your home and transfers it indoors to heat your home. In the summer months, it reverses the process and extracts heat from inside your home to cool it down.

Benefits of a Heat Pump System to Cool and Heat Your Home

Heat pump systems offer many benefits for homeowners in Andover, MA including:

• Energy Efficiency:
• Environmentally Friendly: Heat pumps use electricity to transfer heat, making them highly efficient compared to traditional heating systems that burn fossil fuels.
• Versatility: Heat pumps can both heat and cool your home, eliminating the need for separate systems.
• Cost Savings: By using electricity to transfer heat, heat pumps can save you money on your energy bills.
• Comfort: Heat pumps provide consistent heating and cooling throughout your home, eliminating hot and cold spots.

Why Choose a Heat Pump System Over a Gas Furnace?

Heat pump systems have several advantages over gas furnaces. Heat pumps are more energy-efficient, versatile, and have lower carbon emissions. They also don’t require a gas line, which makes them a safer option for homeowners.

Heat Pump Installation Process in Andover, MA

Our client needed a reliable, cost-efficient, sustainable system to heat and cool their home in Andover, MA. The heat pump installation process involved several steps: 

Step 1: Install the Outdoor Compressor Unit

The first step was to install the outdoor compressor unit. This unit has the job of moving the refrigerant through the entire system to cool or heat the home.

Step 2: Create a Game Plan for the Duct Work

The next step was to size the ducts and create a game plan for the ductwork in the attic. Sizing the ducts correctly is very important. When installing a heat pump system, it’s critical to make sure that the appropriate temperature can reach every room in the home. Appropriately sized ducts prevent energy loss, delivering as much hot air to each room as possible.

Step 3: Install Supply Registers and Ceiling Fixtures

Given the occasional unpredictability of Andover, MA’s weather, we devised an optimal game plan for the heat pump ductwork installation that would cater to all seasons. After creating that game plan, we started by cutting appropriately sized holes throughout the ceiling to fit the HVAC ductwork supply registers, return registers, and ceiling fixtures into place.

Step 4: Connect Ducts

We then connected the different size ducts together and got them into place in the attic. We started with the larger 12-inch ducts that move air away from the air handler. Next, the 10-inch, 6-inch, and 5-inch ducts delivered air to the supply registers. The farther away the room and associated supply register are from the air handler, the smaller the duct. For rooms close to the air handler, 10-inch ducts are used. For rooms farther away, 6-inch or 5-inch ducts are used. This way, the air pressure within the ducts is retained which minimizes energy loss and maximizes efficiency, delivering comfortable air to each room. 

Step 5: Connect Flex Ducts to Get Air into the Rooms

After we connected the main air ducts in the attic, we attached smaller ducts (flex ducts) directed towards each supply register that supplies air into each room. This Andover, MA client ended up with 14 supply registers.

Step 6: Transport Bosch Air Handler to the Attic

With the ductwork complete, we could transport the new Bosch air handler to the attic. The air handler is important to a heat pump installation because this is what brings the air into the rooms. It’s a very powerful unit that blows air through the ducts (this one at 2,000 cubic feet per minute, CFM) to reach every room in the house.

Step 7: Get the Air Handler into Place

We encountered a few problems getting the air handler into place in the attic. The framing that holds up the roof in the house was preventing us from getting it into place. So, the Milltown team had to temporarily cut the framing, put the air handler into place, and then reinforce the roof with cut 2x4s.

Step 8: Connect Refrigerant Lines and Duct Work

The final step was to connect the refrigerant lines, supply ducts, and return ducts to the air handler. With all of these components connected, the client will be able to enjoy warm winters and cool summers in their Andover, Massachusetts home.

Andover, MA Heat Pump Installation Contractor

Here at MillTown, we provide cost-effective, permanent solutions to keep your home in tip-top shape. We commit to your satisfaction and offer high-quality, same-day service. Our technicians are clean, courteous, and respectful of your home. It is why Massachusetts and New Hampshire homeowners have trusted us for over 35 years. Contact MillTown today if you are a local Andover homeowner interested in heat pump installation, repair, replacement, or cleaning!

By sam@admachines.com