Going solar with a heat pump option in Michigan
Going solar with a heat pump option is the next step for the homeowners with solar who want to maximize the use of their solar array and heat and cool their homes. Solar arrays, along with a new variable speed inverter heat pump with 2 stage electric resistance auxiliary heat and a new humidifier powers the heating and cooling at this Lansing-area house.
This homeowner client had a solar panel array with battery backup and wanted to power their furnace with the solar array. This heat pump plus electric auxiliary heat allows them to use their solar-generated electricity to heat and cool their home! This doesn’t use a standard gas hookup, but is powered by electricity the homeowner generates from their solar panel array. From the outside, it looks just like a regular A/C unit, and on the inside, a regular furnace. But it’s not!
This is an air to air source heat pump with back up resistance heat. The heat pump is basically an air conditioner with a reversing valve. In the summer, the outdoor unit is the condenser, and the indoor unit is the evaporator, and it reverses operation in the winter. On the coldest days, the back up resistance heat gives more output when it’s needed. It uses a lot of electricity, but with solar it will offset the cost and with enough hours banked it could actually produce more than you might use. There is no gas, it’s entirely electric. The indoor unit is an air handler with a coil and the back up heat.
These types of systems come with a 30% tax credit from the federal government’s Inflation Reduction Act, passed by the Biden/Harris administration. Tax incentives help defray the cost of a new installation of solar electricity, weatherproofing, heat pump systems such as this, to help combat climate change.
Going solar with a heat pump option in Michigan:
If you have solar panel array at your home and want a great option for heating your home in the winter and cooling it in the summer, contact us for a quote on this system. You could power your heating and cooling from the sun!
