I recently relocated from the far north to the south.
My new house is a sixteen hour drive from my old one.
I used to spend hours shoveling snow and scraping ice. My heating bills accounted for nearly 50% of energy consumption. The furnace was one of the most important appliances in the house. I owned a four-wheel-drive truck, wool coat, snow boots, snow shovel and ice scraper. I was absolutely delighted to buy a compact, two-wheel drive car and throw all my winter gear away. I invested into a wardrobe of shorts, tank tops, sandals and sunglasses. My new house is equipped with an electric heat pump. Until the move, I was unfamiliar with this type of temperature control. The heat pump combines heating and cooling into a single piece of equipment. Although it provides heat, it doesn’t burn fossil fuels to generate it. There’s no combustion process, eliminating concerns with carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde and fumes. Because it doesn’t produce greenhouse gasses, the heat pump is especially environmentally friendly. It takes advantage of the fact that there’s heat available in the outdoor air even when it’s cold. The heat pump pulls the heat out of the air and transfers it indoors. The process is safe, clean and quiet. During the summer, the heat pump reverses the flow of refrigerant and acts just like an air conditioner. I have been amazed by the level of comfort it provides. The heat pump doesn’t dry out the air or force the use of a humidifier in the winter. Because it’s so good at combating excess humidity in the summer, I don’t need a dehumidifier.