What Are Dual Fuel AC Systems?

Southern Arizona routinely registers the hottest temperatures in the continental U.S. during the summer. Life in Tucson requires an effective air conditioning system to cool down the inside of your home and defend it against the blistering heat outside. It’s important that you choose an AC with the right power level to make summer comfortable.

However, Southern Arizona has its winter season as well, with cool temperatures that require a home heater for comfort. One of the best ways to have the cooling you need for the summer and the right amount of heat for the occasional cold day is to install a dual fuel AC system. We’ll explain what these are and how you can benefit from them.

However you receive your air conditioning in Tucson, AZ, make sure to have Goettl Air Conditioning provide you with the installation, repairs, and maintenance to make it work its best.

Dual Fuel AC Systems, a.k.a. Hybrid Heat Pumps

Referring to a dual fuel system as “air conditioning” is a touch misleading. These systems are actually heat pumps, able to work as air conditioners and heaters. But since they operate in the same way as an air conditioner—moving heat from indoors and placing it outdoors—they don’t seem much different from a regular air conditioner when they run in the summer.

It’s the heating side that operates a bit differently. Heat pumps are capable of providing warmth by reversing the direction they move heat. In AC mode, heat goes from inside to outside; in heating mode, heat goes from outside to inside.

But where the cooling mode of a heat pump is efficient at maintaining comfortable indoor temperatures no matter how hot the outside weather grows, the heating mode can sometimes struggle with low temperatures, when the system has trouble extracting sufficient heat from the outside air. To compensate for this loss, hybrid heat pumps use a back-up heating system that runs on a separate fuel supply (usually natural gas). This back-up heater activates automatically when it detects that the heat pump cannot keep up with the lower temperatures.

With a hybrid heat pump, you’ll have both cooling and heating without needing to worry about a loss in efficiency. The heating mode on a heat pump is much more energy-efficient than a furnace or boiler, and you will only need to use the back-up system occasionally. Heat pumps are ideal year-round comfort solutions for Southern Arizona.

To find out if a dual fuel heat pump will work for your home, or if a standard heat pump is sufficient, contact Goettl Air Conditioning. Our experts in air conditioning in Tucson, AZ will arrange an appointment to find out how to keep your house cool all summer and comfortable any other time of the year. Give us a call today!