It wasn’t until I moved south that I learned about heat pumps. Living in the north, where the winter weather lasted for more than half of the year and brought temperatures in the negatives, we only cared about heating. We need an especially powerful heating system and never bothered with air conditioning. In my new location, the winter temperature rarely drops below 40 degrees and the winter weather doesn’t last more than a couple months. Cooling is the priority. The summer conditions often soar into the nineties or even triple digits, and the humidity is a problem. My house is outfitted with an electric heat pump. The one unit provides both heating and cooling capacity. It moves heat between the indoors and outdoors by way of refrigerant. In cooling mode, the operation is the same as a conventional air conditioner. Heat is pulled out of the living space and transferred outdoors, creating a cooling effect. When the weather cools off, the heat pump reverses the flow of refrigerant. It pulls ambient heat from the outdoor air and pumps it indoors. The process doesn’t involve burning fossil fuels. Eliminating the combustion process avoids greenhouse gasses, fumes and carbon monoxide. Heat pumps are very energy efficient and environmentally friendly. The operation is safe and clean. It provides year round comfort, helps with humidity control and filters out air contaminants. I’ve learned that heat pumps are rather expensive to purchase and install. I am fortunate to have a top-of-the-line model that offers especially high efficiency ratings. I make sure to schedule maintenance with a local HVAC contractor twice per year, hoping to maximize service life.