February 1, 2025


Heat pump services in St. Louis, MO

An air-to-water heat pump is an efficient heating and cooling option that is available for homeowners in the St. Louis, MO area. In the winter months, there is the potential to save money on your monthly heating bills while also maintaining optimal indoor comfort and indoor air quality.

What Is an Air-to-Water Heat Pump?

An air-to-water heat pump is a central heating system that uses heat from the outside to heat the inside of your home. You may be wondering how this is possible since it tends to be cold outside during the Missouri winter. Many heat pumps work efficiently at freezing temperatures. Using heat transfer technology, an air-to-water heat pump transfers heat from the outside air through a series of radiators and ducts. Some homes decide to use multiple methods of distributing heat to achieve consistent indoor comfort.

In the summer months, you can use an air-to-water heat pump to cool your home as well. Cooled water moves through the system’s pipes using the process of refrigeration. You may need to make some adjustments to your setup based on your home’s design, such as insulating your pipework or monitoring for excess condensation. In addition, since radiators and radiant flooring don’t cool very well, you’ll likely need a fan convector to circulate the cool air around the pipes.

The Benefits of Air-to-Water Heat Pumps

Several benefits are associated with using an air-to-water heat pump.

Equipment Efficiency

This equipment is designed to work efficiently to reduce your energy consumption and lower your monthly bills. They use a lot less energy than your traditional furnace or air conditioning unit. If you compare an air-to-water heat pump to a boiler system, it’s approximately five times more efficient.

Year-Round Heating and Cooling

Regardless of what the temperature is outside, you can use this equipment to heat or cool your home. You don’t waste money by installing equipment that you can only use for part of the year. There isn’t a set limit to how much heat you can source from the outside and transfer inside in the winter or absorb inside the home and transfer to the outside in the summer. Some models allow you to run your air-to-water heat pump regardless of the temperature outside or the weather conditions present.

Convenient Installation for New Construction

If you are performing remodeling work in your home or have a construction project going on, this is the perfect time to consider the installation of an air-to-water heat pump. The process will cause minimal disruption and less expense if you have not yet completed the walls and flooring.

Considering the Sustainability of Air-to-Water Heat Pumps

While efficient and environmentally friendly, an air-to-water heat pump is also beneficial thanks to its ability to use approximately 70% to 80% renewable energy, and they don’t produce any carbon emissions. Very small amounts of electricity are consumed during their operation, which is used to run the compressor. As a comparison, a gas boiler produces a great deal of CO2, which is emitted into the air surrounding your home. They only have an efficiency rating of between 80% and 90%, while air-to-water heat pumps are 350% to 400% efficient because they don’t heat any elements; they absorb heat.

Affordability and Simplicity of Maintenance

Any heating equipment should be inspected and maintained prior to the start of winter. You should schedule this for your air-to-water heat pump as well. However, this equipment tends to experience far fewer issues and requires less maintenance than a furnace, boiler, or other form of heating. There may be a filter that needs to be changed periodically to protect your equipment, and indoor and outdoor coils should be cleaned at least once or twice per year to prevent future problems.

Some homeowners choose to skip routine maintenance to save money. Unfortunately, it’s likely that you’ll end up spending more money on emergency repairs over the lifespan of your equipment if you’re not keeping up with maintenance. Allowing our team to inspect your equipment periodically catches issues that you otherwise wouldn’t notice. We can make quick repairs to address the situation and help you retain the overall efficiency and effectiveness of your system.

As a homeowner, you can monitor your equipment to ensure that it’s free of debris or signs of damage. You will want to maintain approximately 18 inches of clearance around all sides of your unit. It’s also a good idea to create some type of shelter over the top of the heat pump to protect it from snow.

Consider Other Efficiency Upgrades

To go along with your air-to-water heat pump, you may want to consider upgrading your thermostat to a smart device. Smart thermostats provide several benefits that can boost the overall efficiency of your heating and cooling equipment. For example, you can remotely monitor the interior conditions of your home. This allows you to make adjustments using your phone that will prevent your equipment from running more frequently than is necessary. This will reduce runtime and save you money on your monthly utility bills.

Some smart thermostats come with geofencing technology. Your heat pump will reduce its runtime based on whether you’re at home or you’ve left for the day. You won’t have to make any manual adjustments. Adaptive learning will allow adjustments to be made to the schedule you’re running your air-to-water heat pump on to boost efficiency and save you money. This technology learns your heating patterns and makes adjustments accordingly.

Other Uses of Air-to-Water Heat Pumps

In addition to heating your home in the winter and cooling your residence in the summer, air-to-water heat pumps can also be used to produce hot water. Your hot water heater system can utilize this technology for all the hot water that comes from your various fixtures and faucets. In the winter months, hot water is essential for warm baths, showering, cooking, cleaning, and more.

Air-to-water heat pumps are also popular for commercial purposes. They can provide heat and hot water for different businesses and facilities. This is a very efficient option when you take into consideration the large size of a commercial building.

Some homeowners use an air-to-water heat pump to power radiant flooring. If you have this type of flooring throughout your home, you can use this technology to prevent ice-cold floors when the temperature outside drops.

If you’re interested in learning more about air-to-water heat pumps in the St. Louis area, Scott-Lee Heating Company is available. We also offer standard heating and cooling equipment options, including installation, repair, and maintenance of furnaces and air conditioning units. We can help you address your indoor air quality with the use of air scrubbers, whole-house air purification, and more. We also offer commercial services, new construction projects, geothermal, and metalwork.

Reach out to Scott-Lee Heating Company today to speak with someone from our team about any of our services or to schedule an appointment.