Definition
HVAC equipment that moves heat rather than generating it — provides efficient heating and cooling; cold-climate models suit Puget Sound winters.
How can one machine heat and cool?
A heat pump runs the same refrigeration cycle as your refrigerator, with a reversing valve that lets it work in both directions: in winter it extracts heat from outdoor air and moves it inside, in summer it pumps indoor heat out. Because it moves heat instead of making it, it can deliver two to three units of heat for every unit of electricity — far beyond what any furnace or baseboard can do.
Do heat pumps still work when it's cold out?
Modern cold-climate, inverter-driven models keep heating well below freezing — much colder than Puget Sound lows — by ramping compressor speed instead of switching on and off. Proper sizing (a Manual J load calculation) matters more than raw capacity: an oversized unit short-cycles, an undersized one leans on backup heat.
What does a heat pump cost to run in Seattle?
Less than resistance heat by a wide margin, and competitive with gas at our electricity rates — the exact answer depends on your utility, the home's envelope, and the system's HSPF2. Our cost-to-run guide (linked below as the Learn guide) walks the monthly math with real Puget Sound rates so you can sanity-check any promise a quote makes.
In the Puget Sound
The Puget Sound's mild, heating-dominated climate is close to ideal heat pump territory, and Washington utilities back conversions with rebates — one system replaces both the aging furnace and the AC you may never have had.
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Trade: Heating & Air