Choosing Heat Pumps: A Review of the Top 5 Heat Pumps on the Market

Traditional furnaces utilize fuel combustion to warm homes, but heat pumps operate via refrigeration principles, allowing them to both heat and cool. When set in cooling mode, they work remarkably similar to air conditioners and expel warm air from homes, thus cooling them down. When in heating mode, however, the process is reversed as warmth is extracted from the air to warm up interior rooms.

With such versatility, heat pumps are becoming an increasingly popular heating and cooling option for today’s smart Anoka area homeowners. If you’re ready to become a smart homeowner as well and find yourself wondering which heat pump is best for you and your home, you’ve come to the right place.

As a professional HVAC company with years of experience installing and repairing all manner of heat pumps, we know better than most which heat pumps work as advertised and which ones simply fall short. With that being said, here’s the rundown on five of the absolute best heat pumps on the market today.

1. Maytag PSH4BI iQ Drive Heat Pump

The Maytag PSH4BI iQ Drive Heat Pump utilizes inverter-rotary technology, which is specifically designed to offset a home’s heating and cooling demands. The intelligently designed unit constantly makes small adjustments and modulates between 40-120% capacity. The Maytag iQ Drive also operates at an extremely low 59 decibels, making it one of the quietest heat pumps around.

In addition to its quiet, auto-adjusting operation, this highly versatile and efficient heat pump also has a corrosion-resistant stainless steel jacket, state-of-the-art programmable controller, and class-leading SEER and HSPF ratings.

• SEER – 22

• HSPF – 10

• Warranty – 12-year parts and compressor warranty

2. Bryant Evolution Extreme 280A Heat Pump

This cutting-edge Bryant heat pump is a modulating unit guaranteed to lower your energy costs, especially during the winter months. While the Bryant Evolution Extreme 280A Heat Pump enjoys an industry-leading HSPF rating of 13, making it work like a champ in the winter months, it provides excellent climate control for every season.

Combining the revolutionary Evolution Extreme heat pump with a sophisticated, state-of-the-art Connex control, the folks at Bryant pulled out all of the stops with this top-rated model. Fully programmable with precise humidity and temperature controls, the Evolution Extreme 280A is designed to take power, comfort, and ease of use to another level.

Want to know when a filter change or other routine maintenance is needed? Simply, take a look at the intuitive system display as it will provide you with status updates and let you know what maintenance needs to be done. You can even connect to the heat pump remotely via the Internet to monitor and control the system. Powerful and high-tech yet intuitive and easy to use, the Evolution Extreme Heat Pump System truly sets the bar, making it a favorite of ours and our customers.

• SEER – 20.5

• HSPF – 13

• Warranty – 10-year parts warranty

3. Carrier Infinity 19 Heat Pump

Like the rest of the heat pump manufacturers on our list, Carrier has a long history of providing excellent heating and cooling products. However, as far as the brand’s heat pumps are concerned, the Carrier Infinity 19 may be the best.

The Infinity 19 is a two-stage model featuring the use of Puron, rather than R22, making it incredibly environmentally friendly as it does not harm the ozone layer. Beyond its “green” attributes, the Carrier Infinity 19 also has a reasonably quiet operation and a more than acceptable SERR rating of 19.

In addition to humidity controls and an optional air filtration upgrade, this impressive eco-friendly heat pump can also be outfitted with a programmable thermostat and provide remote access, allowing you to control the temperature in your Anoka, MN home from anywhere in the world with Internet access.

• SEER – 19

• HSPF – 9

• Warranty – 10-year compressor warranty; 5-year parts warranty

4. Lennox Signature Collection XP19

Lennox has been making quality heat pumps for years. However, the popular brand has recently made a number of design improvements to its heat pumps, resulting in one of the quietest and most efficient models available.

Thanks to its proprietary technology and redesigned fan grille, the Lennox Signature Collection XP19 only has a noise level of 69 decibels.

With SEER and HSPF ratings of 18.6 and 9.3 respectively, the XP19 also surpasses Energy Star requirements.

Combined with a dual-stage compressor that’s made to run on low speed over 75 percent of the time, the Lennox XP19 is one of the most energy efficient heat pumps on the market today.

In addition to a dual-stage compressor, this eco and budget-friendly Lennox is also capable of working with a gas furnace, providing you with the ability to stay extra warm and efficient on chilly winter nights when heat pumps require more energy to run efficiently.

• SEER – 18.6

• HSPF – 9.3

• Warranty – Limited lifetime heat exchanger warranty; 10-year parts and compressor warranty

5. Trane XL16i

Rounding out our list of favorite heat pumps, the Trane XL16i runs on eco-friendly R410A refrigerant yet still manages to produce remarkably high SEER and HSPF ratings, making it a popular option for many of our customers. The beauty of this Trane’s energy efficient design lies in its two-stage cooling function, which allows it to cool and heat much more efficiently in milder temperatures.

The Trane XL16i also has a cooling capacity of up to five tons, making it capable of heating and cooling the largest of homes. Despite its high output, however, the XL16i is rather quiet to operate and only measures in at 74 decibels.

In addition to this heat pump appealing to a wide range of homeowners, an air filtration upgrade is available to remove pollen and other irritants from the air, thus making it a great choice for allergy sufferers.

• SEER – 17

• HSPF – 9.85

• Warranty – 12-year compressor warranty; 10-year parts warranty

For help choosing and installing the best heat pump for your Anoka, MN home, call Superior Heating, Air Conditioning & Electrical Inc. at (763) 422-1721 today!