This is a common, effective, and dependable central air system whereby two distinct pieces of equipment come together to serve your cooling and heating needs, as summarized below:
Heat Pump (heating and cooling) Yes, the industry nomenclature is confusing- the heat pump provides both heating and cooling. It is not that different from the 3-piece Air Conditioner with Furnace set-up, but it does differ. Instead of a furnace, it has an air handler (located inside the house) which itself has the indoor coil for cooling within it. It just does not burn gas, or oil, or propane like a furnace does. It creates heat by removing cold air from your home and it can be supplemented with electric heating strips.
The air handler is located inside the house and the heat pump (which looks just like an air conditioner compressor) is located outside the house. Because this system does not rely directly on fuel combustion like a furnace it is considered greener than the air conditioner with furnace system.
Air Handler Your air handler moves the cool or warm air out into the various parts of your home via ductwork. The air handler is located inside your home and is connected to the heat pump via refrigerant lines.