What is a HVAC?
HVAC stands for Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning. This type of central system is equipped to perform the heating and/or cooling of any building. The HVAC unit may also be helpful for providing fresh indoor air and to dilute interior airborne contaminants. Properly installed and maintained units will provide a comfortable indoor environment year round

Living in Northeast Florida most likely your home is equipped with a heat pump. A heat pump acts as an air conditioner in the summer and it reverses the air in the winter. In other words, during the summer the heat pump extracts heat from your indoor air making it cool by transferring the air through the refrigerant and rejecting the hot air to the outside. You will note that hot air blows out of your outside condenser unit. In the winter this process is reversed and instead of venting the hot air to the outside it pushes the air back into your home. Your outside unit works year round and since it provides the hot air a heat pump does not have a furnace. The air is circulated via an air handler and ductwork throughout your home.

Both, air conditioners and heat pumps perform in virtually the same manner. The main difference is that a heat pump can be used all year long for both, cooling and heating. This reduces the number of systems that require maintenance and reduces the cost of heating versus just using heat strips.