The Advantages of a Heat Pump over a Traditional Heating System

Heat Pump perhaps the last thing that comes to mind when considering how to cool a heated building. However, you can think about utilising an air conditioner instead. However, it turns out that a heat pump can be used for both heating and cooling, and in some cases having separate heating and cooling systems is desirable.

What is Heat Pump

A heat pump is, to put it simply, a machine that transfers heat from one place to another using a relatively small amount of energy. Not too challenging, right? In order to heat a house or office building, heat pumps are often used to extract heat from the air or the earth, but they can also be used to cool a building. In a sense, you already know a lot about how a heat pump operates if you are familiar with how an air conditioner operates. This is due to how closely heat pumps and air conditioners function.

 

One of the biggest benefits of a heat pump over a conventional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system is the fact  and Heat Pump Cost that it does away with the requirement for separate heating and cooling systems in your home, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit. Because they merely transfer heat rather than producing it through the burning of fuel, heat pumps also function quite effectively. Compared to a gas furnace, they are therefore slightly more environmentally friendly.

 

They also do more than only heat and cool buildings. If your area doesn't experience excessive heat or cold, then installing a heat pump could help you save a little money each month. They operate best in moderate temperatures.

Continue reading to learn more about the operation of one of the most prevalent types of heat pumps.

Heat Transfer and Air-Source Heat Pumps

Heat transfer is the fundamental mechanism that powers all of the various types of Heat Pump Water Heater. This indicates that the appliance transfers heat from one location to another rather than burning fuel to produce heat. There is a secret to making all of this happens. The laws of thermodynamics dictate that heat naturally moves from hot places to cold ones.

A heat pump works by using a tiny amount of energy to reverse that process, drawing heat from a region with a relatively low temperature and pumping it to a region with a higher temperature. The result is that heat is moved from a "heat source," such as the earth or air, into a "heat sink," such as your home.

 

The air-source heat pump is one of the most prevalent types of heat pumps. These are similar to the coils on the back of your refrigerator in that they draw heat from the air outside your home and pump it inside through refrigerant. The air source variety is quite simple, and the components that make it function include two fans, the refrigerator coils, a reversing valve, and a compressor.

The reversing valve is essential for enabling the air-source heat pump to also cool. This adaptable component alters the refrigerant flow so that the system can run in the other direction. In other words, unlike an air conditioner, a heat pump doesn't pump heat into your home; instead, it releases it. Reversing the refrigerant causes it to flow to the outside while absorbing heat on the inside side of the device. The heat is discharged at this point, allowing the refrigerant to cool off once more and return inside to absorb additional heat. You keep doing this till you're nice and chilly.

Ground-Source and Absorption Heat Pumps

You already know that an outside fan is used by air-source heat pumps to circulate air over coils that are packed with refrigerant. This heat is carried indoors by two sets of these coils, where it is dispersed throughout your home as cold bliss after being blasted away from the coils by a second fan. In certain air-source heat pump systems, both sets of coils are contained in a single packaged unit. The ductwork is then extended through the wall and the box is mounted on the roof of the building. This method is used to install many larger systems in commercial buildings.

Split systems with an exterior and an indoor component inserted via the wall are the norm for home heat pumps. Depending on the kind of system, there may be a single indoor component or several.

 

Geothermal Heat Pumps, commonly referred to as ground-source heat pumps, are a little different. They either transfer heat from the outside to indoors or from one underground body of water to another. The most popular kind of ground-source heat pump absorbs heat from the earth and distributes it through underground pipes that are either filled with water or a refrigerant.

These closed-loop or open-loop systems for liquid pumping basically do exactly what they sound like they do. The same water or refrigerant passes through the pipes repeatedly in a closed-loop system. A well or artificial lake are examples of subsurface water sources that are pumped dry in open-loop systems. The water then returns to the well or surface lake once the heat has been removed from it. Then, more water is drawn from the well to continue the open loop process and remove more heat.

If that isn't mind-blowing enough, think about the absorption heat pump, which is an air-source pump that uses geothermal heat instead of electricity and is driven by natural gas, solar energy, propane, or solar energy. Although they can be employed on a big scale, absorption pumps are now accessible to homeowners. An absorption pump absorbs ammonia into water, which is subsequently pressurised by a low-power pump, as opposed to a conventional air-source heat pump, which compresses a refrigerant. The process then restarts once the heat source boils the ammonia out of the water.

 

When you go to check it out, having knowledge of how an absorption heat pump is rated is beneficial. It sounds terribly complicated, but Heat Pump Manufacturers assess them using a coefficient of performance (COP) assessment. All you need to do is find a COP that is above 1.2 for heating and above 0.7 for cooling. Don't worry; ratings for ordinary heat pumps will be discussed later.

Although absorption, ground-source, and air-source heat pumps are the most common, they are not appropriate for all applications. Learn more about different heat pumps by reading on.