Like your refrigerator, heat pumps are electrically powered appliances that place refrigerant through alternating low and high pressure changes to move heat energy. Using this technique to naturally move heat to condition homes is very efficient. Read on to learn how a heat pump works and to see if it fits your home comfort needs.
Heat Pump Basics
Heat pumps are essentially A/C systems with a few extra components to enable heating in addition to home cooling. For home cooling, heat in return airflow is absorbed by very cold refrigerant. The cooled airflow is blown through supply ducts to various rooms of your home.
The refrigerant is pumped to a compressor located outside your home. The compressor preps the refrigerant to release the captured heat to the air, ground, or water source. Once heat is released, the refrigerant flows back to the indoor evaporator. The process is repeated until the thermostat temperature is reached.
For the “heat” cycle, a reversing valve changes the direction of refrigerant flow. Then refrigerant absorbs heat from outside your home and releases the heat inside at the evaporator.
Air-Source Heat Pumps
Often called central air systems, air-source heat pumps are the most common type. In a split system, the indoor air handler contains the evaporator and blower. A large metal cabinet located outside next to your home contains the compressor and condenser. Indoor and outdoor air are used as the heat-exchange medium.
Geothermal Heat Pumps
Geothermal heat pumps are among the most efficient heating and cooling systems available. They use the latent heat of the earth as the outdoor heat-exchange medium. Since the temperature a few feet beneath the earth’s surface is very stable — whether ground or water— geothermal systems don’t lose efficiency during the cold Dayton heating months.
Geothermal systems are more expensive to install than air-source. However, geothermal heat pumps last more than twice as long and deliver an excellent return on investment.
If you’re considering installing a heat pump system, contact the experts at Ace Hardware Home Services today. We will help you determine the best HVAC configuration for your Dayton area home.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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