How do Heat Pumps Work?
A heat pump is an essential part of heating and cooling a home, although not every home has a heat pump. If you have one or are considering getting one and want to know exactly how a heat pump works, you have come to the right place. A heat pump essentially takes heat from the ground and air outside of your home and pumps it into the home during the winter in order to heat the interior of your house. During the summer, it does the opposite in order to cool the house. There are multiple advantages of using a heat pump instead of separate heating and cooling systems. The first- and most obvious- is the fact that you don’t have to pay for two separate systems.
All of the many different types of heat pumps work through heat transfer. Instead of burning fuel to create heat, they simply transfer heat from one area to another. Naturally, the heat in an area of highly concentrated heat will move to an area without a large presence of heat to try and even things out. Think of this as filling a bathtub- the water will always move to fill up the spaces that aren’t already covered by water. A heat pump reverses this process by using a small amount of energy to transfer heat in a low temperature area through the walls of your home and into a higher temperature area so that you are always comfortable.
Air-source heat pumps feature refrigeration coils that cool the heat when it is being drawn in through a fan, and then another fan blows that cooled down air through your home, lowering the overall temperature instead of raising it. Ground-source heat pumps transfer the temperature of the ground or an underground body of water into your home. Absorption heat pumps work on a larger scale and work by absorbing ammonia into water and then boiling that ammonia out, which therefore creates a source of heat to then flow comfortable through your home.
As previously mentioned, there are a variety of advantages associated with a heat pump. Aside from allowing you to control the heating and cooling of your home through one source, heat pumps also save you on the cost of your utilities. Since heat pumps don’t require nearly as much energy as an air conditioner or heater, they vastly reduce the price of your electric bill every month, which means they also are better for the environment. With that being said, heat pumps are not always as effective as air conditioners or heaters, especially when you live in a place with consistently low outdoor temperatures.
All in all, though, heat pumps are a great source of alternative energy that you should definitely consider if you live in a milder climate and are looking to save money on your electric bill while simultaneously helping out the environment. While they do have their drawbacks, now that you know a bit more about heat pumps work, you can make a more informed decision on whether or not you should buy one.
Peter Wendt is a blogger living with his family in Texas. Wendt is very interested in home improvement, DIY home projects and being his own handyman. However, when the heat pump malfunctioned in his home, Wendt knew to turn to these heat pump repair technicians for help.