By now, most homeowners in Commerce City, CO have at least heard of heat pumps. However, many know little about them besides their reputation for high energy efficiency. That’s unfortunate, though, because the inner workings of a heat pump are fascinating. They use some clever applications of basic scientific principles to heat and cool homes efficiently. Here’s everything you need to know about them.
Heat Pump Basics
The first thing you should know about heat pumps is that they’re ubiquitous. You likely have one in your home already, even if you don’t realize it. That’s because a heat pump is a device that uses a closed refrigerant loop to move heat from one place to another. The refrigerator in your kitchen is a type of heat pump. So is your home’s air conditioner.
However, it’s important to note that the term heat pump has a specific meaning in the HVAC world. It refers to an HVAC system that uses the refrigeration cycle to provide heating and cooling capacity. That’s why you don’t see ordinary air conditioners marketed as heat pumps. They can only cool your home. A heat pump can operate in reverse, too, moving heat into your home instead of removing it.
How Do Heat Pumps Work?
The mechanics of a heat pump are easy to understand if you know a bit about the science behind them. One of the most important concepts is that heat energy spontaneously moves from hotter to colder matter. The other is the relationship between the pressure and temperature of a gas. In a closed system, gas pressure and temperature are proportional as long as the volume doesn’t change. Translated into plain English, that means you can make a gas hotter by compressing it. You can also make it colder by reducing its pressure.
Heat pumps use those two principles to move heat from one place to another using a refrigerant. When you want cooling, a heat pump functions like any ordinary AC. The process starts with a compressor increasing the pressure of a gaseous refrigerant. That raises the refrigerant’s temperature to between 120 and 170 degrees Fahrenheit. The hot refrigerant then flows to a heat exchanger in the system’s outdoor unit. There, a large fan pushes outdoor air across the heat exchanger. Since the refrigerant is hotter than the outside air, it surrenders its heat and condenses into a warm liquid. Then, it passes through an expansion valve, lowering its pressure. That also reduces its temperature to between 40 and 50 degrees.
The cold refrigerant then moves into the heat pump’s indoor unit and through another heat exchanger. It absorbs heat inside your home as a blower fan pushes warm air through the system. As a result, the air gets cold, and the refrigerant eventually boils, returning to a gaseous state. Then, it’s ready to start the process again.
How Does a Heat Pump Generate Heat?
When you need heat, a heat pump engages a component called a reversing valve. That allows the system to reroute its refrigerant flow to operate in reverse. That’s the point where things get a little more confusing. Heat pumps don’t generate heat like a conventional heating system might. There are no burners or combustion. Instead, they gather whatever heat they need from the outside air. Remember that heat energy spontaneously flows from warmer matter to colder matter. So, as long as the system’s low-pressure refrigerant can get more frigid than the outside air, it will absorb heat.
Heat pumps achieve the necessary temperature differential in one of two ways. They either use less refrigerant by storing some in an accumulator tank or alter the system operating pressure. As a result, a standard heat pump can extract heat efficiently from the outside air down to about 20 degrees. If it gets colder than that, the heat pump will engage electrical resistance heat strips to supplement heat production. However, modern cold weather heat pumps remain efficient at temperatures as low as -15 degrees! They still have backup heat strips but use them far less often, if at all.
Trusted Heat Pump Specialists
Since 2002, Smith & Willis Heating & Air Conditioning has been a local heat pump leader in Commerce City. We sell, install, repair, and maintain heat pumps from today’s top manufacturers. We also offer comprehensive, cooling, heating, indoor air quality, and thermostat services. Our highly trained and experienced HVAC technicians work hard to make your experience hassle-free. And we always go the extra mile to ensure your complete satisfaction with our work. That’s why we’re BBB accredited and maintain an A+ rating. So, if you’re interested in heat pumps in Commerce City, call Smith & Willis Heating & Air Conditioning today!
