How does a heat compressor work?

How a Heat Pump Works

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An air-source heat pump uses advanced technology and the refrigeration cycle to heat and cool your home. This allows a heat pump to provide year-round indoor comfort – no matter what the season is.

Heat Pump in Air Conditioning Mode

When properly installed and functioning, a heat pump can help maintain cool, comfortable temperatures while reducing humidity levels inside your home.

1. Warm air from the inside of your house is pulled into ductwork by a motorized fan.
2. A compressor circulates refrigerant between the indoor evaporator and outdoor condensing units.
3. The warm air indoor air then travels to the air handler while refrigerant is pumped from the exterior condenser coil to the interior evaporator coil. The refrigerant absorbs the heat as it passes over the indoor air.
4. This cooled and dehumidified air is then pushed through connecting indoor ducts to air vents throughout the home, lowering the interior temperature.
5. The refrigeration cycle continues again, providing a consistent method to keep you cool.

Heat Pump in Heat Mode

Heat pumps have been used for many years in locations that typically experience milder winters. However, air-source heat pump technology has advanced, enabling these systems to be used in areas with extended periods of subfreezing temperatures.

1. A heat pump can switch from air condition mode to heat mode by reversing the refrigeration cycle, making the outside coil function as the evaporator and the indoor coil as the condenser.
2. The refrigerant flows through a closed system of refrigeration lines between the outdoor and the indoor unit.
3. Although outdoor temperatures are cold, enough heat energy is absorbed from the outside air by the condenser coil and release inside by the evaporator coil.
4. Air from the inside of your house is pulled into ductwork by a motorized fan.
5. The refrigerant is pumped from the interior coil to the exterior coil, where it absorbs the heat from the air.
6. This warmed air is then pushed through connecting ducts to air vents throughout the home, increasing the interior temperature.
7. The refrigeration cycle continues again, providing a consistent method to keep you warm.

Parts of a Heat Pump

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To get a better idea of how your air is heated or cooled, it helps to know a little bit about the parts that make up the heat pump system. A typical air-source heat pump system is a split or two-part system that uses electricity as its power source. The system contains an outdoor unit that looks similar to an air conditioner and an indoor air handler. The heat pump works in conjunction with the air handler to distribute the warm or cool air to interior spaces. In addition to the electrical components and a fan, a heat pump system includes:

Compressor: Moves the refrigerant through the system. Some heat pumps contain a scroll compressor. When compared to a piston compressor, scroll compressors are quieter, have a longer lifespan, and provide 10° to 15°F warmer air when in the heating mode.

Control board: Controls whether the heat pump system should be in cooling, heating or defrost mode.

Coils: The condenser and evaporating coil heat or cool the air depending on the directional flow of refrigerant.

Refrigerant: The substance in the refrigeration lines that circulates through the indoor and outdoor unit.

Reversing valves: Change the flow of refrigerant, which determines if your interior space is cooled or heated.

Thermostatic expansion valves: Regulate the flow of refrigerant just like a faucet valve regulates the flow of water.

The accumulator: A reservoir that adjusts the refrigerant charge depending on seasonal needs.

Refrigeration lines and pipes: Connect the inside and outside equipment.

Heat strips: An electric heat element is used for auxiliary heat. This added component is used to add additional heat on cold days or to recover from lower set back temperatures rapidly.

Ducts: Serve as air tunnels to the various spaces inside your home.

Thermostat or control system: Sets your desired temperature

A heat pump uses technology similar to that found in a refrigerator or an air conditioner. It extracts heat1 from a source, such as the surrounding air, geothermal energy stored in the ground, or nearby sources of water or waste heat from a factory. It then amplifies and transfers the heat to where it is needed. Because most of the heat is transferred rather than generated, heat pumps are far more efficient than conventional heating technologies such as boilers or electric heaters and can be cheaper to run. The output of energy in the form of heat is normally several times greater than that required to power the heat pump, normally in the form of electricity. For example, the coefficient of performance (COP) for a typical household heat pump is around four, i.e. the energy output is four times greater than the electrical energy used to run it. This makes current models 3‐5 times more energy efficient than gas boilers. Heat pumps can be combined with other heating systems, commonly gas, in hybrid configurations.

The heat pump itself consists of a compressor, which moves a refrigerant through a refrigeration cycle, and a heat exchanger, which extracts heat from the source. The heat is then passed on to a heat sink through another heat exchanger. In buildings, the heat is delivered using either forced air or hydronic systems such as radiators or under‐floor heating. Heat pumps can be connected to a tank to produce sanitary hot water or provide flexibility in hydronic systems. Many of the heat pumps can also provide space cooling in summer in addition to meeting space heating needs in winter. In industry, heat pumps are used to deliver hot air, water or steam, or to directly heat materials. Large‐scale heat pumps in commercial or industrial applications or in district heating networks require higher input temperatures than in residential applications, which can be sourced from the waste heat of industrial processes, data centres or wastewater.

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