Three air-source heat pump cycles handle virtually all the comfort needs of your home year-round – and all in a single unit. While an air conditioner and furnace involve separate systems of cooling and combustion, heat pump technology simply moves heat energy from one place to another. The energy source and destination change with the season.
Because only the electricity required to run a refrigerant compressor and a blower fan is required, heat pumps generally transfer three or four units of heat for every one unit of energy consumed. Here are the air-source heat pump cycles and how they work together to make it all happen:
Cooling: In summer, the heat pump extracts heat from the interior of the home as warm air is drawn over the indoor coil located inside the air handler. Frigid refrigerant vapor circulating through the coil absorbs the heat energy and conveys it outdoors to a compressor that concentrates the heat molecules, then to the outside coil where the refrigerant rapidly condenses and disperses the heat into the outdoor air. The refrigerant is channeled back to the indoor coil to extract more heat.
Heating: During winter, a reversing valve in the heat pump changes the direction of refrigerant flow in the system and the indoor and outdoor coils exchange functions. Latent heat energy in outdoor air is absorbed by refrigerant in the outside coil, concentrated by the compressor cycle, then flows to the indoor coil where heat released by the refrigerant is dispersed into the ductwork to warm the home.
Defrosting: When outdoor temperatures dip to freezing, moisture in the air may form layers of frost on the outdoor coil, interfering with efficient heat extraction. The defrost cycle temporarily reverses refrigerant flow so indoor heat is absorbed and hot refrigerant flows back to the outdoor coil and melts the frost accumulation, preventing heat pump freeze-up. Defrosting operates at regular timed intervals or on demand, when sensors detect conditions that promote frost.
In Lorain, Erie and Cuyahoga counties, for more information about air-source heat pump cycles and how they keep you comfortable year-round, please contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air-source heat pumps and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area