What is a heat pump and how does it work?
First, let’s explain how a heat pump works — we will use a window air conditioner as an example. If you stand in front of a window unit, it is blowing cold air. Where did the cold air come from? Most people think it takes outside air in, cools it down, and blows it into the room. This is WRONG! No air transfers from outside to inside. The window unit takes the air from the room and through transfers of heat using refrigerant, it pumps the heat to the outside and returns the cool air back to the room, minus the heat. Heat pumps are one of the most efficient ways to heat a home. They are much more efficient than the standard furnaces in most homes. However, do keep in mind that when the outdoor temperature drops to around freezing, you will need “backup” heat. With a total electric heat pump, electric heat strips give you that backup heat. The other option would be what the industry refers to as “dual fuel”. With dual fuel there are no strip heaters, your gas furnace automatically comes
A heat pump combines cooling and heating in one unit. When cooling, the heat pumps operates like an air conditioner, removing the heat from indoors and transferring it outdoors. In the winter the heat pump takes heat from the outdoor air and transfers it inside your home. Even at freezing temperatures, there is heat in the outdoor air that can be used to warm a home with a heat pump. To raise the heat pumps output on very cold days, electric resistance heaters are installed in the indoor section of the unit.
An NZ heat pump is a reverse cycle air conditioner, which means it both heats and cools. It operates in a similar way to a refrigerator, with coils circulating a refrigerant which draws the cool air from outside your home and pumps it inside for heating (and vice versa for cooling). There are no elements and nothing is actually heated, which makes for a very efficient process. In the cooling mode, a heat pump will also dehumidify the air in your home. Most air conditioning heat pumps in New Zealand consist of a unit mounted outside, and a variety of options for the interior unit, including in-wall, floor mounted, ceiling mounted and ducted options. Advantages of heat pumps in New Zealand • Convenience: heat pumps are very easy to use, and provide a controlled heating experience that can be customised by the use of the thermostat to turn off and on at programmed times of the day. ‘Set and forget’ technology means not having to worry about whether you house will be warm when you wake up
A heat pump is an electrical device that extracts heat from one place and transfers it to another. The heat pump is not a new technology; it has been used in Canada and around the world for decades. Refrigerators and air conditioners are types of heat pumps. Figure 1: Basic Heat Pump Cycle Heat pumps transfer heat by circulating a substance called a refrigerant through a cycle of alternating evaporation and condensation. A compressor pumps the refrigerant between two heat exchanger coils. In one coil, the refrigerant is evaporated at low pressure and absorbs heat from its surroundings. The refrigerant is then compressed en route to the other coil, where it condenses at high pressure. At this point, it releases the heat it absorbed earlier in the cycle. The heat pump cycle is fully reversible, and heat pumps can provide year-round climate control for your home – heating in winter and cooling and dehumidifying in summer. Since the ground and air outside always contain some heat, a heat p
