Heater Pumps

A heat pump is an air conditioner that contains a valve that lets it switch between "air conditioner" and "heater." When the valve is switched one way, the heat pump acts like an air conditioner, and when it is switched the other way it reverses the flow of the liquid inside the heat pump and acts like a heater. There are four basic processes in the refrigeration cycle. All are important; the expansion valve is where the magic happens.

Whether you're using it for a refrigerator, air conditioner, or heat pump, achieving a low temperature is the key, and that's what the expansion valve does for you. The refrigerant is pushed through the expansion valve, and the temperature of the refrigerant drops -- a lot. So, that cold outdoor air is actually the warmer object then, when it comes in contact with the outdoor coil of your heat pump Las Vegas. And, as we know, heat likes to move from warmer objects to cooler objects. Once we get that heat from the air into the refrigerant, it's just a matter of bringing it into the house and then transferring it into your home's air.

Heat pumps are often described as “fridges working in reverse”. Energy in fridges is extracted from the enclosed interior of the fridge, keeping your food cool and using a tiny amount of electrical energy to power a small compressor. This extracted heat is “processed” and ultimately expelled at the back of the fridge via an element.

A heat pump uses an identical principle and strips energy from the atmosphere using the process of gas evaporation. Once compressed by the compressor cycle it is during its condensation phase that high temperature energy is exchanged into your under floor, radiator or hot water system. The diagram below shows the basic cycle.

Ground source heat pumps (sometimes called geothermal heat pumps) use two practical methods for harvesting energy. Air source heat pumps use an external fan unit to draw air across the evaporator unit, it exits at the back of the unit cooler than it entered. Water source heat pumps are so called as they are used in lakes, ponds and streams to harvest energy. “Open loop” and “closed loop” systems are used. Open loop systems can be likened to a hoover sucking up water and using this direct energy to transfer to the evaporator via a plate heat exchanger.

Heat pumps are often described as “fridges working in reverse”. Energy in fridges is extracted from the enclosed interior of the fridge, keeping your food cool and using a tiny amount of electrical energy to power a small compressor. This extracted heat is “processed” and ultimately expelled at the back of the fridge via an element.

A heat pump Las Vegas uses an identical principle and strips energy from the atmosphere using the process of gas evaporation. Once compressed by the compressor cycle it is during its condensation phase that high temperature energy is exchanged into your under floor, radiator or hot water system. The diagram below shows the basic cycle.

Heat pumps can be extremely efficient in their use of energy. But one problem with most heat pumps is that the coils in the outside air collect ice. The heat pump has to melt this ice periodically, so it switches itself back to air conditioner mode to heat up the coils. To avoid pumping cold air into the house in air conditioner mode, the heat pump also lights up burners or electric strip heaters to heat the cold air that the air conditioner is pumping out. Once the ice is melted, the heat pump switches back to heating mode and turns off the burners.