A heat pump transfers heat from one place to another using a compressor and refrigerant. There are three types of heat pumps, namely air to air, geothermal and water source. This guide will explain how heat pumps are used for heating and cooling your home in Plano, TX.
Components of a Heat Pump
It is important to know the major components of a heat pump to understand better how it works. A heat pump has two major components, the indoor air handler and the outdoor unit. Both components have subcomponents that facilitate their operation, such as the reversing valve, expansion valve, compressor and refrigerant.
Cooling Mode
The cooling process starts by pumping the liquid refrigerant through the indoor coil, which acts as the evaporator. At the coils, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the indoor air, and the fan blows the cool air throughout your home. The refrigerant heats up and evaporates into gas form.
The gas refrigerant, which a compressor pressurizes, then moves through the system to the coil in the outdoor unit. Heat transfers from the refrigerant to the outside air because the air outside is cooler than the gas refrigerant in the coil. The refrigerant cools and condenses into a liquid and moves to the expansion valve to cool and begin the cycle again.
Heating Mode
During the heating mode, the reversing valve reverses the flow of refrigerant, making the outside air the source of heating. The outdoor coils act as an evaporator, while the indoor coil acts as a condenser, but the process is similar to the cooling mode.
The cool refrigerant absorbs heat energy and turns into cold gas, and then pressure turns it into hot gas. Passing air in the indoor unit cools the hot gas, which in turn heats up, and the gas condenses to a warm liquid. In the outdoor unit, the warm liquid loses pressure and turns to cool liquid to restart the cycle.
Our team of knowledgeable technicians offers comprehensive heating and air conditioning services. Contact Samm’s Heating and Air Conditioning today for your HVAC solutions. We always put our customers first.
