A heat pump is a device that transfers heat from one place to another using mechanical work, typically for heating or cooling a building. Here’s how it generally works:
Evaporation: Inside the heat pump, a liquid refrigerant absorbs heat from its surroundings as it turns into a gas. In heating mode, the refrigerant extracts heat from the outside air, even cold outside.
Compression: The gaseous refrigerant is then compressed by a compressor. This process increases the gas's pressure, which raises its temperature significantly.
Condensation: The hot, high-pressure gas then flows through a heat exchanger (condenser), releasing its heat into the air. As it loses heat, the refrigerant condenses back into a liquid.
Expansion: The liquid refrigerant then passes through an expansion valve, which experiences a pressure drop. This pressure drop cools the refrigerant down and becomes cold enough to absorb heat again in the evaporator, restarting the cycle.
The process can be reversed for cooling purposes. In this mode, the inside of the building is cooled by blowing the indoor air over the evaporator. The heat absorbed by the refrigerant is expelled outside through the condenser.
Heat pumps are efficient because they move heat rather than generate it by burning fuel or energizing electric heat strips. They can provide up to three or four times more heat than the electrical energy they consume. This efficiency and their ability to heat and relax make them popular for climate control in homes and buildings.
Please watch the video below for more details:
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