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Heat Pumps: Types and Parts
Types of Heat Pumps
There are two big types of heat pumps:
- the air-source heat pumps
- the traditional and cheaper
heat pumps – designed to extract heat or coldness from outside air
(heat pumps are able to extract heat in the air, even in very cold days; similarly, they are able to extract cold
in the outdoor air, even in
the hotter days).
-
the ground-source heat pumps
(often called geothermal)
which transfer heat from
the ground through a
buried loop.
The water-source
heat pumps (which
use a
buried loop to transfer heat from a water source - lake, for
instance) can be seen as a variant of
ground-source heat pumps.
Split and packaged systems
Most heat pumps are split-systems: they have one
coil indoors and one coil outdoors. Supply and return ducts
are connected to a central fan located indoors. The latest
Multi Split Systems can have a
great number of indoor units connected to one Outdoor Unit, and
can produce both heating and cooling at any moment.
Some heat pumps are packaged systems,
with both the coils and the fan outdoors. In this case heated or
cooled air is delivered to the interior of the house from
ductwork driven through a wall or roof.
Ductless mini split heat pumps
Many heat pumps involve a central distribution of air: the
cooled or the heated air is driven into the several divisions of the
house through ductwork. But there are also the
ductless mini
split heat pumps.
Parts of the air heat pumps
Image Source: EERE (US
DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy)
Most of air-source heat pumps components are those of air
conditioners. They comprise:
1-
A compressor: a unit that
pumps refrigerant to
capture heat
from the air.
2-
A condenser:
a set of coils to move heat to or from the outside air.
3-
An evaporator:
a set of coils to move heat to or from the indoor air.
4-
An air handler or fan
fan that propels the air into the home's ducts.
5- A reversing valve,
near the compressor,
that allows
to change the heat pump system from cooling to heating mode or
the inverse.
Geothermal heat pumps systems involve the same parts. The
big difference is in the buried pipe system, and its
characteristics. See:
Geothermal heat pumps and its types.
See, for more information:
Basics of Heat Pumps Systems
Installation of
Ground-Source Pumps
Geothermal heat pumps and
its types
Air-source heat pumps
Ductless mini
split heat pumps
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Heat Pump Types and Parts
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