Technology
Heating and cooling is accomplished by moving a refrigerant through the heat pump's indoor and outdoor coils. Like in a refrigerator, a compressor, condenser, expansion valve and evaporator are used to change states of the refrigerant between a cold liquid and a hot gas.
When the liquid refrigerant at a low temperature passes through the outdoor evaporator heat exchanger coils, ambient heat is used to cause the liquid to boil. This boiling or change of state process amasses energy as latent heat. The vapor is then drawn into a compressor which further boosts the temperature of the vapor.
Passing into the building, the vapor enters the condenser heat exchanger coils where it transfers heat to indoor air, which is drawn across the coils by a fan. As the vapor cools, it condenses back into a liquid, and releases its latent heat to the air passing over the condenser unit.
Exiting the condenser, the cold liquid refrigerant is under high pressure. The refrigerant passes through an expansion valve which reduces the pressure, draws in heat and allows the refrigerant to re-enter the evaporator to begin a new cycle.
Most heat pumps can also operate in a cooling mode where the cold refrigerant is moved through the indoor coils to cool the room air.
Read more about this topic: Air Source Heat Pumps
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—Shoshana Zuboff (b. 1951)
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—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)