How Does a Heat Pump Work to Heat Your Home?

With autumn almost upon us, you may be wondering how a heat pump works to heat your home. A heat pump is a heating and cooling system that is installed outside your home to help regulate indoor temperatures year-round. Their name may make you think that they specifically heat areas, however they simply move heat from one place to another. Rather than creating heat like a furnace, a heat pump absorbs heat from outside your home, and moves it in to keep you warm.

The professional team at JP Heating & Air Conditioning provides heat pumps to any homeowner looking to better circulate the air in their home to encourage warmer conditions.

How it works

As stated, a heat pump works by transferring heat, rather than generating it, from different air or another heat source. A ground (geothermal) heat pump works by collecting warmth from the ground outside the home and transferring in. Air source heat pumps work much the same way, but from the exterior air of the home that has been heated in a furnace, rather than the ground.

Since we are in a colder environment here in the Midwest, heat pumps are typically coupled with a furnace to allow proper heating when the temperature drops too low. These types of systems are called dual fuel systems and are a good option for any home in need of quality heating.

The internals

More specifically, a heat pump works when the reversing valve within the unit reverses the flow of refrigerant. Outside air becomes the source of heat that is pulled into the home, making the coil within the unit, the outside of the home, function as an evaporator. Once this air is absorbed from the outside, it has pressure applied to it to turn it into hot gas, which heats the air and condenses the gas into a warm vapor. The heated air is then distributed throughout the home, while the warm liquid then has the pressure lightened on it, cooling it, and restarting the process.

The different capabilities in function make heat pumps a versatile and efficient way to heat your home.

With decades of experience guiding our team, you can count on us to help heat your home as we enter cooler seasons. Install a heat pump for your home by giving JP Heating & Air Conditioning a call and scheduling with us today!