How Does a Heat Pump Work?

Adaptable to almost every application, heat pumps are rapidly becoming popular in homes and businesses. A heat pump has a mechanism that allows it to extract heat from one point and transfer it to another. For most homeowners, it’s the energy-saving ability that makes it so attractive. These devices use less energy in transferring heat from one location to another. You can use a heat pump to pull heat out of the ground to heat your office building or home. Additionally, you can use them to cool a building as well. Read on to learn more about how heat pumps work. The Refrigeration Cycle When it comes to cooling, refrigerators and heat pumps work in a similar way. The heat from the inside is extracted and moved outside the space. Through a three-step process, heat pumps convert liquid refrigerant into a gas. It then converts it back into a liquid. This is the conversion phase, or in layman’s language, the refrigeration cycle. A heat pump has three main components: the compressor, condenser and evaporator. Each plays a crucial role in the conversion phase. Step one: The compressor is located in the outdoor unit of the heat pump. It uses pressure...