The Operating Principle Of An Air-Water Heat Pump

The heat pump is a thermodynamic device that recovers the heat contained in the air, the ground or the water. Along with that, it also recovers the elements present in nature, to transfer it, via transformations of a refrigerant. Installing a heat pump inside a house will sometimes produce domestic hot water to heat the entire house. The reversible heat pump works for both heating and cooling, in addition to heat in winter, which also produces cold in summer.

The air-water heat pump recovers the calories contained in the air then transforms them into heat in order to produce hot water, then diffused in your heating installation.

Types of heat pumps

1. According to their energy source (soil, water or air) and their exchange system (water or air).
2. According to their field of application (heating and/or sanitary water).

Both these types of heat pumps can work conventionally or be combined with other energy sources or systems. They transfer the heat to the water in your heating system or as hot air.

The Main Function Of The Air-Water Heat Pump

The air-water heat pump draws calories from outside air but uses water to transport heat. Most models stop working as soon as the temperature drops below -5 ° C, making additional heating essential in certain regions. However, home heating in Bend Oregon needs those models that can be operational down to -5 ° C to -10 ° C. In fact, the more you use electricity to heat the heating water of your installation, the lower the efficiency of your air-water heat pump in Bend Oregon’s weather and it consumes more energy.

The Transformation Of Air Calories Into Heat

The air-water heat pump is an aerothermal system that uses the calories from the outside air to restore them to the heating water. This transformation is made possible by using the refrigerant, a gas. Bypassing successively from the liquid state to the gaseous state, the refrigerant will transmit the energy contained in the outside air to the water of the central heating system. This transformation consists of four phases:

1. The refrigerant, in the liquid state, recovers calories from the outside air. The fluid then turns into gas, it evaporates.
2. The compressor, powered by an electric motor, then sucks and compresses the refrigerant. At the end of this phase, the gaseous fluid is hot and under high pressure.
3. The condensation of the refrigerant, then in the state of high-pressure vapor allows transmitting the heat to the heating water. The gas returns to the liquid state.
4. The expansion valve lowers the pressure of the refrigerant and prepares the liquid fluid before the evaporation phase.

The Four Major Components Of Air-Water Heat Pump

1. The evaporator which transforms the refrigerant into vapor.
2. The compressor increases the pressure and the heat of the gas.
3. The condenser which allows the refrigerant to restore the heat to the heating water.
4. The regulator decreases the pressure and the temperature of the gas.