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What are the mechanics of the Heat Pump Process
Anyone who has a refrigerator or an air conditioner has
witnessed the operation of a heat pump, even though the term
heat pump may be unfamiliar. All of these machines, rather
than making heat, take existing heat and move it from a
lower temperature location to a higher temperature location.
Refrigerators and air conditioners are heat pumps which
remove heat from colder interior spaces to warmer exterior
spaces for cooling purposes. Heat pumps also move heat from
a low-temperature source to a high-temperature space for
heating.
An air-source heat pump, for example, extracts heat from
outdoor air and pumps it indoors. A geothermal heat pump
works the same way, except that its heat source is the
warmth of the earth.
The process of elevating low-temperature heat to over 100°F
and transferring it indoors involves a cycle of evaporation,
compression, condensation and expansion. A refrigerant, like
Freon, is used as the heat-transfer medium which circulates
within the heat pump.
The cycle starts as the cold, liquid refrigerant passes
through a heat exchanger (evaporator) and absorbs heat from
the low-temperature source (liquid from the ground loop).
The refrigerant evaporates into a gas as heat is absorbed.
The gaseous refrigerant then passes through a compressor
where the refrigerant is pressurized, raising its
temperature to over 180°F. The hot gas then circulates
through a refrigerant-to-air heat exchanger where heat is
removed and pumped into the building at about 100°F. When it
loses the heat, the refrigerant changes back to a liquid.
The liquid is cooled as it passes through an expansion valve
and begins the process again. To become an air conditioner,
the flow is reversed. |
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