How they work
Heat pumps how they work
Heat pumps how they work can be explained in the same way as a refrigerator, but in reverse. A refrigerator has a metal grille on the back, and the motor you can hear is the compressor. The only difference between your refrigerator and a heat pump is that your refrigerator is pulling heat from the inside of your fridge and dumping it to the outside through the grill, whilst a heat pump draws on heat from the outside ground, air or water and uses it to supply heat to the inside of your house.
Heat (radiation) from the sun is absorbed by the ground, water or air, which is available all year-round. Heat pumps transfer this heat from one medium to another by mechanical means, using some electrical energy to power this process. As solar heat occurs naturally it has no cost or carbon impact.
The design of your property will dictate the heat loss of your property thus the size and type of heating system required and therefore the size and type of heat pump to use – we can help you with this.
Don’t forget, heat pumps work very well in conjunction with underfloor heating!
The cycle of heat pumps how they work can be explained in four basic stages:
- The liquid refrigerant absorbs energy from the heat source (ground, air or water) and changes its state into a gas.
- The gas is compressed increasing its temperature, condensing it into liquid and releasing heat energy.
- The heat energy is transferred (via heat exchanger) into the heating system.
- The liquid under pressure passes through an expansion valve lowering its pressure reverting back to its original state (liquid refrigerant).
The cycle then starts over again.
Design and installation
Encompass’ installation engineers can install heat pumps sourced from a number of different manufacturers. The choice of pump is dictated not only by the requirements of your property but by your preferences too. Ground loops installation and design is carried out by Encompas personnel, although bore hole installation is carried out by our sub-contractors.
