Heat pumps are popular systems for cooling homes, but they can also heat, too. It may seem confusing that a system that doesn’t generate heat like a boiler or furnace can offer heating, but this is one of the ingenious aspects of heat pumps systems, as well as one of the benefits.
So how does a heat pump heat your home? Let’s take a look.
Heat in the Air
Believe it or not, there is always heat in the air, even when it’s cold outside. Your heat pump uses this latent heat to help heat your home – but there is a process. As we stated above, heat pumps don’t generate heat; instead, they transfer heat from one location to another. To help facilitate this transfer, refrigerant is used. During the winter, the outdoor unit of your heat pump system absorbs the heat in the surrounding air; the heat pump concentrates this heat to intensify it, then distributes the heat to your living spaces.
The Reversing Valve
So what enables a heat pump to provide both heating and cooling? A component called the reversing valve. The reversing valve changes the direction of how the refrigerant flows, which allows the heat pump to work in two modes: heating or cooling. A reversing valve has two settings within it: one is excited, the other is relaxed. The valve manufacturer sets which state stands for heating and which stands for cooling, so there can be variations between valves. What doesn’t change is that once a state is set for a specific operation – either heating or cooling – the other state setting is always going to be the other operation. But as the homeowner, you have it much easier: simply press a button on your dual-mode thermostat to change from heating to cooling and back again.
Heat pumps can be complex components, so if you are experiencing issues with your heat pump in Bandera, call D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc.
Our trained and certified heating experts can help with any heat pump issue you may have, so call us today!
