Ready For Winter? Our Overview of Heat Pumps

For many people, having a functional space heater in the winter, and a functional air conditioner in the summer is an absolute necessity. In the modern world, this kind of control over the conditions in your home is one of the most empowering aspects of modern technology. Having confidence in the warmth or coolness of your living space, at any point of the year, can give you a great deal of peace of mind. Now imagine for a moment, if you could combine the cooling powers of your air conditioner, and the warming powers of your space heater, into a single machine. This is no far-off science fiction device; it’s a heat pump. 

What is a Heat Pump?

Heat pumps are electrical devices, which have the ability to draw heat from one area and deposit it in another. How do they do this? Primarily, through the use of a special substance called a refrigerant, which creates the heat flow through a repetitive cycle of evaporation and condensation. To make this cycle occur, the refrigerant is pumped, via a compressor, between two heat exchanger coils.  

In the first coil, the refrigerant is evaporated at low pressure and absorbs heat from its surroundings. It then flows towards the second coil, being compressed en route, and condensing at high pressure when it reaches the second coil. Here, the refrigerant releases the heat absorbed earlier in the cycle, which is how the heat pump achieves heat transfer. 

While you might not have heard of a heat pump specifically, you’ve definitely heard of some examples of them; both refrigerators and air conditioners are heat pumps. However, these both just work one way, cooling. Two-way, reversible heat pumps are also available, and these products provide the exact service we learned about in the intro: the combination of an air conditioning unit and a space heater. 

The Difference with Ductless Heat Pumps

Normally, ducted heat pumps use the already existing ducts in your home in order to spread the heated or cooled air around to different rooms. However, these are not the only option. You can also get ductless heat pumps, which spread the heated or cooled air from an outdoor compression unit, to several indoor air handling units. For example, these air handling units are the wall units often seen in hotel rooms.

The benefits of choosing a ductless heat pump include:

• Easier, less intrusive installation process
• Ability to create different ‘climates’ with individual thermostats
• Heating and cooling only in the rooms you choose, to save energy and money 

How Washington Energy Services Can Help You Choose a Heat Pump

When you’re choosing a heat pump for your home, call the professionals at Washington Energy Services, for one of our famous free estimates. We will help you find the heat pump system that works best for the unique situation of your home and your budget constraints, as well as always finding the most energy-efficient solution to your home’s heating and cooling needs. Contact us today!