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Heat pumps are marvelous home-comfort systems that, at the touch of a button, the flip of a switch or with programmable thermostat settings, shift between heating, cooling and defrost cycles. This ensures that your comfort and energy bills groove with outside temperatures no matter the daily or seasonal weather changes. Learn the basics of heat pump cycles to maximize system performance, comfort, and energy savings all year long.
Heat pumps are engineered to harness the natural movement of heat energy from a warmer space to a cooler space by the principles of refrigeration – manipulating refrigerant under pressure changes. The basics of heat pump cycles for either cooling or heating are as follows:
In cooling mode, an air-source heat pump operates very much like a split-system air conditioner:
In defrost mode, the reversing valve changes the direction of refrigerant so that the outside coil becomes hot. When ice accumulation has melted from the coil, the heat pump returns to normal heating cycle.
For more information about heat pump cycles or any HVAC questions and issues you may have for your Portland area home, please contact our professionals at Roth Home & Cooling today!