A heat pump is just like your standard central air conditioning system, aside from a few major changes that allow it to heat as well. We often recommend heat pumps to homeowners searching for a new comfort system, but we find that a large number of our customers do not know much about them. Here, we offer 3 pieces of information that may be new to you. Learn more about heat pumps below!
The same process used for cooling (refrigeration) is used for heating
Your heat pump uses refrigeration to operate—even in the winter. Refrigeration cannot actually produce cooling, as “cool” is not an energy, like heat is. Instead, it removes heat from the air. Refrigerant moves through a coil in the indoor portion of your air conditioner, removing heat from the air blowing over the coil and, in turn, cooling down the coil. The heat dissipates from the refrigerant outside. In the winter, this process simply reverses to bring heat inside, dissipating from the refrigerant in the indoor unit.
The indoor unit and outdoor components must work year round.
Many people are surprised to find that, when they turn their thermostat to heating mode, they can still hear their outside units running. This is quite necessary for your heat pump to work, but we’ve actually heard of calls coming through to technicians from homeowners concerned that the AC was operating in the winter. That outside fan is running because it must move air past the coil so that it can absorb heat and move it indoors.
Adding more refrigerant rarely solves your heating and cooling problems
When a heat pump isn’t working sufficiently, people often ask us, “Does it need more refrigerant?” It’s possible that a lack of refrigerant is your problem, but a good technician searches around for leaks to find why refrigerant has left the system. It doesn’t do so naturally, and it typically means there is a problem (unless it didn’t have enough in the first place.
Call DB Heating & Cooling, Inc today for all of your Wyckoff heating and cooling needs!