If you’re looking for an eco-friendly HVAC solution for your home in Clackamas, OR, a heat pump is an ideal choice. Heat pumps are among the most energy-efficient HVAC systems available, which helps minimize their environmental impact. Moreover, heat pumps provide year-round comfort, serving as both a heating and cooling solution. If you’re unfamiliar with them, here’s everything you need to know about heat pumps. We’ll cover how they work, why they’re so efficient, and how to get the most out of one.
What Is a Heat Pump?
A heat pump is a device that collects heat energy in one location and transfers it to another. When you hear heat pumps mentioned in an HVAC context, it almost always refers to air-source heat pumps, meaning a heat pump that extracts radiant energy directly from the air.
Even if you’ve never owned a heat pump as an HVAC system, you’ve almost certainly used one at some point. For example, your home’s refrigerator is a type of heat pump. It extracts heat energy from the inside of its sealed compartment and expels it into the surrounding room. Additionally, every air conditioner you’ve ever owned functions like a heat pump’s cooling mode: they absorb heat energy from the air in your home and expel it outdoors.
The main difference between an air conditioner and an HVAC heat pump is that the latter can run in reverse, allowing it to gather heat energy from outdoor air and use it to warm your home.
How Does a Heat Pump Work?
Heat pumps, like air conditioners, operate using the refrigeration cycle. They manipulate a refrigerant’s pressure, state, and temperature to collect and release heat. This process works because of two important scientific principles. One is the natural tendency of heat energy to move from warmer to colder substances. The other is the relationship between the pressure and temperature of liquids and gases, which stems from the kinetic energy contained in a gas or liquid.
As you compress a gas, its molecules move closer together, resulting in more frequent collisions. These collisions transform kinetic energy into heat. When you reduce the pressure, the opposite happens, and the substance cools significantly. It’s important to note that gases become much hotter under pressure. Liquids, on the other hand, do not compress easily, which is why a heat pump also needs its refrigerant to switch between gas and liquid during each cycle.
How the Refrigeration Cycle Can Heat Your Home
A heat pump’s refrigeration cycle is easy to understand in heating mode. The process begins with depressurizing the system’s refrigerant to lower its temperature. At that point, the refrigerant is a liquid and may reach temperatures as low as -15 degrees. That cold liquid then passes through a heat exchanger in the system’s outdoor unit. While that happens, a large fan blows outdoor air over the heat exchanger. Since the outdoor air is warmer than the refrigerant, it transfers its heat energy into the cooler liquid. Once the refrigerant absorbs enough of that heat, it boils into a warm vapor.
Next, the warm vapor moves into the heat pump’s compressor. There, the compressor raises its pressure and temperature. Upon leaving the compressor, the refrigerant can reach temperatures of 120°F or higher. That hot gas then travels inside your home to the indoor unit of the heat pump. There, it passes through another heat exchanger while a fan blows indoor air across it. Since the indoor air temperature is lower than that of the refrigerant, the latter releases its heat energy into the air. In the process, the cooling refrigerant condenses back into a liquid to travel outside and begin the cycle again.
What Makes Heat Pumps So Efficient?
Heat pumps offer year-round efficiency for a simple reason: they neither create nor destroy heat. Heat pumps typically achieve efficiency levels comparable to those of high-end central air conditioners in cooling mode. In heating mode, however, they blow other options out of the water in terms of efficiency. Consider, for example, the previous gold standard of efficient heating: the natural gas furnace. Ordinary gas furnaces routinely achieve efficiency levels of 80% or higher. There are, however, advanced gas furnaces that can reach an efficiency of up to 98.7%. A heat pump, for comparison, can achieve efficiencies between 250% and 400% in heating mode.
A heat pump is much more efficient than a furnace because it doesn’t convert fuel to heat. It simply collects heat energy that already exists in the outdoor air. Therefore, there are only two limitations to a heat pump’s efficiency. One is how much heat energy the outdoor air contains. That’s why heat pump efficiency declines as outdoor temperatures drop. Another limitation is the operating temperature of a heat pump’s refrigerant. Essentially, the colder the refrigerant can get, the more efficiency the heat pump retains in cold weather. However, heat pumps designed for cold climates sacrifice some efficiency in cooling mode on hot days.
Getting the Most Out of a Heat Pump
If a heat pump sounds like a good option for your Clackamas home, you’ll want to know how to get the most out of it. Here are some ways to maximize your heat pump’s efficiency.
Choose the Right Installer
Choosing the right installer is crucial to maximizing the efficiency of your new heat pump. First, only a competent installer can recommend a properly sized system. The wrong-sized heat pumps won’t operate efficiently. And it’s imperative to have your heat pump installed according to the manufacturer’s precise standards. Only a trusted installer can do that.
Commit to Regular Maintenance
You must also adhere to your heat pump’s required maintenance schedule to ensure efficient operation. Most heat pumps require biannual maintenance visits, as they operate year-round. During each visit, the system is inspected, cleaned, and adjusted as needed. This helps reduce unnecessary wear and tear and provides opportunities for preemptive repairs.
Invest in Air Envelope Upgrades
Finally, you should improve your home’s air envelope integrity to get the most out of a heat pump. This includes upgrading insulation and performing air sealing, which will reduce your home’s demand for heating and cooling. Heat pumps excel at maintaining stable indoor temperatures. Therefore, the more you isolate your indoor environment from the outdoor one, the better off your heat pump will be.
Trusted Local Heat Pump Specialists
If you’re interested in a new heat pump for your Clackamas home, Midway Heating Company can help. We sell and install the latest heat pumps from quality manufacturers like Lennox and Mitsubishi Electric. We’re a Lennox Premier Dealer and a Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Contractor. And if you need financing to pay for your heat pump, we’ll provide it on approved credit. The Energy Trust of Oregon also recognizes us, which is clear proof that we excel at providing efficient HVAC solutions.
We’re also a Better Business Bureau-accredited business with an A+ rating, and we have numerous five-star testimonials that detail the quality of our work. So, when you’re ready to install a heat pump in your Clackamas home, call Midway Heating Company immediately!
