Pipelife Eco FAQ: Do Heat Pumps Heat And Cool?
We know that heat pumps provide an energy efficient method for heating your home – the clue is in the name after all! However, do heat pumps heat and cool? This is a common, and very important question, that we often get asked by customers who are looking for the best ways to make their homes more energy efficient.
If you’re considering installing a heat pump in your own home, you’ll be pleased to hear that they do in fact offer both heating and cooling. This makes it an investment that will have year long benefits, providing heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. How do heat pumps heat and cool? Let’s answer this question by looking at how the mechanism works.
How Do Heat Pumps Heat And Cool?
An air to water heat pump works by transforming energy from the outside air into usable heat. This happens via a refrigeration system and vapour compression cycle that extracts heat from the outside air. One of the reasons that a heat pump is such an energy efficient choice is because it can operate at temperatures as low as -15°C. This makes a stark contrast to traditional oil or gas boilers that are required to operate at very high temperatures.
This means that heat pumps work to provide heating for your home by taking the outside air (even very cold air) and transforming it into heat for use indoors, but how do heat pumps heat and cool?
An air to water heat pump provides cooling by working in the reverse process to how it provides heating. Working in the reverse direction, heat pumps are able to provide a cooling function by transferring warm inside air to the outside. This means that they are effective in keeping your house at a comfortable temperature all year round, without the need to install air conditioning during the summer. Not only is this better for the planet, it’s also more cost-effective.
How Do I Install A Heat Pump In My Own Home?
Now that we’ve determined the answer to the question of ‘do heat pumps heat and cool’, you may be wondering how it is possible to install a heat pump at your own property. There are two main types of pump that are available. These are a split heat pump which consists of a fan unit and an outdoor unit, or a monobloc pump in which the compressor, heat exchanger and water side of the refrigeration cycle are all contained in the outdoor unit.
Our experienced team at Pipelife Eco can assess which unit is best suited for your home, and guide you through the installation process step-by-step. To discuss the options for making your home more energy efficient, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team today.