Heat Pump Systems

A heat pump system can be an economical way to heat and cool your home within the right climate zones. If you use electricity for HVAC purposes and you live in a fairly moderate climate, like Australia, a heat pump system that functions like a reverse cycle air conditioning unit is usually the best way to heat and cool your home. It has proven to be cost effective and, with technological improvements developed by the HVAC industry, very efficient because in some respects, the one machine is doing 2 jobs, saving your space, time, energy and money.

The principles behind the operation of a heat pump system are fairly basic. If you take a look at a window air conditioner as an example; a window air conditioner has two sets of copper coils. One set of these coils concentrates cold and the other heat. The cold coils are located on the interior portion of the unit and air is forced over these as it is blown into your room, consequently cooling your room. The hot coils, located near the exterior of the unit, extract the heat from the cold coils. These are located at the back of the unit so the hot air can be ventilated outside. The heating portion of the air conditioner works exactly the opposite. Since warm air does not flow to cold, the heat has to be moved by force, thus the 'pump' in heat pump.

Most heat pump systems are engineered with a switch that closes a valve on the heat moving pump. When engaged, the unit is functioning as a heater. When not engaged there is no heat moving through the unit and the unit is functioning as a traditional air conditioner.

Having this feature allows you to utilize heating and cooling from the one HVAC unit, and contributes a great deal to the heat pump's economic value.

When you are considering the best way to heat and cool your home with an HVAC system, a heat pump definitely has merits, economically and comfort wise for your family. Though it is not right in every situation, so make sure you get our expert advice before making your final decision.