Heat Pumps

In applications for building structures, a heat pump typically refers to a vapor-compression refrigeration device that includes a reversing valve and optimized heat exchangers. This allows for the direction of heat flow to be reversed, thus providing both heating and cooling capability. The reversing valve switches the direction of refrigerant inside the unit depending on whether hot or cold air is necessary to maintain the desired temperature inside the structure. In Northern states, the default setting of the reversing valve is set to provide heat, and as you might guess, the default setting is to provide cooling in Southern states. Due to the fact that the condenser and evaporator must swap functions depending upon heating or cooling mode, they must be optimized to perform adequately in both directions. As with most compromises, the efficiency of a heat pump is typically slightly less than if you had separate heating and cooling units.