The heat pump is a device that can combine such seemingly incompatible parts as a heating boiler, air conditioning and a source of hot water. The main difference of this device is that it can use renewable low-temperature energy for the needs of heating water and heating. At the same time, most of the power that it produces (up to 80%) is practically "pumped out" of the external environment using the energy of the rays of the sun. You will find out what the principle of operation of heat pumps is from our today's article.
Briefly about the nuances
In scientific language, such a term as a “heat pump” implies a vapor compression unit, which serves to transport heat from a low-temperature source to a high-potential one. In other words, it transfers energy from a cold object to a hot one. What is the principle of the heat pump? The algorithm of their action, namely heat transfer, is carried out due to the occurrence of condensate and the subsequent evaporation of substances that circulate in a closed circle (see figure No. 2). For all this movement, the mechanism uses a small part of the electric energy, while the power of the device is very large, despite the low current consumption.
Heat pumps: principle of operation
Now let's look at the algorithm of this tool. This entire process is built on the Carnot cycle, which consists of the following steps. Initially, the refrigerant gas is compressed in the heat pump compressor, resulting in heating in the water supply circuit. After that, under high pressure, a liquid comes into a special heat exchanger-condenser, where further it begins to cool and form condensate. In this case, the useful heat is transferred directly to the heating system.
Next, the gas passes through an expansion valve. There it expands, so the pressure level in the system decreases again, and this value decreases with the temperature of the liquid in the system. As a rule, when gas enters the valve, the water is cooled to a temperature below the environment. After that, gaseous refrigerant passes into the heat exchanger, where, evaporating, it collects heat from the ground. And since the heat pumps work principle is closed, in the next step, this gas flows back to the compressor. Thus, the operation algorithm of this device is practically no different from the operation of a conventional domestic air conditioner.
It should be noted...
In the article in the subtitle “Heat pumps: operating principle”, we mentioned the word “soil”, from which the refrigerant takes heat. It should be noted here that this is not the only factor on which the action of the heat pump depends. When changing the temperature and pressure, the system also uses sources such as air and water. This is the principle of the heat pump. The price, by the way, for such devices is from 35 to 250 thousand rubles.