Heat pumps are simply a means of transferring energy (in the form of heat) from one place to another. This process involves work (energy expenditure, usually in the form of electricity.) They are becoming a more popular choice for providing home heating, particularly amongst those who take an interest in the efficient use of energy.

They work, in essence, like a fridge in reverse. Where a fridge or freezer removes heat from INSIDE itself, to be dumped into the surrounding atmosphere OUTSIDE (this is why the back of a fridge feels warm in use), the heat pump takes energy in the form of heat from OUTSIDE of the house and transports it INSIDE for the purpose of heating the home’s interior.

For those who may have difficulty “getting” this, you must understand the difference between heat energy and temperature. The ocean holds vast amounts of heat energy (measured in Joules) but the temperature (in degrees) is relatively low. A burning candle has a very high temperature, obviously much higher than the ocean, but the total amount of heat energy given out is almost infinitely smaller than that contained in the ocean.

Thus the heat energy stored where the heat pump sources from, is vast but at a relatively low temperature. When the heat pump transports that energy inside, it is (in a way) concentrating it into a smaller volume (the interior space of the house) and thus raising the temperature well above where the heat was originally sourced from.

Those readers who are physics graduates, or experts in thermodynamics will doubtless be throwing your hands up in horror at the inaccuracies of this rather basic explanation, but it works well enough for me. I like to keep things simple enough so that I can understand it myself!

See further article(s) examining the different types of heat pump available and their most appropriate application.

Related Posts

No related posts.