We all know what air conditioning units are. They are widely used both in industrial refrigeration and in private homes. However, few people know that an air source heat pump (ASHP), is an efficient and ecological way of heating a room. Cooling and heating in the same unit allows an efficient and environmentally friendly heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC).
Air conditioning, how does it work?
Air conditioning is a system that cools a space through a process that extracts the warm air from the room.
The compressor condenses and makes the refrigerant circulate through an external unit, changing from gas to liquid state. Then it passes indoors through the evaporator. The evaporator is a heat exchanger, and finned evaporators, widely used in the industrial refrigeration sector, use their fins to enlarge the heat absorption surface, improving the efficiency of the whole process. It is then when the refrigerant changes from liquid to vapour state, removing the heat from the air, and reintroducing it into the room. Tecnicold uses eco‑friendly refrigerants in all projects.
The outdoor unit then changes the refrigerant from gas to liquid state by removing any remaining heat. When the fluid leaves the evaporator, it has become a refrigerated gas and returns to the condenser to start the whole process over again.
How a heat pump works
A heat pump basically transfers heat from one area to another. Thanks to a reversing valve on the outdoor unit, the heat pump can absorb heat from the outside air even at low temperatures. Heat pumps are very efficient in this energy transfer: they consume less electrical energy than the heat energy they provide.
Heat pumps work passing the air through the evaporator. There the refrigerant absorbs the temperature and changes its state. At this point the refrigerant turns into gas and with a compressor it increases its pressure and circulates through the boiler where it changes of state transferring all the accumulated energy.
Then, this refrigerant fluid, which is liquid again, passes through a valve and returns to its original condition starting the process again.
Heat pump air conditioners
This equipment is very versatile and allows the HVAC of the whole house, or of some specific areas, all year round. In areas with a temperate climate, such as on the Mediterranean coast, they are very efficient and are a good alternative to conventional air conditioning, meaning the use of air conditioners (for cooling) and other heating systems, allowing heating, ventilation and cooling with just one installation.
These systems help to lower CO2 emissions and are very versatile, as they allow different power outputs to be installed depending on the surface to be air-conditioned. Furthermore, with proper maintenance they make little noise and are ideal for areas such as bedrooms, studios or living rooms.