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A heat pump is a heating and cooling device that transfers thermal energy in and out of buildings through the use of refrigerant. Simply put, during the summer months, thermal energy is transferred outside to cool down the house, and during the winter months, thermal energy is transferred into the home to heat the house.
Heat pumps transfer thermal energy from one desired location to another. If you want to heat your home, a heat pump will transfer heat energy from outside into your home, and vice versa for when you're looking to cool your home. A basic thermal engineering concept explains how this works and simply put, it's that heat always wants to flow from areas of high energy to areas of low energy. This means that hot air (exothermic) is going to flow or be attracted toward cool air (endothermic). For example, if you were to take a glass of ice water outside on a hot summer day, the ice would melt. This is because there's more thermal energy (a higher temperature) in the air outside than that of the ice cubes inside the glass. Thus, that higher thermal energy is then attracted. It's simple, but this is the basis of how heat pumps work. The graphic below accurately illustrates the flow of thermal energy.
The compressor is responsible for heating the refrigerant in the refrigerant lines. At the beginning of the compression cycle, the cool refrigerant enters the compressor at a lower temperature, and it's passed through the compressor. As it's passed through the compressor, it's heated up and turned into a high-pressure, high-temperature vapor. This high pressure, high-temperature vapor then is pumped into the house, and the warm thermal energy is then distributed through the house through an indoor heat exchanger (a.k.a an indoor air handler).
The expansion valve is responsible for cooling the refrigerant. As the refrigerant passes through the expansion valve, the refrigerant is expanded in volume and cooled down into a low pressure, low temperature, part liquid, and vapor mixture. This low pressure, low temperature, liquid, and vapor mixture is then pumped outside to the outdoor heat exchanger where it collects outdoor thermal energy. The cycle then repeats.
There are three types of heat pumps. There are air, ground, or water source heat pumps. Let's take a look at the way each of them works.
Air source heat pumps are the easiest and the quickest to install. It looks like a normal AC unit, and it can generate both hot water and hot air. Some units also incorporate a reversing valve and a cooling mode to provide air conditioning as well. There is a unit installed outside that will create some noise from the fans and the compressors. The unit also needs to circulate air so it shouldn't be boxed in, or else the unit is going to be trying to extract energy from the recirculated air that you just extracted energy from. These are the cheapest heat pumps that you can install, but they are the least efficient when compared to ground or water heat pumps. This is because air has a lower density than soil or water.
Cost - $7,000 - $11,000
(Cost varies on complexity, location, and size)
More commonly used for hot water production, but some units can be reversed to provide cooling. A ground source heat pump uses thermal energy that is embedded in the ground from the sun. They tend to be more efficient than air-source pumps because the soil has a much higher density and heat capacity than that of the air. Although this is far more efficient, it requires extensive excavation underground to set up refrigerant lines. Ground source heat pumps are often used during construction to limit cost.
Horizontal ground source pumps are buried ~3-7ft in the ground and they typically extract 10-30 watts of energy per 3.3ft of pipe. Horizontal ground source pumps require a lot of room to be installed. This is mainly why they are installed during the construction of the house.
Cost: ~$13,000 - $24,000
If there is less room on the property to build, vertical ground source pumps are an alternative. With vertical pumps, holes are drilled between 50 - 500 ft into the ground, and they typically extract about 10 - 50 watts of energy per meter of pipe.
Cost: ~$18,000 - $32,000
Water source heat pumps are the least common type of heat pumps because they require immediate access to a lake or river. There are two types of water source heat pumps. There are open-loop water source heat pumps, and there are closed-loop water source heat pumps
As implied by the name, this is a closed-loop that is recirculated throughout the system. This system uses a water and antifreeze mixture to cycle around and transfer the thermal energy.
Cost: ~ $12,000 - $30,000
Alternatively, open-source loops pull in water from the lake or river, extract its thermal energy, and then release the water away from the extraction point. Open-loop heat pumps typically have strict permissions depending on your location, and for good reason. If your system were to leak, the water and antifreeze mixture would be toxic to the wildlife inside the lake or river. Although this has more potential to be dangerous to wildlife, it is more efficient than both air and ground heat pumps. The pipes are constantly surrounded by water energy that is constantly replaced by the current. They generate 20 - 60 watts of energy per 3 square feet of water surface. These are also easier to install than ground source pumps
Cost: ~ $10,000 - $15,000
When it comes to buying a heat pump, it comes down to your budget and some preexisting factors about your property. The heat pump that will be the best fit for your situation comes down to two main factors. Is the property being built, or is it near a lake or river? The graphic below goes through the thought process most people take when purchasing a heat pump.
At the end of the day, it comes down to how much you would like to spend, and what would be best for your property. Properties normally fall into one of three categories, and each heat pump has its advantages for each property.
