What You Should Know About Air-Source Heat Pumps
Today I’m bringing you information about air-source heat pumps, so you can make the smart choice about your pool heating needs.
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Today I’d like to bring you yet another excerpt from my recent seminar on choosing the right pool heating system. For this installment, I will be specifically speaking about air-source heat pumps.
A heat pump is a mechanical device which uses refrigerant to transfer heat from one place to another. Cooling with such a pump can also be achieved. But in that case, the heat would be transferred away from the desired source instead of toward it.
Heat pumps are actually a technology we all use every day. With that being said, let’s go over how this technology is applied as a pool heating method.
Every heat pump will share a common set of base components, including a compressor, an expansion valve, a condenser, and an evaporator. You can see how each of these components connects in air-source heat pumps, specifically, in the diagram shown in the video. Feel free to reference this graphic in order to better understand the process I’m about to describe.
The condenser side of an air-source heat pump is where the pool water absorbs the heat from the freon. From there, the freon moves to the evaporator, where a large coil and fan will vaporize the freon. Finally, the vaporized freon travels back through the compressor and into the condenser, where it again becomes a liquid. This process will repeat continuously, moving heat and vapor to the pool water in the condenser, until a certain temperature is achieved.
The refrigerant moves the heat from its free source. Meanwhile the air fan and motor move the air itself.
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Heat pumps are actually a technology we all use every day.
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For an air-source heat pump to work properly, though, they must be installed outside. It’s also important to note that they are most effective, and most commonly used, in mild climates. An air-source heat pump used on a pool in a colder climate will typically be accompanied by a backup gas heating method of some kind. This is because, if air gets cold enough, the evaporator coil can freeze.
Now that you’ve got an understanding of how this kind of system works, let’s discuss a few pros and cons.
Starting with the positive aspects, air-source heat pumps are relatively inexpensive in terms of installation and operation costs. They are also capable of cooling pools in addition to heating them.
However, air-source heat pumps do have some definite drawbacks. Namely, they tend to exhibit poor performance during cold weather, which is when pool heaters are needed most.
If you are interested in learning more about your heating options and what I think is the best, please feel free to contact me. I would be happy to speak with you.
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