Air-Source Heat Pump Options If You’re Upgrading

Air-Source Heat Pump Options If You’re Upgrading

If you are upgrading the heat pumps in your Pasadena home, there are many options for you to choose from. While they all operate using the same basic principle of heat transfer — using a device to move heat from one place to another rather than burning fuel to create heat — they each operate in various ways.

Air-Source Heat Pumps
These types of pumps take heat from the air outside of your house and pump it through coils that are filled with refrigerant. They also have a reversing valve which allows the pump to release heat instead of pumping it into your home.  After the heat is released outside, the refrigerant cools, flows back inside and picks up more heat.

Ground-Source Heat Pumps
These pumps absorb heat from the constant temperature of the ground.  They typically absorb the heat through buried pipes filled with refrigerant or water. In a closed-loop system, the same liquid will circulate through the pipes repeatedly. Open-loop systems require a water source. Water is pumped out of the system after heat has been extracted from it and then more water is pumped from the water source.

Absorption Heat Pumps
These are powered by solar power, propane, natural gas or geothermally heated water instead of electricity. Instead of utilizing a refrigerant, an absorption pump absorbs ammonia into water, and a pump pressurizes it. Heat is used to boil the ammonia out of the water and then the process is repeated.

Mini-Split Pumps
These systems consist of multiple indoor units all connected to one single outdoor air-source unit. They are particularly helpful for stabilizing new rooms you add on but can not get ductwork to. They require only a 3-inch hole in the wall for a conduit and can be installed in the ceiling, wall or floor. They are fairly small and have high-tech looking shells so that they are not eyesores in the room.

If you have any other questions about pump options, or any other questions regarding heating or cooling issues, contact Air-Tro Inc. today. We’ll be happy to help.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Air-Tro Inc. services the greater Los Angeles area as well as the metro areas of Riverside and San Bernardino County. To get started, check out our website.