How Does a Heat Pump Work? A Quick Guide for Homeowners

A heat pump is an energy-efficient instrument that effectively maintains comfortable temperatures in all seasons. The heat pump is becoming more popular in New England homes and other colder climates with its relatively simple mechanics. 

Installed outside the home, the heat pump simulates the action of an air conditioner but works to both cool and heat your home.

Find out how a heat pump works, the various heat pump configurations available, and the many benefits it can provide.

What Is a Heat Pump?

A heat pump is essentially a system for heating and cooling air within the home. It works by transferring heat from one place to another with electricity and refrigerant. This differentiates the heat pump from systems that use boilers or furnaces to produce “new” heat.

During the winter, a heat pump absorbs heat from the outside ground or air and delivers the warm air indoors. In the summertime, the heat pump basically works in reverse, extracting heat from inside the home and shifting it to the outside.

One of the biggest advantages of a heat pump is its energy efficiency. Furnaces and boilers consume oil, gas, or propane to generate heat, and the combustion process consumes a large amount of energy. 

A heat pump, however, only uses electricity to move air from outside to inside (and vice versa), producing more heat energy than it consumes.

How a Heat Pump Works

Like an air conditioner, a heat pump uses refrigerant to control the transfer of air. Unlike air conditioners, however, the heat pump uses a reversing valve, allowing it to deliver warm air as well as cool.

Depending on the system you have, the heat pump sources warmth from the air or the ground outside. The warm air is conveyed over the surface of the pump, warming up the refrigerant and converting it to a vapor. 

This gas travels through a compressor and raises the temperature, eventually flowing to a heat exchanger that sends the warmth to either a central heating or hot water system.

To produce a cooler environment, the heat pump essentially works in reverse. Warm air from inside your home passes over the evaporator coil, where the refrigerant takes up the heat and turns it into gas. 

It’s pressurized in a compressor and transferred to the outside coil, where a fan pushes the heat outside and cools the refrigerant into liquid form. The refrigerant extracts warm air and distributes cooler air through the indoors.

Types of Heat Pumps

Heat pumps come in various configurations that use different sources for extracting warm air.

Air-Source Heat Pumps

By far the most common type of heat pump, this unit transfers heat between outdoor and indoor air. Air-source heat pumps work remarkably well in moderate climates but have gained a foothold in colder climates thanks to technological advances.

Ground-Source Heat Pumps

Ground-source heat pumps take in heat from underground, where temperatures tend to be more stable. Although they’re highly efficient, ground-source heat pumps are a little more complicated to install since they require underground pipe systems.

Water-Sourcing Heat Pumps

Water-sourcing heat pumps are extremely rare in residential systems but work well in areas that have consistent access to wells, ponds, or lakes.

Ducted and Ductless Heat Pumps

Some heat pumps connect to the existing ductwork in homes, essentially working the same way as central air. Ductless mini split systems operate in homes without ducts, providing climate control room by room.

Heat Pump Benefits

Installing a heat pump can result in several significant advantages to homeowners.

Energy Efficiency

Since they transfer heat rather than produce it, heat pumps use far less energy than other heating methods. This results in a smaller carbon footprint, not to mention cheaper energy bills. It also eliminates the risk of carbon monoxide leaks and combustion pollutants.

Consistent Year-Round Comfort

Heat pumps operate in all seasons, providing both warm and cool air when they’re needed — with no need for separate systems. They bring steady, consistent comfort with no dramatic temperature swings.

Lower Maintenance

Heat pumps are fairly simple constructions that don’t require as much upkeep as more complicated components. Also, they don’t wear out over time as much as other HVAC systems.

Cleaner, More Comfortable Temperatures

Heat pumps have evolved into solid, energy-efficient deliverers of comfortable air. Even in the colder climates of Maine and New Hampshire, technological advancements have made heat pumps more effective and budget-friendly than ever.