Heat pump is a system that can absorb heat from a place then throw it somewhere else. The heat pump can be used as a coolant if utilizing the heat absorption side, this is called refrigeration system. Conversely, heat pump can also be used as a heater if utilizing the side of the heat dissipation. A simple example of a heat pump is air conditioner. Air conditioner absorbs heat in the room and then throws it outdoors.
To understand the principle of heat pump then the water pump analogy can be used. Water will naturally flow from high to low. To drain water from low to high place, you require an instrument (pump) and effort / work / energy from outside (mechanical). By using the pump, the water can be exploited and issued in a higher place.
On the heat cases, the same thing happens. Heat naturally flows / transfers from high temperatures to low temperatures. High or low temperature is one indication of the amount of heat energy possessed by a substance. The higher the temperature the higher the caloric energy needed. To remove heat from a lower temperature place, a heat pump system is required. As well as water pumps, to absorb heat and waste heat, the work / effort / energy is required. Usually, the heat pump process is described as below:
Ts is the ambient temperature, Tc is the temperature at the side of heat absorption, Th is the temperature on the heat dissipation side, W is the work from the outside, Qc is the heat absorbed and Qh is the heat dissipated.
When no W is working the temperatures of Ts, Tc, and Th are equal (Ts = Th = Tc) and there is no heat transfer process between them. Once there is a work W executed then Tc becomes lower than the Ts. Therefore, the energy of the surrounding heat is absorbed by this system. The absorbed heat is discharged to the Qh side so that the Th temperature becomes larger than Ts. In this circumstance then Tc <Ts <Th. The relationship between the heat absorbed and discarded follows the equation:
To show how well the performance of a heat pump is, we need COP (Coefficient of Performance). This COP is the ratio between the output used with the given input. In a heat pump, the input is work and the output is the absorption of heat or heat dissipation. If the heat pump is used as a coolant (Refrigeration) then the output is heat absorption. Conversely, if the heat pump is used as a heater then the output is heat dissipation. Therefore COP is expressed by:
For cooler:
For heater:
Two types of broadly commercialized heat pump systems are vapor refrigeration system and thermoelectric. The first type is the most widely encountered system in everyday life, such as Air conditioner (AC) and refrigerator. The second type is often encountered as electronic cooler. The advantages of this type are its small size, very easy to apply and its compatibility with direct electricity. Do you want more info? To get more info about heat pump, you can visit this link https://www.huskyheatpumps.co.uk/products/air-heat-pumps.