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Heat pumps are devices that transfer heat from a lower temperature surface to a higher temperature surface using mechanical work in the process. Heat pumps can produce both heating and cooling effect as the basic cycle of operation is same for both. Heat pumps can alter the part working as condenser and evaporator. A swap in the two parts alters the cycle from heating to cooling and vice versa. Thus, this is a major advantage of heat pumps that their refrigeration can work either ways. Heat pumps can be classified in various categories depending upon the heating sources. There are two main categories which are as follows- air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps. Air source heat pumps utilize the air circulating outside for heating purpose. The circulating air is utilized in the refrigeration cycle for sink, source, compressor and condenser. They work on the basic principle that the air that is circulating always contains some amount of heat; this extra heat is used to provide the energy for heating or cooling by making it a part of the cycle that is in process. There are three main parts of air source heat pumps. They are as follows. It contains a heat exchanger which serves the purpose of trapping the extra heat of the blowing air, a compressor that helps in increasing the temperature using the heat from the exchanger and a medium that aids the flow of heat transfer into the required system. Thus, we can now understand the working process of air source heat pump which is becoming common equipment these days as a method of providing hot water especially during winters in cold countries. Also, the efficiency too is good as it gives a nice performance ratio. The second category of heat pumps is the ground source heat pumps. They are also known as geothermal heat pumps because they utilize the energy tapped from beneath the ground surface. The geothermal or ground source heat pump uses the earth as a source or a sink during winter and summer respectively. Their efficiency can be raised at an alarming high with the help of solar energy as they can form geo solar pumps. Ground source heat pumps must have a heat exchanger in direct contact with the earth to facilitate heat transfer by either extraction or dissipation as the need may be. There can be various different types of geothermal heat exchanger like direct exchange, closed loop and open loop. These categories can further be sub divided into finer divisions as the different type behave in some respect or the other, generally with minute differences in their way of operating. They have been categorized as energy efficient means that are also safe and good for the environment as they do not pose any threat to the environment; on the contrary the environment may benefit from the same. Thus, we can safely conclude that heat pumps are very useful devices and hence it is good to know more about them. The more informative you are, the better it is. These products which help in utilizing the alternative sources of energy might prove to be the savior in times to come as we really need to minimize the use of non renewable energy sources if we want mankind to thrive and survive for a long long time! For gathering more info about air source heat pumps and also about ground source heat pumps, please check out these links.
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