How Heat Pumps Work

The device which transports heat energy from one place to another place is called heat pump.
The heat pump working process is based on a fluid called refrigerant, which is circulated
through the heat pump using a compressor.
All the process has four phases:
4. The refrigerant enters the compressor, in a gaseous (saturated vapor) state at lower pressure
and lower temperature and exits at higher pressure and higher temperature, in a superheated
gaseous state.
1. The refrigerant passes through the hot side heat exchanger, and in so doing changes state
into a liquid
2. The refrigerant passes through an expansion valve, which forces the liquid refrigerant to flash
into a gas and liquid mixture, at a pressure and temperature both lower than before entering the
valve.
3. This mixture then passes through the cold side heat exchanger and the refrigerant completely
converts into a gas. The associated latent heat of vaporization (due to phase change of the
liquid portion of the mixture into a gas) is absorbed by the heat exchanger from whatever
medium the heat exchanger is in contact with. The cycle epeats.

The efficiency of the heat pump is defined by a Coefficient of Performance (COP), which is the
ratio between heat energy transported and energy input.
The heat pump can be used for heating during the winter and for cooling during the summer.
During the wintertime an anti-freeze solution which serves as the heating medium, is pumped
into the ground through the pipes and there is a change of heat energy. The anti-freeze solution
is heated in the ground and after makes the way back into the heat exchanger where the heat
energy transfer will take place. The result will be the heating of the building. During summertime
the heat pump can be operated in reverse, as a cooler (air conditioner)
The main benefit of this method is in heating, since that is where most of the savings are
realized.
The main disadvantage of ground-source heat pumps is the initial up-front cost, but because the
annual operating cost can be significantly less than conventional heating systems, this system
can pay for itself in a few years.

One interesting aspect of how heat pumps work is that you can actually transport more heat
energy than the energy required to run them. For example, with an air conditioner you can
transport more heat energy out of a building than the electrical energy required to power it. This
makes it seem like there is an efficiency of over 100%. But how is this possible? How can you
get something for nothing? Well, you actually dont. As said before, a heat pump merely
transports energy from one place to another. This is not the same thing as creating something
out of nothing. So in the case of a heat pump it becomes more appropriate, for semantics if
nothing else, to define a Coefficient Of Performance (COP), which is: (heat energy transported)/
(energy input). So for an efficiency of 400%, COP = 4.
Alternatively, a heat pump can be used as a heater instead of a cooler/refrigerator. This is
basically taking an air conditioner and flipping it around, so that the outside part is facing indoors
and the inside part is facing outdoors. With this set up you will have a heater instead of an air
conditioner. And once again, you can have an apparent efficiency greater than 100%.
But there is a catch.
In order to have a high COP, you have to be operating between certain temperature ranges. So
if you are using a heat pump as a heater during the winter, you cannot have an outdoor
temperature that is excessively cold, otherwise your COP will go down. In fact, the COP will
approach 1 for outdoor temperatures that are -18 degrees Celsius or colder. This is because it
becomes increasingly difficult to extract heat from the outdoors (to pump indoors) the colder it
gets. Eventually, the heat energy transported becomes equal to the electrical energy input (COP
= 1), and the cost of heating becomes much more expensive. So in this case a heat pump used
for heating is best used during mild winter temperatures.
Similarly, if you use a heat pump as a cooler (air conditioner) during the summer, you cannot
have an outdoor temperature that is excessively warm, otherwise your COP will go down.
Fortunately, it never gets nearly hot enough during the summer to result in a COP approaching
1 it would take an outdoor temperature of 50+ degrees Celsius!
This makes sense intuitively a lower COP is the result of pushing heat energy uphill to a
greater extent, and working against the natural direction of heat transfer which is from hot to
cold. So the greater the temperature difference you are working against, the more energy it
takes and the less bang you get for your buck.

So we have a practical dilemma, especially where a heater is concerned: The more you need it,
the less efficient it becomes, and the less you need it, the more efficient it becomes. But there is
a way to deal with this, however. You can use the heat energy of the ground to keep the COP
high. This is discussed in the next section.
Ground Source Heat Pump
This section is particularly useful to many people who want to know how heat pumps work,
since they have geothermal/ground source units in mind.
The diagram below illustrates a ground source heat pump. This figure shows a heat pump and
ground loop configuration.

This figure shows a network of pipes running underground, to form a closed loop. If you go deep
enough (e.g. 5-6 m in the Ottawa region) well below the frost line, the ground stays at a
roughly constant 10 degrees Celsius, all year, with little variation. This is due to the energy of
the sun which warms the earth, and maintains a consistent temperature profile year round, at a
certain depth. It is this steady temperature condition that allows a geothermal heat pump to
operate efficiently.
During wintertime, an anti-freeze liquid solution, such as propylene glycol (mixed with water)
which serves as the heating medium, is pumped through the pipes and as it courses along it is
heated up to roughly the (surrounding) ground temperature, which for the Ottawa area is 10
degrees Celsius. As the anti-freeze solution makes its way back up (in the heated state) it
enters a heat exchanger which allows the heat energy (gained from the ground) to be
transferred to the heat pump, which then transfers the energy indoors in order to heat the
building. The anti-freeze solution, which is cooled at this point, makes its way back underground
to gain heat once again from the ground, and the cycle repeats. The length of pipe running
underground is proportional to the desired heating load.
During summertime the heat pump can be operated in reverse, as a cooler (air conditioner). So
the operation is similar, except that instead of gaining heat from the ground, the anti-freeze
solution (which now acts as the cooling medium) loses heat to the ground. As the anti-freeze
solution makes its way back up (in the cooled state) it enters a heat exchanger which allows the
heat energy of the inside of the building to be transferred to it, by way of the heat pump. This
enables the building to get cooler inside. The anti-freeze solution, which is heated at this point,
makes its way back underground to lose heat once again to the ground, and the cycle repeats.
The length of pipe running underground is proportional to the desired cooling load.
What makes this method so attractive is that you have a free, readily abundant "heat sink" or
"heat source" available from underground, which can be utilized for high efficiency heat pumps.
During the winter you use the heat pump as a source of heating and during the summer you run
the heat pump in reverse and use it as a source of cooling. Since, at a certain depth
underground the temperature is relatively constant year round, the COP remains high year
round.
The main benefit of this method is in heating, since that is where most of the savings are
realized. It can be an improvement on other heating methods which may use natural gas,
heating oil, or electric heating. By the way, electric heating is one of the least efficient ways to
heat a building, since it has a COP of 1.
The main disadvantage of ground-source heat pumps is the initial up-front cost which can be
around $2,500 (or more) per ton of capacity, in the U.S. and Canada. Note that one ton equals
12,000 BTU/hour, or 3.5 kW.
But because the annual operating cost can be significantly less than conventional heating
systems, this system can pay for itself in a few years.

The figure below shows a picture of an underground pipe network typical of such an
installation.

Source: Wikipedia via Marktj

The pipes can be placed vertically underground in a deep hole hundreds of feet deep or in large
shallow trenches several meters deep. The deep hole may be the better option if you have a
small property or you dont want to dig up a large area, although this set up will cost more than a
horizontal loop system. The length of pipe used is typically hundreds of feet. As a general rule,
500 600 feet of pipe in 250 300 foot trenches is required per ton of system capacity,
depending on how damp the soil is (ref: http://www.earthheat.ca).
The pipes are typically made of plastic which requires longer length to reach ground
temperature than metal pipes, but are lighter and more flexible and are very durable.
Quick Facts
Here are some quick facts about geothermal heat pumps:
Total building energy cost reduction can amount to 60%
The payback period can be 6-8 years
Typical COP of a geothermal heat pump for heating and cooling is 3-4
In the next section we will perform a replacement cost analysis.

Replacement Cost Analysis

If you have a heating system that you are considering replacing with a geothermal heat pump
system it is wise to first estimate your energy usage to see how much you will be saving, if at all.
Have someone come to your home or business and do an assessment. But you can also try
your hand at a rough calculation by looking at your energy bills. If you're using electricity for
space and/or water heating then figure out how much electricity cost is tied to those particular
uses, for one year. Call this amount X. So your annual savings would be equal to AS = X(1 1/COP).
If you're using a heating fuel instead, the calculation becomes more involved. You first have to
calculate how much heating fuel you are using annually. Your energy bills should contain this
information. Let's use natural gas in a sample calculation.
For natural gas, the unit of measurement is volume, in m3 (cubic meters). From your energy
bills, add up the total volume (in m3) of natural gas used in one year, based on your meter
reading. Call this volume V.
The energy density of natural gas is about 35,000 BTU/m3.
Now,
35,000 BTU = 10.26 kWh
To produce 10.26 kWh of heat energy, the amount of electrical energy input needed by the heat
pump is 10.26/COP (e.g. for a COP = 3, the energy input is 10.26/3 = 3.4 kWh).
The associated electrical cost is then EC = (10.26/COP) x (cost per kWh of electricity in your
area). Note that the electrical cost per kWh should be the total cost, which is: (total amount due
on electricity bill)/(total kWh used based on your meter reading). In my area the electricity rate is
15 cents/kWh.
So, the annual electrical cost using a geothermal heat pump is ECxV.
Now from your energy bills, calculate the total cost of using natural gas for one year, taxes
included. Call this NGC.
Therefore, your cost savings per year is AS = NGC - ECxV. This number may actually be
negative in some cases, in which case you would be paying more for a geothermal heat pump
system than with your current system.
We can now look at the payback period.

Given that maintenance costs are likely minimal, the approximate payback period in years =
(cost of heat pump installation)/AS
The same basic calculation applies to other heating fuels, such as propane. Just keep track of
the units used, and use the correct energy density per unit volume (an online search will give
you that information). In some cases you may be using gallons instead of cubic meters.
Direct Exchange Geothermal Heat Pump
A variation on the geothermal heat pump is the Direct exchange geothermal heat pump. In this
system the copper coil of the heat pump is placed directly in the ground and as a result
exchanges heat directly with the ground. This allows for more efficient heat exchange with the
soil because there is no intermediate heat exchange with a ground loopbefore heat exchange
with the heat pump coil takes place. There is a more direct heat exchange path. This simpler
design allows for a shorter length of tubing and reduced installation cost. However, the limitation
of this design is that the compressor cannot be placed at a great distance from the ground coils.
This can be restrictive depending on the application. As well, the cost of refrigerant can be high
due to the high volume needed in the long copper coil.