Heat pumps, an alternative to air conditioners and heating systems

Context

Amid the Pacific Northwest's historic heatwave, the US Department of Energy notes that for climates with moderate heating and cooling needs, heat pumps offer an energy-efficient alternative to furnaces and air-conditioners.

What are heat pumps?

• The heat pumps use electricity to move heat from a cool space to a warm space.
• This makes the cool place cooler and the warm place warmer.
• Therefore, a heat pump does not create any heat or cool air but merely shifts air.
• If a heat pump is being used inside a room to make it cool, it will absorb the heat in the room and will release it outdoors with the help of an outdoor compressor.
• In heating mode, the heat pump will absorb heat from outside and release it indoors.
• There are mainly two types of heat pumps depending on the type of medium they extract heat from. One type extracts heat from the ground and the other from the air.
  

Environmental benefits

• A heat pump does not generate heat or cold air, therefore it does not use fuel.
• However, a heat pump works more or less like a refrigerator and does use some amount of electricity to run. Therefore, a heat pump cannot exactly be called a renewable technology.
• But compared to ACs, they fare much better when it comes to impacting the environment.
• In India, a tremendous amount of solar energy is available. The system combination of solar thermal collectors and heat pumps is a very attractive option for increasing renewable energy usage at a worldwide level for heating and domestic hot water preparation.