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Air
conditioning is based on the precise control of temperature,
humidity, air flow and air cleanliness. Air conditioners
regulate these elements around the clock to provide you with
a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere. Day and night, year after
year.
The principle of air
conditioning always comes down to the same: absorb
energy in one place and release it in another place
The process requires an indoor
unit, an outdoor unit and copper piping to connect both. Through
the piping the refrigerant flows from one unit to another. It is
the refrigerant that absorbs the energy in one unit and releases
it in the other.
 Cooling
mode
1 Indoor unit
A fan blows the hot indoor air over a heat exchanging coil
through which cold refrigerant flows. The cold refrigerant
absorbs the heat from the air and cooled air is blown into the
room.
2 Copper piping
The refrigerant circulates through the units and the
piping and takes the heat from the indoor unit to the outdoor
unit.
3 Outdoor unit
Through compression, the refrigerant gas is heated and
its boiling point increases. In the outdoor unit the obtained
heat through compression is released to the outdoor air by
means of a fan which blows the outdoor air over a heat
exchanging coil.
4 Refrigerant
The liquid refrigerant flows back to the indoor unit.
5 Indoor unit
Back in the indoor unit, the refrigerant is decompressed and
thus enabled to extract heat form the indoor air.
An air conditioner works similar
to a refrigerator. The refrigerant flows through the system, and
changes in state or condition. There are four processes in the
'refrigeration cycle'.
The Refrigerant Cycle
 1
The compressor which pumps the refrigerant around the system, is
the heart of the air conditioner. Before the compressor, the
refrigerant is a gas at low pressure. Because of the compressor,
the gas becomes high pressure, gets heated and flows towards the
condenser.
2 At the
condenser, the high temperature, high pressure gas releases its
heat to the outdoor air and becomes subcooled high pressure
liquid.
3 The high
pressure liquid goes through the expansion valve, which reduces
the pressure, and thus temperature goes below the temperature of
the refrigerated space. This results in cold, low pressure
refrigerant liquid.
4 The low
pressure refrigerant flows to the evaporator where it absorbs
heat from the indoor air through evaporation and becomes low
pressure gas. The gas flows back to the compressor where the
cycle starts all over again.
In case of a heat pump the cycle
can be reversed.
Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are
air conditioners which can be used both for cooling and heating.
The principle is that it is able to reverse the process of
transporting heat from one place to another.
Energy efficiency?
Moreover heat pumps are much more energy efficient than other
heaters. The reason for this is simple: rather than burning a
fuel, what it does is 'moving heat'. Because of this heat pumps
are up to five times more energy efficient than other heaters.
Heat pumps additionally allow the
refrigerant cycle to be reversed. A heat pump extracts energy
from the outdoor and transfers the heat indoors. This principle
even continues to function on very cold days with temperatures
down to -5°C, -10°C or -15°C, depending on the type of air
conditioning system used.
| Cooling
mode |
Heating
mode |
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Therefore, heat pumps eliminate
the need for a heating system and allow you to cool and heat
with the same unit, with savings in costs and energy throughout
the year.
Why Choose
Heat Pumps
 Heat
pumps = Using air conditioners to heat
Heat pumps are an integral part of air conditioning technology.
Heat pumps transfer heat from one environment to another via
refrigerant. In cooling mode, heat pumps transfer the heat in an
enclosed area (room, industrial process) to the outside air,
resulting in a cooling of the area in question. This is the role
that heat pumps play in common refrigeration and air
conditioning systems. Heat pumps, however, also allow this
process to be reversed. They can pump heat extracted from the
outside air indoors, allowing indoor environments to be heated
as well as cooled using the same technology.
Heat pump efficiency
Heat pumps offer numerous advantages as a heating solution. The
same systems used to cool can also be used to heat, resulting in
less initial investment and simplicity in operation and
maintenance. They / Heat pumps also have an important advantage
in the area of efficiency. Unlike fossil-fuel based heating
systems, heat pumps extract available heat from the outside air.
Heat pumps offer efficiency gains on the order of 3:1 and
higher, compared to electrical heating. Thus for every unit of
energy consumed by the heat pump, three or more units of heat
are gained.
Heat pump comfort
Heat pumps in combination offer unparalleled indoor heating comfort and process
efficiency. Heat pumps can extract heat energy from the outside
air even on the coldest days of winter. Heat pump systems
are capable of meeting exacting industrial heating and cooling
requirements as well as of providing comfortable and efficient
indoor heating.
Heat pumps
Many commercial products are available with a
heating mode that allows the system to heat as well as cool.
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