Heat Pump Refrigerant Flow Diagram

Heat pumps are designed to move thermal energy opposite to the direction of spontaneous heat flow by absorbing heat from a cold area and releasing it to a warmer one.

Heat pump refrigerant flow diagram.

You can also view the 2 modes showing the refrigerant states with buttons 4 and 5. Air is blown over an evaporator coil transferring heat energy from the air to the refrigerant. The hfc refrigerant emissions from heat pumps over the lifetime are roughly 2 to 5 mg mj. Thanks to a reversing valve a heat pump can change the flow of refrigerant and either heat or cool a home.

In two phase flow systems a heat pump is a device that transfers energy from a heat source to a destination called a heat sink. Thermodynamic heat pump cycles or refrigeration cycles are the conceptual and mathematical models for heat pump air conditioning and refrigeration systems. A heat pump can switch from air condition mode to heat mode by reversing the refrigeration cycle making the outside coil function as the evaporator and the indoor coil as the condenser. The refrigerant flows through a closed system of refrigeration lines between the outdoor and the indoor unit.

For a heat pump with refrigerant r134a hfc 134a which has a 100 years global warming potential of 1300 this corresponds to ghg emissions of about 3 6 g mj co 2 equiv. The diagram below shows a heat pump piping layout.