A heat pump is a device that transfers heat from one place at a low temperature to another place at a higher temperature. Therefore, many heat pumps can also provide comfort cooling – in reverse mode – by extracting heat from the indoor air and release it to the outdoor air, sometimes via an intermediate media, normally water.
An air-to-air heat pumps is basically an air-conditioner working in reverse mode and adapted for heating applications. Thereby most air-to-air heat pumps on the market can also work in in cooling mode.
However, in many cases other types of heat pumps, such as air-to-water heat pumps and liquid/water-to-water and liquid/water-to-air heat pumps can work in reverse mode to provide comfort cooling, especially those working in larger buildings, but also in single-family buildings. In some cases, they can provide heating and cooling at the same time, to different parts or systems of the building. Moreover, in some cases ground source heat pumps can offer free cooling during parts of the year, resulting in a very efficient overall system.
By applying heat pumping technologies in your building, you can use the same system for heating and cooling, avoiding investing in two parallel systems.
Large scale heat pumps (aka liquid coolers) can also provide cooling to district cooling systems, which in turn cools the buildings of a city or community.
Deep-dive information about how to cool your building efficiently and sustainably.
