How is it that a machine (like a heat pump) can consume 1kw of power and produce an amount greater than that of heat? What am I misunderstanding?
In: 320
The electricity consumed by a heat pump does not *create* heat.
It moves it.
It removes heat from atmospheric air and transfers it to the air inside your house. This is why heat pumps begin to lose there efficiency once outside temps get below a certain point, it must work much harder to remove heat from air that is already cold.
But u/bitter_mongoose, how does a heat pump move heat from *cold* air?
It’s pretty simple, actually. The “cold” outside air is nowhere near as cold as the refrigerant inside your hvac system.
In the summer, your heat pump “runs backwards” to provide the same effect to achieve air conditioning.
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