this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2023
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I watched the technology connections video. So I should know. But I don't really know. What's the difference between a heat pump and a split air conditioner?
A split air conditioner is will generally have an indoor component (evaporator) and an outdoor component (condenser).
When the compressor runs, the evaporator will get cold and the condenser will get hot.
A heat pump also has a indoor and outdoor components, along with a new item called a reversing valve. The reversing valve allows the system to switch which component is the evaporator and which is the condenser.
When the compressor runs and the reversing valve is enabled, the evaporator is inside and you get cold air.
When the compressor runs and the reversing valve is disabled, the condenser is inside and you get hot air.
Thank you that was very clear!
Isn't that what most split AC units are currently capable of? At least I've seen them almost all with the ability to produce heat when I was browsing for one.
All of the split units I’ve seen are heat pumps.
Heat pump means that it’s reversible, split package is just the physical arrangement of the pieces.
So if I don't have ducts in my house I can still get a "heat pump" in the form of a mini split system?
If the mini-split isn't marketed as "cooling only", then yes.
Let me preface this statement by saying I am a moron... but if the condenser is inside of your house wouldn't their be condensation dripping inside your house?
Sorry for such a dumb question, but it's really bothering me and I can't completely conceptualize how these things work.
They probably have a drain that leads outside, like how some types of window do.
T156 is right, most of the time there is just a catch pan and a drain pipe that dump the water somewhere else.
For more detail, condensers and evaporators get their names from what is happening to the refrigerant in the system. In the summer, the evaporator (inside) will get cold and cause water condensate to form, coming from the air.
This video by Technology Connections is one of the things being referenced in this thread. I haven't seen this one specifically, but he is very good at breaking down topics into pieces that slowly build on each other.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=7J52mDjZzto
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Mini split you mean? Those are also heat pumps but used in homes that don't have duct systems installed. So theoretically you get large mini splits on each floor to heat or cool all the spaces. Downside being if you close a door and there's no mini split in that room, it will be more affected by the outdoor air.
"the" video? He has many on heat pumps. Get watching!
I may be way off here. But I believe a mini split and heat pump are the same thing? At least where I live the term is interchangeable.
Not at all. A mini split is a kind of heat pump, but refers to a specific kind of installation.
Most of these are "air source" heat pumps, but there are also ground source or geothermal pumps that exchange heat using a loop of liquid buried in the ground.
We're installing a "whole house" air source heat pump to replace our 40yo inefficient gas furnaces and add cooling. This will utilize our existing duct work.
If you don't have duct work (and can't without razing your house to the ground and rebuilding) a mini-split is the only option right?
💀
You can get one that can go both directions. Heat in winter and cool in summer.
Heat pump = air conditioner that cools the outside and dumps heat inside.
More efficient than radiators (which are always 100% efficient) because of a loophole in the laws of thermodynamics.
Though most heat pumps are also air-conditioners. All it takes is a 4 way refrigerant redirection valve manifold. Heat pumps don't just advertise it as headliner, since the main point is energy savings in the heating. One doesn't get energy savings in the cooling. When switched to cooling, its just an air-conditioner. Same old power hungry airconditioner.
Heat pumps just list in the side sentence "oh you can also run this heat pump in cooling mode in addition to heating mode. Note: the inefficient energy use, when being run in cooling mode."