Heat pumps are different from conventional heating and air conditioning units in that heat pumps have the ability to heat and cool in one unit. Traditionally, homes contained a heating unit that generated heat from electricity or the combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel. In addition to the heating unit, another unit was needed to cool the air inside homes during the summer months.
Heat pumps are able to achieve both by a very simple concept, moving heat .
If this is expected, a supplemental, electric heat source is usually included in the unit. The concept is simple really. This heat is then transferred to an air handler to heat your home. During the cooling season, the cycle is simply reversed. The cold liquid refrigerant is circulated through the air handler where it absorbs and removes the unwanted heat from the air and vaporizes the refrigerant to a gas.