Patent ID: 8091372

Claim:
An air source heat pump for heating and cooling an indoor space comprising a primary flow circuit including an indoor heat exchanger, an outdoor heat exchanger, a compressor connected thereto and a reverse valve for toggling a direction of refrigerant flow therethrough, and an auxiliary flow circuit using a defrost fluid for deicing said outdoor heat exchanger, comprising: a valve for connecting said auxiliary flow circuit to said primary flow circuit; a heat sink in line with said auxiliary flow circuit, wherein said heat sink stores at least a portion of said defrost fluid within said auxiliary flow circuit; at least one thermostat to read an outdoor ambient temperature; and a control unit for operatively engaging said valve to direct hot gas from said compressor within said auxiliary flow circuit to heat said defrost fluid according to said outdoor ambient temperature; wherein said heated defrost fluid is channeled through said auxiliary flow circuit for deicing said outdoor heat exchanger.