About Your Heat Pump; Principles Of Function - York Geysir User Manual

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About your heat pump

2 .1

Principles of function

A heat pump utilises the free energy found in a natural heat source, such as rock, ground, or
ground water. The heat pump can be compared to a reversed refrigerator. In a refrigerator, heat
is transferred from the inside of the refrigerator to the outside. In a heat pump the heat that is
stored in a heat source is transferred to the inside of the house. The heat pump uses the energy in
the heat source and gives back two to three times more heat energy than what it uses in electrical
energy. The heat pump is, therefore, a very environmentally friendly and economical way of
heating a house.
In order for the heat pump to be able to retrieve heating energy from the heat source and transfer
it to the heating system of the house, three separate fluid circuits are required.
The circuit that retrieves the heating energy from the heat source is called the brine circuit
and it maintains a low outgoing temperature to be heated by the heat source.
The next circuit is called the refrigerant circuit and is a closed circuit which takes the retrieves
heating energy and transfers it to the last circuit, the heat transfer fluid circuit.
The heat transfer fluid circuit holds the fluid that circulates in the heating system of the house
and in the heat pump's water heater.
The figure below shows how the different circuits work together in the transfer of heating
energy.
Heating system and
water heater
Expansion valve/
pressure drop
Enclosed
refrigerant
Brine
Rock, ground or ground water
Q
A fluid (brine) filled hose is lowered into a lake, buried in the ground or lowered into bedrock. The brine
obtains energy from the heat source by the fluid temperature in the hose being heated a few degrees by
the surrounding heat source. The fluid filled hose is also known as a collector.
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ENGLISH
Condenser
Compressor/
pressure increasing
Evaporator
Figure 1: Function principles of a heat pump .
Heat transfer fluid circuit - is the circuit that contains
the water that transports the heat/energy to the heating
system and the water heater.
Refrigerant circuit - is the circuit that contains a chlorine
and freon free refrigerant which, inside the heat pump,
transfers the energy retrieved from the brine circuit
through evaporation, compression and condensation,
and supplies it to the heat transfer fluid circuit.
Brine circuit - is the circuit that contains an antifreeze
water based mix that obtains and transports energy from
the heat source to the heat pump. This circuit is also
known as the collector.