Heat pump basics
Heat pump basics. Some technicians are old enough to remember servicing R-12 air conditioning (A/C) systems that used heavy A6, York/Tecumseh or RV2 compressors. The R-12 plumbing was simple, and the number of components having a properly operating system was minimal. The R-134a piping remained uncomplicated until some R-134a layouts and most newly introduced R-1234yf designs benefited from internal heat exchangers (IHX). The refrigeration line routing and component installation were not too complex, even with the addition of heat exchangers.
An internal combustion engine (ICE) is relatively inefficient, using only about a third of the fuel’s heat energy (BTUs). The rest of the heat energy is “wasted” in friction, cooling and exhaust heat losses. Yet, the ICE’s wastefulness benefits the vehicle’s interior heating. Early cars used metal shielding and ducting around the exhaust to move the heated air into the interior. For decades, engine coolant has warmed heater cores located under the dash. Airflow is directed across the heater core, and the heated air is channeled into the interior at registers located at the base of the windshield, vent or floor. The operator can select more than one output if desired.
Heat pump basics is the feature article for MACS March 2022 ACTION magazine! Read the whole article here.
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