Heat pumps are an excellent solution for your home; either you need a heating system or a cooling system. Heat pumps work like refrigerators. They take the outside heat and convert it into energy to produce hot or cold air. Heat pumps can produce both hot and cold air.

According to a research study, installing pumps at your place can reduce your electricity cost by nearly 50% as compared to electric heaters or air conditioners. There are many types, models and designs of heat pumps available in the market. But to choose the right one is a task that needs proper attention. Therefore, in this article we will give you an insight of different types of heat pumps available in the market.

Types of Heat Pumps

There are actually three main or basic types of pumps that are mostly used in houses or buildings.

Air Source Heat Pumps

Air source pumps work on the basic principle of extracting air from the outside environment. And, then cool down or heat it up according to the requirement. Air source heat pumps are easy to install as they can be fitted anywhere in the outside environment. They need open space to be installed as they have to draw air from the outside to do their functioning. Their installation and maintenance are easy as the unit only needs to be fixed at one place and does not need any special installation requirements.

Air source heat pumps have a direct effect on your energy bills. There has been significant improvement in air source heat pumps technology with the passage of time. They not only give you the best cooling or heating solutions but also help to sufficiently reduce your energy bills. There is however a shortcoming to this type of heat pumps.

When there is a huge variation between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the efficiency and effectiveness of air source pumps reduces. This usually happens in extreme hot or extreme cold weather conditions. There are also some subtypes of pumps which are given below.

1a. Ductless Heat Pump

This simply consists of one indoor and one outdoor unit. The outdoor unit exhausts out heat and the indoor unit gives cold air inside the room.

1b. Exhaust Air Heat Pump

This type of air source heat system requires an exhaust to get air and then covert that air into energy. This type of pump requires steady flow of air and consistent temperature conditions.

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Ground Source Heat Pumps

Ground source pumps are the one which are installed under the ground. Their installation is a bit difficult as compared to other pumps because it requires ground work. But they are more efficient as they are not affected by temperature variations in the outside environment. The ground maintains a consistent temperature which makes it easy for ground source heat pumps to work more effectively. They also consume less energy than other types of pumps.

Water source heat pumps

As the name implies this type of pumps use water as a source to produce energy. But here the requirement is that you need a nearly located water source to operate this type of pumps.  They work by simply extracting heat from water and converting it into energy and it operates in the reverse order as well. It also extracts the inside heat and releases it in water. The temperature of water remains consistent throughout the year, even in extreme weather conditions. That is why the water source pumps also work effectively throughout the year.

Hybrid Heat Pumps

Air source pumps are great for heating purpose. But they stop working in extreme weather conditions. Similarly, ground source and water source pumps are better for cooling purpose. Therefore, to resolve the shortcoming of one type of heat pump, it can e combined with the other to work properly. Solar powered pumps are an excellent example of hybrid pumps. They take energy from the sun and use it to give power to other attached heating systems.

Which One is the Best!!

After reading the above information, you will be able to identify and differentiate different types of boilers and heat pumps. But to choose the one for you is a decision that should be made very carefully. Before taking the final step, you should consider all the facts like your climate zone, variable temperature conditions, space requirements, permissions, total cost including the maintenance cost etc.