Heat Pumps
Part 2

Types of Split System Heat Pumps

 Two main types of split system air source heat pumps are; "All Electric" and "Add On". If a heat pump is added on to a fossil fuel furnace the coil is installed in the supply air plenum which is downstream of the heat exchanger with respect to air flow. It is therefore impossible to run both the heat pump and the back up heat simultaneously. The mild 105 °F heat from the indoor coil could certainly not be rejected into a 150 °F air stream from the heat exchanger of the fossil fuel furnace. Therefore, anytime that supplemental heat is required the heat pump must shut off and rest while the space is brought up to temperature by the more expensively fueled back up heat. This is why "add on" heat pumps are not as energy efficient as an all electric system.
Since the indoor coil of an "all electric heat pump" can be located upstream of the electric heating elements there is no problem running the heat pump and the back up heating simultaneously. Note in the diagram how the RA (Return Air) is what enters the indoor coil, not the heated air from the electric elements. A heat pump is sized to the air conditioning load so that it has a long run cycle and can properly dehumidify the space. If it is located in a climate where the heating requirements are very much greater than the cooling requirements there will obviously be a need for additional heat. This additional heat has several names but they all mean the same thing; back up heat, auxiliary heat, AUX heat, supplemental heat. Further complicating the situation is the fact that it is harder to extract heat from colder air. (There is less heat content to be extracted) So as heat is required more, it is less available from the heat pump and there is a greater reliance on back up heat. Whereas the add on heat pump must shut off every time back up heat is required, the all electric heat pump can continue to provide some portion of the heat at a more energy efficient rate than the fossil fuel system. This layout where electric back up heat is located downstream of the indoor coil is also what is used in packaged heat pump systems.

Balance Point
The Balance Point of a heat pump is the outdoor temperature (usually between 30 °F to 45 °F) at which a heat pump's output exactly equals the heating needs of the conditioned space. Below the balance point, supplementary heat is needed to maintain indoor design conditions.

COP
COP or Co-efficient Of Performance is a way of describing a heat pump's efficiency. It is the ratio of heat produced to the amount of energy required to run the system. The COP is calculated by dividing the total heating capacity provided by the heat pump, including circulating fan heat but excluding supplementary resistance heat (Btu's per hour), by the total electrical input (watts) x 3.412. Another rating given to heat pumps is HSPF. Typical COPs for an air source heat pump under optimum conditions are 3 to 1. In other words for one dollar's worth of energy input you receive 3 dollars worth of energy output. However conditions are not always optimum. As outdoor temperatures drop so does the COP. At a COP of 2:1 you would still be receiving twice the heat output compared to straight electric resistance heating elements. (if electric elements were rated by a COP, they would rate 1:1) No matter how cold it gets outside the COP of an air source heat pump never gets any worse than 1:1. However it is not wise to torture the expensive heat pump under these conditions when the same output efficiency can be achieved by other means. The annual energy savings attributable to a heat pump are a result of the sum totals of all the individual COPs that the system operated under for the entire heating season. Most of the energy savings occur in the milder portions of the heating season when little or no back up heat is required and the bulk of the heating requirements are being met primarily by the energy efficient heat pump.

Ground and Water Source Heat Pumps
It is possible to relocate heat from the ground or water with a heat pump. Most of the time ground and water temperatures are higher than winter air temperatures so they are more efficient to use as heat sources. For example there can be a raging snow storm with air temperatures in the 0 °F range yet the ground temperature 6 feet down might be 40 °F. However those mechanical systems are a lot more complicated than air source heat pumps and although COPs of 4:1 or higher can be achieved, the much greater installation costs and increased maintenance and repair costs should be carefully considered compared to the expected extra energy savings.

Airflow Requirements
It is important that the indoor air handler and duct distribution system are capable of moving an adequate quantity of air to satisfy the air flow requirements of the indoor coil when it is in the condenser mode. A typical rule of thumb for air flow requirements is 400 CFM per Ton (cubic feet per minute) for air conditioning systems and 450 CFM per ton for heat pump systems. Inadequate condenser air causes high head pressures and temperatures which leads to compressor failures.

Review Questions - Heat Pumps