Heat Pump Systems - There are different types of Heat Pumps in use in both the commercial HVAC heat pump markets and the residential HVAC heat pump markets. The two main types of heat pumps are the air source heat pumps and the water source heat pumps (or geothermal heat pumps). Within the water source heat pump types there are several sub-categories. (more…)
HVAC reciprocating compressors were the workhorse of the HVAC industry and when someone mentioned a compressor the first thing one thought about was a reciprocating compressor. This compressor has a piston(s) that compresses vapor and in the cases of an HVAC compressor, the compressor compresses the refrigerant vapor. (more…)
HVACR Refrigeration Certification Section 608 - In 1993, Section 608 of the Clean Air Act became law and active enforcement of these federally mandated laws became the responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforce. The Clean Air Act as defined by the EPA is not limited to the United States. It is applicable to all signatories (24 countries and the European Economic Countries) of the Montreal Protocol. These signatories agreed to phase out all CFCs and eventually all HCFCs. (more…)
HVAC Refrigeration Evacuation | Technical Refrigeration - Why is it necessary to evacuate a refrigeration system before charging it with refrigerant? Because all systems are designed to operate without moisture or non-condensable gas in the system. If your air conditioner or heat pump was installed without a proper evacuation the system it will not function as designed and will likely fail prematurely. (more…)
Condenser Coil Repair - A crane is used here to lift a new condenser coil to a rooftop. The old condenser coil was leaking and could no longer be repaired. The process involved recovering all the refrigerant from the Trane rooftop unit.
The rooftop unit was then partially disassembled and the old coil cut out from the system taking great care and planning to ensure the new coil could be retrofitted to the old refrigeration piping system.
Good planning and skilled HVAC techs make the jobs go smoothly and make the replacement seem easy especially to the customer. (more…)
Refrigerant Pressure Temperature Chart | HVAC Refrigeration - This page offers a temperature-pressure relationship chart for use in working with HVAC Systems that use R-410A, R-22, and R-134A. Additional refrigeration information and resources are located below the chart. For more information and comprehensive articles on HVAC Refrigeration see our Refrigeration Category. (more…)
The TXV or Thermostatic Expansion Valve is preferred over other refrigeration metering devices because it only allows a specified amount of refrigerant to flow based on demand. Any type of refrigeration metering device creates a pressure drop in the refrigerant and with a pressure drop of the refrigerant a temperature drop also occurs.
This temperature is necessary to drop the refrigerant down to temperature lower than ambient temperatures inside the structure being cooled. This allows the refrigerant to absorb the heat contained in the air passing over the evaporator coil. (more…)
Heat Pump Components - Heat Pumps are similar to air conditioners with a few extra components. Components added to allow the heat pump to offer both heating and cooling. The two major differences between a heat pump and an air conditioner are the controls and the refrigeration circuit.
While there are many different types of heat pumps and air conditioners the methods and means these two types of heating and cooling systems use are basically the same. (more…)
Trane Air Source Heat Pump Condenser
Heat Pump Types - There are different types of heat pumps available on the market today. A heat pump is an air conditioning unit that cools when the temperature is hot and heats when it is cold. There are many different types of these heat pump systems available. There is the geothermal heat pump. It can either utilize a series of closed-loop water pipes buried in the ground or other methods of heat exchange. This process removes or absorbs heat for heating and cooling.
Air source heat pumps can be configured differently. One type of air source heating will utilize electric heating for backup heating while another may use a gas furnace for backup heating. These types of systems can also be split systems or package units and nearly all share a similar heat pump sequence of operation. A description of the various types of systems and how they work is below in this article on heat pump types. These systems utilize similar heat pump components but differ in how the heat pump works.
