Home Repair forum - Name That Mystery Box

Author

Name That Mystery Box

Harry

2005-07-24, 9:11 pm

Hello,
What is a "heat pump"?
All i can find on the Internet is talk about the compressor
of the heat pump, however they often show a picture of a
tall box-looking thingy standing along side of the
compressor, but never say a thing about it. I donot even
know the name of the "box". What is in the box? I know
the fan is in it, however i think there is something else in
there - scary- huh?
Here on this site
http://snipurl.com/ggc7
they talk about :

“Heat Pumps, Split System, Electric Heat and AirConditioning”

Then it gets confusing . . .

“What is a “split system”“ may be a better question than
“What is a heat pump”. Does it mean a heat pump system
can be a one system and a split system also (in that the
compressor is in that mystery box or what all is in the
mystery box is in the compressor, thus making it a “one
system”), or does it mean a heat pump and a split system
are two entirely different animals, and if so what are they
in comparison to one another?

I was told if i put gas heat in i will be in the same category
as a seller trying to sell a house with a swimming pool - it
is hard to sell, so i guess i will have to put back the heat
pump - split system whatever. For 13 years ihave been
calling the thing that was drug out of here a “heat pump”,
but was it a heat pump? Its box is still here in the hall in a
sort of closet. In there is the central fan i use to circulate
air through the ducts. It runs off the now gone heat pump
whatever thermostat. Underneath is the air intake, which i
have highly filtered (two filters), one metal sort of filter i
paid more than i can remember (it was 3 figures) that fits
snug under the floor on which the box sits, and then i have
another one covering the screen at the hole in the hall wall
that leads into the box’s closet - it is at the floor. You can
open it, and in there is nothing (on the floor that is) unless
you stick your head into the hole and look up. I never did
that so i donot know what you would see, however i guess
it would be the box’s bottom/feet who knows or the floor
the box sits on with a hole in it for the air vent?.
The old heating unit used to run air conditioning when you
switched the thermostat one way and heat when you
switched it the other way. For some reason it stopped
running. People said it was because it was old (i took that
personal like) and also said the fins were rusted from the
salt air - no one ever said anything about the box, so i guess
all ihave to do is plunk a compressor whatever right down
where the “old” one was and hook up the new one the same
way (after i find out what it was: split system or heat pump
whatever)?

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~^Johnny^~

2005-07-24, 9:12 pm

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On 24 Jul 2005 14:15:23 GMT, "Harry" <7957418@127.0.0.1:7501> wrote:

>
>Hello,
>What is a "heat pump"?

See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pump

> What is in the box? I know
>the fan is in it, however i think there is something else in
>there - scary- huh?
>Here on this site
>http://snipurl.com/ggc7

It's the *condensing unit*. It sits outside, while the other half,
called the *air handler unit*, sits indoors (usually). A true heat
pump can work in only one direction, or in either direction,
depending on design. But by convention, most reversible systems are
called "heat pumps" and one-way systems are called "air
conditioners" or "heat pumps", depending on which way they pump the
heat. A "heat pump" pumps the heat indoors, and an "air conditioner"
pumps the heat outdoors.

Split systems are more generally referred to as "heat pumps", while
window and wall units are more generally referred to as "air
conditioners".
But that's not politically correct either, since technically, air
conditioners are heat pumps. ;->

See also:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/question49.htm

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--
-john
wide-open at throttle dot info

Stretch

2005-07-24, 10:21 pm

A heat pump normally consists of two parts: An outdoor unit and an
Indoor unit. A heat pump is comparible to a reversible window unit.
When you need cooling, it would work normally, it blows cold air inside
and hot air outside. If you took it out of of the window and turned it
around, then put it back in the window, it would blow hot air inside
and cold air outside. The only problem would be the controls are now
outside. A heat pump does that with electric controls to reverse the
functions of the coils. So it can heat or cool, depending on how you
set the thermostat.

Heat pumps can come in split systems, where one unit is outdoors and
the other unit is indoors. The indoor unit can be in a closet, the
basement, a crawlspace or the attic. The indoor unit connects to the
ducts. The outdoor and indoor units are connected to each other with
Freon lines and control wiring.

Heat pumps can also come in a packaged system, where everything is in
one box that connects to the house through ducts.

Heat pumps can also come in a PTHP, which is a motel type unit. PTHP
stands for Packaged Terminal Heat Pump.

Finally, there is a Mini-Split model. There are two units that connect
with pipes, but no ducts. The indoor unit looks like a very quiet
window unit with just a coil and fan and the controls. The compressor
and outdoor fan is in the outdoor unit.

The heat pumps are rated in Tons, SEER and HSPF.
Tons are the amount of cooling. It is 12,000 BTUs per Hour. It is like
Horsepower in a car. SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency
Ratio. It is cooling efficiency. It is like Miles Per Gallon in a
car. HSPF is Heating Efficiency and means Heating Seasonal Performance
Factor. Both SEER and HSPF are rated in BTUs per Watt. The higher the
SEER and HSPF, the better for your power bill.

The heat pumps are sold as a matched set, so both parts should be
installed together. Otherwise it would be like having a Ford car with
a Kia engine, Chevy transmission and Dodge rear end. It may run but
performance is not what you want and fuel economy is probably poor

a 10 SEER unit will only give you 10 SEER if it is matched to a correct
indoor unit. If it is connected to your old indoor unit, it will be
less efficient, perhaps a lot less.

Stretch

~^Johnny^~

2005-07-25, 2:21 am

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