Sometimes it can get a little hard to choose the right air conditioner for our home.
Just consider this: if you have a device that only cools down your house, winter season will be a pain in the neck.
On the other hand, if you have only a device that warms up your house, summer season will be unbearable.
However, if you have both heating and cooling devices, one of them will be useless during the summer or winter and will occupy an unnecessary space.
That is why the reverse cycle air conditioning came into the market to save us all!
So, what is a Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner? And how exactly does it work?
Keep reading this article and find the answers below.
What is Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning?
Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning is a style of Air Conditioning that performs both heating and cooling functions. Unlike other similar systems, this Reverse Air Conditioning method allows the user to either cool down a house in the summer or warm it up in the winter using a single device.
This method of Air Conditioning is a blessing in countries that have very different seasons. Even if it’s one of those places that summer or winter does not last long.
This is because you don’t need to invest in two different devices for solving the heating/cooling problem of your house. i.e. heating device and cooling device.
Moreover, a Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning System not only can use the refrigeration and reversed refrigeration cycles, but it also can filter and dehumidify the air, making your environment more clean, pleasant, and healthy.
How does Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning work?
A device commonly known as “Heat Pump” is the one that performs Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning and it was designed to work under the “Heat Exchange” Principle.
In this way, the Heat Pump absorbs the heat from the outside air even in cold winter nights and transfers it inside.
Therefore, Reverse Cycle Air Conditioners differs from other similar systems because they use a Fluid (refrigerant gas) for the Heat Exchange whereas others create heat by using electricity.
But what is a Heat Pump?
A Heat Pump is a device that has the capability to use the refrigeration cycle to cool down an internal environment and reverse this cycle to warm it up.
This device transfers heat by circulating a chemical substance called “Refrigerant”. This refrigerant is a fluid that easily transfers Heat Energy during a change of Physical State – from gas to liquid and back again.
This means that, if the Refrigerant is moved around using a pump and its physical state is changed, then heat energy will be absorbed and rejected, allowing heat to be transferred from one place to another.
For this reason, a Heat Pump has four main parts:
- Compressor: Pump for moving around the Refrigerant
- Condenser: Coil that turns the Refrigerant from Gas into Liquid
- Restriction Device: Device that turns Liquid into a Liquid Vapor Mixture
- Evaporator: Coil that turns the Refrigerant from Liquid into Gas
https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/oee.nrcan.gc.ca/files/pdf/publications/infosource/pub/home/heating-heat-pump/booklet.pdf
So how does the heat pump works in the reverse cycle?
Heat pumps also have a Reversing Valve which is the magical mechanical device that allows Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning Systems to perform both heating and cooling functions.
It is this, because the Reversing Valve changes -reverses- the direction of the flow of refrigerant, which changes the direction of Heat Transfer.
As a consequence of this, the Heat Pump uses a Fan to move warm air and capture its heat through the refrigerant and then move it from inside to outside your house allowing you to have cool air.
Then, if you need to heat up your house, the Reversing Valve will change the direction of the Heat Transfer, so the heat from the outside air will be transferred inside the house.
This process will repeat over and over again allowing you to maintain a comfortable temperature.
https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/oee.nrcan.gc.ca/files/pdf/publications/infosource/pub/home/heating-heat-pump/booklet.pdf
What does Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning mean?
It means that you only have to invest in one heating and cooling device to enjoy all the benefits that comes with it.
You will have a single device that will heat up or cool down your house without the necessity of turning on and off different heating or cooling devices.
You will have more space in your house to use for decoration of your choice since you will only need a single device. Also, you will easily change from cooling to heating with only one button.
This is a dream, especially for places that have high humidity and the days can become hot as hell but the nights can become cold as the artic pole.
So, Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning not only means comfort, more space and ease of use, it also means that you will enjoy comfortable air at your desired temperature in all the areas of your house.
What are the benefits of a Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner?
The main advantage of a Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning System is that it is cost-effective in terms of electricity consumption during its operation.
This is because the system uses Heat absorbed from the Air of the surroundings, whereas gas or electric heaters generate heat by consuming a fuel.
As a consequence of this, Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning can transfer up to three or more units of heat from every unit of electricity used during its operation. Therefore, Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning will be one-third cheaper than direct element heaters.
Having a Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner will also make you enjoy interrupted comfort because these Systems usually come with a thermostat which allows you to control the temperature of rooms.
Other Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning Advantages
Some other advantages of Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning are:
- Heating and cooling in one single device
- Remain cool to touch at all times
- Have no exposed elements or flames
- Lifetime of up to 20 years
- Filter and dehumidify air
There are several types reverse cycle air conditioner on the market. For example, there are portable units that will perfectly fit in small places whereas window/wall units and ducted reverse cycle air conditioning systems will work better in larger properties.
But independently of the type of device you choose, you will enjoy of all the benefits of reverse cycle air conditioning mentioned before!
If you are looking for reverse cycle air conditioning systems, remember that at Ice Blast we sell top-quality brands and our AC experts are ready to install or service your air conditioning system.
Request your quote here.
