You may already know the big answer to this question: a heat pump operates like an air conditioner, except it can change the direction it moves heat so it can work as a heating system as well. This makes a heat pump an excellent two-in-one option for homeowners looking to change out their standard furnace/air conditioner combo.
But we plan to go deeper into the heat pump differences in this post. We’ll examine three parts in a heat pump that help it work as both a heating and cooling system. In most ways, a heat pump resembles an air conditioner, with two sets of refrigerant coils, a compressor, an expansion valve, an indoor blower fan, and an outdoor exhaust fan. The following three components are only in heat pumps and are critical for allowing them to work the way they do.
