Here’s a confusing fact when it comes to the difference between air conditioners and heat pumps: an air conditioner is a type of heat pump. Technically, the job of an AC is to pump heat from one location to another. It removes heat from inside a building and releases it outside. But, in the world of residential and commercial HVAC, when somebody talks about a “heat pump,” what they mean is a refrigeration device, similar to an air conditioner, that can switch the direction it moves heat. So when you arrange to have a heat pump installed, or you need service for your heat pump in Cranford, NJ, the device you mean is a comfort system that offers both heating and cooling.
Okay… so what makes a heat pump different from an air conditioner? Yes, you know it can offer both heating and cooling, but what actual components allow a heat pump to do both those jobs even though it otherwise works like an air conditioner? (I.e. it has a compressor that circulates refrigerant between a set of indoor and outdoor coils.)
