Getting Pumped Up!

We finally got our heat pump which is a key component for our heating and cooling systems. In the summer, the heat pump takes in warm air from the outside and uses the refrigeration cycle to condense the air into a cold liquid. Then the fan coils use the cold water to blast cool air into the rooms.

The real magic happens in the winter when the heat pump runs a reverse cycle to provide heat. In short, the heat pump uses cold air to produce hot water for the radiant floor system. Heat pumps are actually very efficient for heating.

The heat pump is large and ugly like an AC unit, so we put it down hill to keep it out of sight. However, we were concerned with keeping the area plowed in winter, so we built a stand for it to keep it off the ground.

We had some steel tubing lying around, so we designed the stand around that material.

Sam worked out the technical details, made a drawing, and handed the work over to Aiden. Aiden brought the drawing to life, welding pieces of steel tubing together. He also painted it to prevent rust.

While Aiden was fabricating the stand, Sam and John poured a concrete pad for the base. The pad is about 4ft x 7ft and almost 4 inches thick. It took 16 bags of concrete that Sam and John had to mix by hand! They mixed it in the excavator bucket for easy pouring.

Sam and John really looked like they knew what they were doing. Once they finished, they sealed it with some leftover dark stain we had.

We already put more work into this project than anticipated, so why stop there? We put a roof on it for extra protection. We covered it with some leftover shingles. No one has ever installed shingles before, but it looked professional!

After completing the roof, we mounted it onto the base with the help of the excavator. The roof bolts on to the stand and can be removed easily if we ever need to service the heat pump.

To power the heat pump, we pulled some wire through conduit that we previously buried. The conduit runs underground and pops up in the mechanical room (next to 200 other wires).