If you stop to think about it, your HVAC system has a tough job. In the winter, this system needs to warm up the air inside your house, keeping everyone comfortable even on the coldest nights. When summer rolls around, the job is flipped, and the HVAC system now needs to cool the home down to give you some relief from the relentless heat. To accomplish this challenging task, your HVAC system uses a heat exchanger. In this article, we’ll discuss what a heat exchanger is and why it is so important.

A Fitting Name

Not all mechanical parts have names that properly describe their role, but the name “heat exchanger” hits it right on the head. The job of this component is to exchange thermal energy in one way or another. To heat or cool a home, an HVAC system needs to have a way to transfer thermal energy between mediums, and that is the role the heat exchanger plays. Without this component working properly, you would not get the heating or cooling that you expect when your system comes on.

Many Different Forms

While the job of a heat exchanger is always the same, the form that the heat exchanger plays will vary from one system to the next. Some of the common styles that are used in HVAC systems include heat pipe, run-around, rotary wheel, and many others. We prefer to install the Amana heat exchanger that features an efficient and quiet multi-speed circulator motor. For most people, it isn’t necessary to know the exact type of heat exchanger that is at work in their system – if it fails, it will be the job of a professional team like TAM A/C and Heat to solve the problem.

Air Conditioners Use Them, Too

Because they are called “heat” exchangers, you may be thinking that this piece of equipment is only essential when you want to warm up your home in the winter. That is not the case, however. A heat exchanger is required whenever you want to change the temperature in a space, whether you’d like to make it warmer or colder.

To understand this concept, you’ll need to think about how air conditioners work. When you flip on an A/C unit, you aren’t asking it to produce new cold air that can be pumped into your house. Rather, you are asking it to take some of the existing heat out of your home. That might seem like a subtle difference, but it’s central to how modern A/C is able to work so effectively. The heat exchanger in your air conditioning system will pull heat out of the air and move it into the refrigerant. That refrigerant can then be run to the outdoor unit of your system, where some of the heat will be dumped out into the environment and away from your home.

Let TAM A/C and Heat Help

As a homeowner, it’s not particularly important for you to understand the technical details of how your HVAC system functions. You just want to it work properly, and we can make that happen. No matter what kind of issue you are facing with your HVAC equipment, call TAM A/C and Heat right away and we will be proud to help. Thanks for stopping by and we hope to hear from you soon!