I don’t know. I’m not sure if the refrigeration cycle is neutral. Even if we ignore the energy source, creating cold also creates heat, so that ice might just about counteract the heat generated to create it.
Heat pumps and air conditioners both work off of the refrigeration cycle. A heat pump is essentially an air conditioner that has a reversing valve to allow the refrigerant to flow the opposite way.
I mean, a refrigerator uses a heat pump to cool itself. An air conditioner is a heat pump, it’s just moving heat from inside to out instead of outside to in. It’s specialized for it’s purpose ofc, I doubt you could just install a window mounted air conditioner backwards and have an efficient heating solution, but they’re atill using the same core process, just turned around
I don’t know. I’m not sure if the refrigeration cycle is neutral. Even if we ignore the energy source, creating cold also creates heat, so that ice might just about counteract the heat generated to create it.
It’s indeed not neutral. It always takes work to move heat from a cold area to a hotter area, so there’s always energy (and therefore heat) being added every cycle. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pump_and_refrigeration_cycle
I think heat pumps solve this somewhat.
ice makers/fridges are basicly inside out heat pumps
heat pump technology is not the same as refrigeration. it’s the same difference as heat pump versus air conditioning
Heat pumps and air conditioners both work off of the refrigeration cycle. A heat pump is essentially an air conditioner that has a reversing valve to allow the refrigerant to flow the opposite way.
I mean, a refrigerator uses a heat pump to cool itself. An air conditioner is a heat pump, it’s just moving heat from inside to out instead of outside to in. It’s specialized for it’s purpose ofc, I doubt you could just install a window mounted air conditioner backwards and have an efficient heating solution, but they’re atill using the same core process, just turned around
Sorry to umm akshually you