Differences Between Heat Engines and Heat Pumps

A heat engine is a device that converts heat into mechanical energy. It accomplishes this by moving an active substance from a higher temperature to a lower temperature.

A heat pump is essentially a heat engine that operates in reverse. In other words, a heat pump is used to pump and convert heat energy to a thermal source. It is commonly used to transfer thermal energy by trapping heat from a cold environment and transferring it to a warmer instance. 

What Is a Heat Engine and a Heat Pump

Heat engines, which create electricity, include gasoline and diesel engines, steam turbines, and jet engines. Fuel combustion produces chemical energy, distributed as heat throughout the gas in a fuel tank. A heat engine is a mechanism that converts thermal energy to mechanical energy.

Heat pumps transfer heat from a cold body to a hot body using mechanical energy provided by an external entity. The cold body is already becoming extremely cold. A condenser, an expansion valve, a compressor, and an evaporator are the four essential components of a heat pump. The refrigerant is the active substance in these components.

Differences Between Heat Engines and Heat Pumps

Heat Engines

A heat engine is a device that transforms thermal energy into mechanical energy. The heat engine absorbs heat energy from a higher temperature source and transfers it towards a lower temperature source, i.e., the surrounding sink, by producing work. The Kelvin-Planck statement is the foundation of the heat engine—for example, gas and steam turbines, gasoline and diesel engines. Initially, energy in a gasoline or diesel engine is in chemical energy, which is turned into heat and subsequently mechanical energy. Thus, a  heat engine is a device that converts heat energy into mechanical energy. 

We = Q2 – Q1 represents the engine’s work done. The heat supplied to the engine is turned into productive work in a heat engine. If Q2 represents the heat provided to the engine, Q1 represents the heat excluded by the engine. Overall work performed by the engine is indicated by:

(C.O.P)E = WE / QE = Work completed / Heat produced = Q2 – Q1 / Q2 

The efficiency of a heat engine expresses its performance. We understand an engine’s efficiency or (C.O.P) coefficient of performance, T1 >Ta.

Heat Pumps

A heat pump is a device that removes heat out of a cold source and transfers it towards a hot source. Wp = Q2 – Q1 denotes the work done by the heat pump. 

It utilises heat energy from a lower temperature source to transform mechanical energy into heat energy from a higher temperature supply. Heat pumps transfer heat energy in the opposite direction of natural convection. The heat pump is built on the Clausius statement. It is used to heat houses during the winter. Heat pumps are used for water heating and commercial heating.

 The performance of a heat pump is expressed as the ratio of the amount of heat transferred to the hot body (Q2) to the volume of work on the system (Wp). This is known as the heat pump’s coefficient of performance (C.O.P) or energy performance ratio (E.P.R.). A heat pump’s coefficient of performance (C.O.P), also known as the energy performance ratio, is a mathematical term. A heat pump’s C.O.P. is always greater than one.

Similarities of Heat Engines and Heat Pumps

A heat pump is a device that removes heat from a cold body and transfers it to a hot body. A heat engine is a device that transforms thermal energy into mechanical energy.

Conclusion

We studied a heat engine and a heat pump, the differences between heat engines and heat pumps, and the similarities between heat engines and heat pumps.

A heat pump aims to transport energy to a warm environment, such as the interiors of a house in the winter. The main advantage of using a heat pump to keep your house warm rather than simply burning fuel in a chimney or furnace is that a heat pump provides. It is powered by electricity so that you might save a lot of money on gasoline. The heat supplied by a heat engine is converted into mechanical work through a thermodynamic process.