A heat pump is a device that uses mechanical energy to pump heat “up the temperature scale” from a cooler region to a warmer one. It does so by changing the pressure of a working fluid called a refrigerant. Commonly used refrigerants are distinguished by the fact that over a relatively moderate range of elevated pressures, they vaporize and condense at temperatures that can drive spontaneous heat flow in the direction needed to preserve food, chill water, or maintain interior building comfort. This is illustrated for several different types of heat pump described below.



