Heat pump

An outdoor unit for a heat pump, the outdoor unit comprising:

• an outdoor heat exchanger and a compressor that compresses a refrigerant;
• a housing that forms an outer shape of the outdoor unit and provides an internal space in which the outdoor heat exchanger and the compressor are disposed;
• a partition wall that is disposed in the internal space of the housing, and divides the internal space into a flow path space in which the outdoor heat exchanger is disposed and a cycle space in which the compressor is disposed;
• an outdoor fan that is disposed in the flow path space to cause an air flow;
• and
• a controller that controls an operation of the compressor and the outdoor fan, wherein the housing includes a hole that communicates with the cycle space, and the partition wall includes a barrier hole that communicates with the flow path space and the cycle space.

A heat pump, comprising:

• an indoor unit including an indoor heat exchanger;
• an outdoor unit, including:
• an outdoor heat exchanger;
• a compressor that compresses a refrigerant;
• a housing that forms an outer shape of the outdoor unit;
• a partition wall that is disposed in the housing and divides the housing into a flow path space in which the outdoor heat exchanger is disposed and a cycle space in which the compressor is disposed;
• an outdoor fan disposed in the flow path space to cause an air flow;
• a controller that controls an operation of the heat pump, wherein the housing includes a hole that communicates with the cycle space, and the partition wall includes a barrier hole that communicates with the flow path space and the cycle space;
• and
• an inverter board installed in the cycle space to control a frequency of the compressor, wherein the controller operates the outdoor fan for a predetermined period of time, prior to driving the inverter board, when a heat pump operation signal is input.