| There are many benefits to having a heat pump | | | | to 4kW of heat into your home for every 1kW |
| air conditioner installed. | | | | of power used. Compare that to an electric |
| A heat pump will provide you with energy | | | | heater that only generates 1kW of heat for |
| efficient heat all through winter, and come | | | | every 1kW of power used. |
| summer will cool your home effectively. | | | | There are a number of heat pump options |
| If you suffer from asthma, a heat pump can help | | | | available to you, dependent on whether you wish |
| by reducing the relative humidity of the room, and | | | | to air condition one room or your whole home. |
| filtering out dust particles and other allergens by | | | | To air condition a single room, a wall mounted |
| trapping them inside the air filters. Reducing the | | | | heat pump is recommended. Wall mounted heat |
| humidity makes it easier to breathe and also | | | | pumps can be installed high up (high wall), or low |
| makes the room feel less 'stuffy'. | | | | down by the floor like a conventional electric or |
| Heat pumps are also child friendly as there are no | | | | gas heater. For two or three rooms, you can opt |
| open flames or hot heating elements. Most heat | | | | for a multi-split heat pump system. This means |
| pumps are mounted high on the wall or hidden | | | | you have one outdoor unit connected to multiple |
| away so the prying little fingers of children cannot | | | | indoor units. Alternatively, you can go for a |
| get inside. | | | | ducted heat pump system. These can be installed |
| Most air conditioners today are 'split type' inverter | | | | hidden away inside your loft, or under your floor |
| heat pumps. A 'split type' air conditioner basically | | | | and are connected to outlet grilles around your |
| means you have an indoor and and outdoor unit | | | | home. |
| with pipework connecting the two. An inverter | | | | The correct sizing of a heat pump for a given |
| heat pump means that the compressor speed is | | | | room size is critical. Too small and it will struggle |
| varied by the use of a DC inverter and speed | | | | to heat or cool the room. Too large and it will |
| drive. This enables the compressor to slow down | | | | constantly cycle on and off. Always consult the |
| in speed to maintain a constant temperature | | | | professionals for correct sizing. |
| rather than cycling between full capacity and | | | | Your local air conditioning and heat pump |
| switching off every 10 to 15 minutes. Always opt | | | | specialists will be able to correctly size the heat |
| for the inverter type heat pump as it will save | | | | pump for your requirements. Most companies also |
| you money on energy. | | | | provide a free, no obligation quotation. My advice |
| An electric heater converts electricity into heat, | | | | as an air conditioning and refrigeration engineer is |
| whereas a heat pump simply transfers heat from | | | | that you should phone around for a number of |
| one source to another. This means that you can | | | | quotes. This ensures that you can verify the unit |
| have heating or cooling by moving heat into or | | | | sizing from a number of engineers, plus you can |
| out of your room. It also means that heat pumps | | | | also save a few hard earned dollars. |
| are very energy efficient as they can transfer up | | | | |