Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Heat Pump
Can I Have Heating As Wll As Cooling
Yes all air conditioning units now come as heat pumps which means they will heat as well as cool
They are known as reverse cycle heat pumps which means that the refrigeration circuit is reversed in the heating cycle. The condensing unit (outdoor unit) extracts the latent heat from the outdoor air even on the coldest days, as low as -10ºC, and transfers the heat indoors via the refrigerant.
This works on the same principle as your fridge,it removes the heat from the cabinet and discharges it through the coil on the back of the fridge into your kitchen.This free heat can be felt if you touch the coil on the back. This is an efficient way of heating your house as you are not using any fuel to generate the heat. Therefore cooling and heating your house with one piece of equipment. Also installing heat pump equipment reduces the vat by 10%.
What type of units are available
There are many types of units available, such as High Wall, Low wall, Art cool, Cassette, Ducted and the Lofty.
The lofty however at this moment in time only comes as cooling only, all the others including the high Wall and low Wall are heat pumps. The Art cool is ideal for mounting on the wall looking like a picture, the high wall is out of the way, the low wall can replace radiators whilst the lofty is hidden away and does not have an external condensing unit.
The lofty is available to be supplied for DIY if required as no refrigeration work is required,
How can I calculate the capacity of the room?
The room capacity can be calculated by multiplying the Length x width x height in metres and then multiply by 50. This will give the answer in watts. Please NOTE this is only a RULE of THUMB guide. If there are large windows in full sunlight this will make a difference.
How Much Will It Cost To Run?
The air source heat pump is a very effective way of cooling & heating, with a good quality system 1kW of electricity consumption will produce 3 to 5 kW of heating.
Take the input power normally around 30% of the output of the unit, multiply this figure by the cost per unit of electricity allowing for diversity as the unit thermostatically controlled and will not run constantly.