Air-to-air heat pumps
Heating with air conditioning
Every system we fit is a heat pump. In winter it runs in reverse and heats the room, at a fraction of the cost of electric heaters.
How can air conditioning heat a room?
An air conditioner moves heat rather than making it. In summer it collects heat from the room and pumps it outside. Flip it into heating and it collects heat from the outdoor air (there's useful heat in it even on a frosty day) and pumps it indoors.
Because it moves heat instead of generating it, it delivers far more heat than the electricity it uses. That ratio over a whole heating season is the SCOP (seasonal coefficient of performance). A SCOP of 4.6 means 4.6 kWh of heat for every 1 kWh of electricity.
What does a unit of heat cost?
Based on Flexible Octopus prices for East Midlands: electricity at 25.4p and gas at 7.8p per kWh, checked daily with Octopus Energy:
| Heating | Efficiency | Cost per kWh of heat |
|---|---|---|
| Plug-in electric heater | 100% | 25.4p |
| Gas boiler (90% efficient) | 90% | 8.7p |
| Air con, Essential (SCOP 4.2) | 420% | 6p |
| Air con, Premium (SCOP 5.2) | 520% | 4.9p |
So air conditioning heats a room for about a quarter of the cost of a plug-in electric heater, and at today's prices for less than a gas boiler too. It also warms a room in minutes, not the best part of an hour.
Where it shines: rooms your central heating struggles with (conservatories, garden rooms, loft conversions, extensions) and homes with electric storage or panel heaters.
Cooling and heating from one unit
You buy one system and use it all year. In summer it keeps bedrooms cool and dry. In spring and autumn it takes the chill off without firing up the boiler. In winter it tops up or takes over heating in the rooms you use most.
Every system we fit shows its heating efficiency on our quotes and on the system pages, as an EU energy label. Most are rated A++ or A+++ for heating.
Questions people ask
Does it work when it's freezing outside?
Yes. Modern home systems keep heating with outdoor temperatures well below freezing (down to −15°C or lower, depending on the model). Efficiency drops a little on the coldest days, but stays far above an electric heater's.
Can it replace my central heating?
For the rooms it's fitted in, it can do most of the work. It doesn't make hot water, and it heats the room it's in rather than the whole house, so most people use it alongside their boiler: heating the rooms they use most, and letting the boiler do less.
Does it dry the air?
In cooling mode it removes moisture, which helps on muggy nights. In heating mode the effect is small. A dedicated dry mode is also available for damp days.
Warm in winter, cool in summer
We'll visit within 5 working days, measure up, and send you a fixed written price. Free, and no obligation.