What is the difference between a heat pump and an air conditioner?
Cooling your home? This can be done with both a heat pump and an air conditioner. But are there any differences and which is the most interesting for you? We’ll just list a few things for you.
An air conditioner is really nothing more than an air-to-air heat pump. You can cool with it, but also heat it. But there are many more types of heat pumps. These are usually used for heating, but you can also cool with some types. We call these reversible heat pumps.
Why cool with a heat pump?
A heat pump is durable, economical and efficient. The perfect solution for controlling your indoor climate. You can use it to both heat and heat your domestic water. So feel free to consider it as a future-proof alternative to your boiler. But heat pumps can also cool.
Depending on the type of heat pump, active or passive cooling can be used. If you choose active cooling, the operation of the heat pump is reversed. The system will extract heat from your home and release it to the environment. Your heat pump then cools the water flowing through the pipes instead of heating it. We call this a reversible heat pump.
Speaking of passive cooling, you’re talking about water-to-water heat pumps and ground-to-water heat pumps. These systems use groundwater or cool soil to cool pipes. This type of cooling is more energy efficient, but does not offer the same comfort.
And what about the air conditioning?
A classic air conditioner cools by displacing air. If you are going to heat, the air conditioner extracts heat from the outside air through an outdoor unit. Indoor units then disperse them into the room. When cooling, the air conditioner dissipates the heat from the interior to the outside and the coolant flows in the opposite direction. While air conditioners are becoming more energy efficient, a heat pump is often just a bit more sustainable.
An air conditioner or heat pump at your home?
Would you like to discuss the best possible solution for your home, office or business? We’d be happy to review it with you. At Flowplus, we have both heat pumps and air conditioners and will provide you with a customized solution.
