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09 September 2022

Air conditioners can cool and heat a home very efficiently

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A fixed split inverter with a heat pump can both cool and heat a room very efficiently. That is the conclusion of a report by the OCU, echoed by the AFEC. Those systems serve as both air conditioners and heaters, and they usually have an "energy saving mode”, which can mean additional savings of some 30%.

In July this year, the OCU (Spanish Consumers and Users Association) published a report in which it analysed systems based on fans and air-conditioning to cool homes, comparing, among other parameters, their consumption and performance, as reported by the AFEC, the Association of Climate-Control Equipment Manufacturers. The OCU clarifies that “obviously, they are not comparable products, as fans generally do not have a cooling system, rather they simply move the air around”.

The conclusions of that report indicate that fans “really do not cool the room in which they are installed”, and that “at high temperatures, the sensation of cooling is barely noticeable”. In that regard, fans do not meet the thermal comfort requirements which ensure health and productivity.

With regard to air-conditioning, the OCU's observation on fixed split inverters with heat pumps is that “they can both heat and cool a room very efficiently”. In other words, they serve as both air-conditioning and as heating during the winter. Moreover, they “usually have an 'energy-saving mode', which can mean additional savings of 30%: with that option, the monthly cost would be close to that of a fan”, and “they are a sure way to climate-control your home”.