There are many benefits to having a heat pump air conditioner installed.

A heat pump will provide you with energy efficient heat all through winter, and come summer will cool your home effectively.

If you suffer from asthma, a heat pump can help by reducing the relative humidity of the room, and filtering out dust particles and other allergens by trapping them inside the air filters. Reducing the humidity makes it easier to breathe and also makes the room feel less 'stuffy'.

Heat pumps are also child friendly as there are no open flames or hot heating elements. Most heat pumps are mounted high on the wall or hidden away so the prying little fingers of children cannot get inside.

Most air conditioners today are 'split type' inverter heat pumps. A 'split type' air conditioner basically means you have an indoor and and outdoor unit with pipework connecting the two. An inverter heat pump means that the compressor speed is varied by the use of a DC inverter and speed drive. This enables the compressor to slow down in speed to maintain a constant temperature rather than cycling between full capacity and switching off every 10 to 15 minutes. Always opt for the inverter type heat pump as it will save you money on energy.

An electric heater converts electricity into heat, whereas a heat pump simply transfers heat from one source to another. This means that you can have heating or cooling by moving heat into or out of your room. It also means that heat pumps are very energy efficient as they can transfer up to 4kW of heat into your home for every 1kW of power used. Compare that to an electric heater that only generates 1kW of heat for every 1kW of power used.

There are a number of heat pump options available to you, dependent on whether you wish to air condition one room or your whole home.

To air condition a single room, a wall mounted heat pump is recommended. Wall mounted heat pumps can be installed high up (high wall), or low down by the floor like a conventional electric or gas heater. For two or three rooms, you can opt for a multi-split heat pump system. This means you have one outdoor unit connected to multiple indoor units. Alternatively, you can go for a ducted heat pump system. These can be installed hidden away inside your loft, or under your floor and are connected to outlet grilles around your home.

The correct sizing of a heat pump for a given room size is critical. Too small and it will struggle to heat or cool the room. Too large and it will constantly cycle on and off. Always consult the professionals for correct sizing.

Your local air conditioning and heat pump specialists will be able to correctly size the heat pump for your requirements. Most companies also provide a free, no obligation quotation. My advice as an air conditioning and refrigeration engineer is that you should phone around for a number of quotes. This ensures that you can verify the unit sizing from a number of engineers, plus you can also save a few hard earned dollars.