Air conditioning

This section covers two ways to cool a space, and to heat it as well. Wall-mounted split air conditioners have an indoor and an outdoor unit and serve each room independently. Fan coil units are the terminal units of a hydronic system: hot or chilled water from a heat pump or chiller, or hot water from a boiler, flows through their coil while a fan blows room air across it. You will find TCL air conditioners and fan coil units by Midea, De'Longhi, Olimpia Splendid and Nobus.

For a whole house, an air-to-water heat pump with fan coil units provides heating in winter and cooling in summer from a single system. Heat pumps are listed in the Heating section.

How to choose

• One room or the whole house: for one or two rooms an air conditioner is the simple answer; for the whole home, consider a heat pump with fan coil units.
• Capacity: floor area alone is not enough; insulation, orientation, glazing and ceiling height all matter.
• Winter use: if it will heat regularly, look at heating capacity, not just cooling.
• Noise: for bedrooms, compare sound levels at low fan speed.
• Installation type: wall-mounted, floor-standing, concealed in a false ceiling or ducted, depending on the room and the look you want.
• Controls: remote, room thermostat or smartphone; check whether Wi-Fi is built in or needs an add-on module.

Climaventis has worked in heating since 1989 and can help you choose between an air conditioner and a fan coil system. Call us on 2610 334 389; if cooling will be part of a central system with a heat pump, ask for a heating study with a free initial assessment.