Will the air conditioning suit the russian climate?

The first thing that comes to mind when you mention the word "air conditioning" - cool on a hot summer day. Few know that this device can replace the heating system under certain conditions. In Europe, with its mild climate, this way of heating homes will not surprise anyone, but in Russia they are wary of it. Therefore, it makes sense to consider in more detail the strengths and weaknesses of the heating conditioner.

Advantages and disadvantages

Air conditioning for heating compared to gas or electric heating has several advantages:

• at an outdoor temperature of about -5? C differs in the increased efficiency. For every kilowatt of electricity consumed, the heater produces about 3-5 kW of thermal energy;
• ease of operation - modern models operate in automatic mode and do not require frequent maintenance;
• good value for money, durability and efficiency;
• does not dry the air as ordinary electric heaters;
• possibility of flexible adjustment of the heating system.

Disadvantages, of course, are also available:

• The main thing is that with a decrease in the temperature outside the window, the heating efficiency decreases. But manufacturers are working on it and there are already models that work even with a frost of -25? C, although their value cannot be called democratic;

Note! For many relatively inexpensive models of air conditioners, the temperature on the street of the order of -10 - -15? C is considered critical.

• quite often frosting of the outdoor unit is observed in severe frost - it begins to resemble an ice sculpture, this can be solved by a small modification of the standard sump to facilitate condensate drainage;
• in case of severe frost, in addition to a decrease in efficiency, oil thickening is also observed; the compressor suffers from this.

As for the cost, only at first glance the price of an air conditioner for heating looks too high. Given the much lower energy consumption, the air conditioner will pay for itself fairly quickly.

More about the device and installation of air conditioning heater

Some believe that the air conditioner in the heating mode works like a normal electric heater, but in fact the principle of operation is completely different. The air conditioner takes heat from the cold air (from the street) and gives it to warmer (in the room), that is, it works on the principle of a heat pump for the heating system of the house.

Split system device

Any split-system consists of 2 blocks - internal and external.

Outside is located:

• compressor (1);
• 4-way valve (2);
• the inverter is a “brain” that evaluates weather conditions (3);
• fan (4);
• heat exchanger (5);
• muffler (6);
• valves for connecting freonprovodov (7);
• protective ledge (8).

The brackets indicate the positions of the listed elements in the diagram.

Note! The most noisy elements (compressor, fan) are placed outside, so the heating-ventilation conditioner runs almost silently.

Under the casing of the indoor unit are:

• filter (2);
• heat exchanger, also known as evaporator (3);
• blinds (4);
• screen (5);
• carbon filter (6);
• air conditioning fan (7);
• vertical blinds (8).

For the convenience of users, the heater and air conditioning control unit can be located in the room. With it, you can adjust the operation of heating and air conditioning.

Principle of operation

Heat extraction from cold air is possible only at the expense of the refrigerant; freon is used in air conditioners. This gas can be considered ideal for the operation of a heat pump because it boils at ordinary pressure at -50? C, but when the pressure rises to 30 atmospheres, the boiling point increases to +50? C.

The work of heating is according to the following scheme:

• the compressor builds up pressure and freon is heated to a temperature of about +60? С;
• heated refrigerant pipes heated refrigerant enters the indoor unit;
• when the temperature drops, the freon condenses and flows back to the compressor. On its way, the refrigerant passes through a pressure reduction device in the refrigerant pipe. Freon temperature drops to about -25 –-30? С;
• the refrigerant enters the external heat exchanger where it is heated by the external air pumped through it. Freon goes into a gaseous state and the cycle repeats.

Features of installation and operation

Installing an air conditioner is not very difficult, and this task can be done with your own hands. But, as a rule, when buying an installation option is included in the price. If the installation is still done independently, then special attention should be paid to the position of the indoor unit, because it will be in much more severe conditions than the internal one.

The placement of the outdoor unit must take into account:

• protection against mechanical damage (for example, falling icicles, snow melting from the roof, etc.);
• when placing a block in a multi-storey building, it is necessary to take into account the location of air conditioners on the upper floors, it is undesirable that condensate from them be filled with our air conditioner
• unimpeded access to it must be ensured;
• when installing in a private house, it is desirable to place the external unit / blocks on a separate foundation, this will allow to get rid of vibrations when working in heating mode;

• in an apartment house installation instructions include mounting the unit on the brackets;

• in case of severe frost, condensate will not have time to drain through the drainage channel and the pan will soon overflow, so the issue of condensate drain needs to be worked out before installation. Alternatively, you can purchase a model in which the pallet is heated;

Note! The accumulation of ice leads to a decrease in the efficiency of the air conditioner. In addition, the lower part of the heat exchanger may be damaged.

• the best can be considered the installation on the south side. The efficiency of operation depends on the outdoor temperature, so that the temperature difference between the north and south side, even by 1-2? C, will increase the efficiency of the heater.

In general, while people in Russia rarely use such devices as the main heating system. Much more often, air conditioners for heating housing are used in transitional periods (autumn-winter, winter-spring), when the main heating still does not make sense to turn on, but the temperature at night drops to 0? С.

Summarizing

Heating with an air conditioner is a good choice for countries whose climate is characterized by mild winters. It is this reason that prevents the wider use of air conditioners for home heating. Meanwhile, manufacturers are constantly improving existing models, so that the future of this type of heating certainly has.

The video shows an example of the air conditioner in heating mode.