Autumn comes and, together with it, the question usually arises: how do the people of megacities heat their premises while the municipal services have not switched on the heating yet? Those who have a multifunctional air conditioner in their apartment wonder how safe it is to use this device in heating mode in autumn and winter and how it can be adjusted for this.

Air conditioning: from monoblock to split-system

The first conditioners were massive aggregates, which were problematic enough to squeeze into the window opening. They could only work to cool the room. Those who are older probably remember the cumbersome and noisy BK air conditioner, the only device of such a plan, produced in the Soviet era. As the segment of the air conditioning system of the premises evolved, their sizes decreased, the functions grew, and the design became more pleasing to the eye.

Over time, progress has found a replacement for the window monobloc, not particularly aesthetically looking against the background of the opening and in everyday life have firmly entered systems consisting of two parts: internal and external, and possessing not only the possibility of cooling, but also heating premises. By habit, the split-system is still called in the home: air conditioning.

Advantages over electric heater

The heater for heat works due to active conversion and consumption of electricity and it significantly loses to the functions of the air conditioner in the following plan:

• consumes a very large amount of electric current;
• unevenly warms up the room, so you have to turn it on a large power to heat the remote corners;
• long heats the air in a room to a comfortable one.

The conditioner for heating works differently than the electric heater. When the air is cooled, it transfers heat from the room to the street through the outdoor unit exchanger. When working in heating mode, the functions of the air conditioner are reversed: the unit heats the room, thanks to the cooling of the air in the street.

This is due to the fact that the air conditioner uses electricity exclusively for the operation of fans and the compressor, which carry heat to the room.

Proceeding from this, the main function of the air conditioner is that it transfers heat in the heat pump mode and spends electricity much less than gives heat to the room. In this regard, the inverter air conditioner can do a much better job, because it has adjustable power: after the temperature in your home has been set at the required rate. This air conditioner does not turn off, but due to the reduced speed of the compressor it can keep the heat in the right mode, helping to save a considerable amount of electricity.

To transfer heat, the device uses the necessary substances, called refrigerants, which contact the surrounding air through heat exchangers in the following stages:

1. The heat from one air pocket is absorbed by the coolant through the heat exchanger;
2. The compressor pumps the refrigerant to another heat exchanger;
3. the heat concentrated by the coolant is transferred into the air.

In the continuation of the topic: how to adjust the air conditioning to heat

Is it possible to use the air conditioner in heating mode in winter at very low temperatures

The best way is to use the air conditioner for heating in the cool summer months and during the off-season, i.e. before the start of the heating season and immediately after it. Typically, the instructions of the domestic air conditioner indicate the range of temperatures outside the room, under which it can work.

Normally the lowest temperature when operating for heating is -5 degrees. Although some inverter models can cope with these functions well at -15 degrees.

The climatic conditions of most of our country do not allow the owners of the appliance to use the air conditioner in full use in winter because of the possibility of its breakdown.

On the recommendation of most manufacturers, the optimal use of air conditioning in winter is his conservation, because at very low temperatures, serious disruptions to work may occur conditioner. The lower the degree, the worse the performance of the air conditioner and its systems:

• the heat exchanger is covered with hoarfrost and loses power;
• a system is constantly turned on that supports the defrosting of the outdoor unit, leading to the formation of ice outbursts inside the compressor and the destruction of the fan blades;
• the refrigerant, which did not have time to evaporate in a poorly functioning heat exchanger, flows down the drainage systems to the compressor, causing a water hammer;
• The compressor first overheats, and then freezes, failing.

Mobile monoblock air conditioner as an option for heating in winter

What if I can not do without heating with such a device? It is quite appropriate to use a mobile floor unit, intended for heating the room. Moreover, it can be placed almost anywhere in the apartment. The monoblock used for cooling uses freon and is equipped with a powerful pump and a long corrugated pipe that is thrown out of the window to drain hot air.

By the same principle, a monoblock can be used for heating, using in this case not a Freon loop system, but a ceramic heat-heater. The biggest stumbling block is that the retraction hose must be taken out somewhere. If we take into account that it is necessary to use such an instrument in the winter - the task is not easy. When possible, it is easiest to remove the hose to a vent or other similar retraction system.

In any case, this option in winter is quite convenient and heating this way does not cause any problems. Mobility air conditioner allows you to roll it from one room to another, evenly warming up the entire room.

Also interesting: air conditioner modes