Any experience of using Air Conditioning to heat bedrooms

[elfandsafeT]

We are in the process of renovating our house and have just started the bedrooms. I am just getting quotes for air conditioning for the bedrooms as we live next door but one to a busy pub, so need to keep windows shut in the evenings. I was just about to order the radiators but it occurred to me that in theory we don't need them as the air con will also heat.

I think i have several options, but could really do with advice from people that have experience of air con in the bedrooms. I think my concern (apart from knowing it is more expensive to run when the outside temp is less than 5C and poss environmental issues?) is that the heat just might not be as pleasant (a bit blowy/drying?) to sleep in as the background ambient heat from radiators.

I could just put both in but in terms of cost it's doubling up where it might not be necessary. So I was thinking that i could get the pipes put in for the radiators in case we change our minds, so that we don't have to take the floors up again, as was a bit worried about just going with air con without a back up plan.

thanks for any help/feedback - it will be invaluable as i can't find anything on the net about peoples actual experience with it.

Air Con runs on electricity. The cost of energy from electricity is two or three times the cost of energy from gas.

If you have a gas boiler, I would go for rads in all rooms. It will be cheaper to have it done in one go than changing afterwards.

While in Australia i used this type of heating/cooling when it was required (not very often for heating), word of warning it can be very expense so if it's the only source of heating in a room the costs could quickly balloon, think how often you have the heating on, mines on from about October till March !!

Thank you both that's useful - of course the air con people tell you that it costs the same as long as its only cold not really cold (which is when you use it most of course)! We have radiators currently so just updating them them, but have chosen nice old school ones from Bisque so expensive. My feeling was that both was probably the answer, but thought it would be daft paying for both if not necessary.

My friend use the air con system for heating their house France - they swear by it and I must confess I've been upstairs in their house and it's been hot just from the unit in the living room. They say it costs the same as a 100W bulb to run (and they're tight so it can't be that expensive) the one thing though, even though the units say the run to minus whatever temperature, when the temperature falls below minus five outside they say the unit freezes up and doesn't work properly.

I am considering having a unit installed in my house as we have wood burning heating it would be nice to come downstairs on a morning to something heating the room without me having to mess about with lighting fires.

It sounds like the French people must be using a Heat Pump system. I have heard people arguing about these but have no personal knowledge.

The Split Air Con systems I have used have been about 20Amps each, for a single room with electronic equipment in, and fairly expensive to run.

We've just installed an air-source heat pump ducted to all the bedrooms as part of a refurb, mainly for cooling in summer but also as a heat source should our boiler break down. I think the figures of cost being equivalent until exterior temps go below 5C are correct (unless gas gets more expensive or electricity gets cheaper...)

We went with cheap radiators in the bedrooms and I think they were about £50 each so really not very much and installation/plumbing will be negligible in a complete refurbishment...

Thanks for your comments, it's all useful info. Yes it is a heat pump system we're looking at - we've been quoted £6k for 4 beds in London - is that about the same as your works?

I have air-con/reverse air con and it's fine - but I'd never get it out of choice especially in UK where you'll be using it for like 6 months of the year pretty much right? I can't sleep with it on so we have it on during the day and then turn it off at night but that only works if you turn it off as you're getting into bed because it doesn't really warm up the surroundings - just the air if that makes sense (admittedly we have zero insulation so that doesn't help!) I also find it's really drying on my skin and I love going to my friend's house in winter as she has radiators and it's lovely! I'm putting a new heating system into our holiday house soon and I won't even be considering a reverse air con to be honest.

Our's was about £4k (4 beds too) but in NW England so given how expensive London is £6k sounds perfectly reasonable