Aircon to heat the house

[Bizzieizz]

The house I’m buying (uk) has aircon which I’ve never really wanted, or even thought about, but the owner has installed it in the last couple of years (so quite modern)
Anyway, they use it to heat the house, which I did not realise you could do tbh.
They do have a combi boiler and radiators, but he said it works out cheaper than using the gas to heat the place (I’m awaiting the bills to show me this)
Has anyone got any experience of this?
I know it runs off electricity but I’ve looked it up and it seems you get quite a lot of heat for 1kw of energy, but I’m a bit edgy with aircon as it’s a bit of a blow of heat rather than a radiating heat isn’t it?
I just think of that blast of hot/cold air that jets on you as you walk into the supermarket!

Does anyone have it or have any experience of it?

my parents insisted that it was cheaper to heat their house with the aircon this winter… I wasn’t convinced. They nearly fell off their chairs when they actually looked at their bills after a month… they now use the central heating and have ordered a smart meter to help them monitor.

I guess it all depends on the size of the space you are heating, the tariffs you are on…. But I would keep a close eye on it.

to be fair, it does heat a space pretty nicely and quickly.

Yes, I’m generally distrusting of this, because it might well mean the gas is very low usage, but currently electricity is bloody very expensive, so I don’t know if it would cancel it out!
Also it’s a combi boiler (which I’ve never had) so I don’t know how expensive they are to run for the water.
I’m just worried about using it, as I feel I know where I am with the radiator

Yeah we have Aircon combined heating. It's not the cheapest!

Has it evened out with your gas?
Is it a nice way to heat the house, and does the heat stay after you turn it off or does it cool down really quickly?
The owner swears blind it’s cheaper, and I have no idea

This is pretty standard where I am from (southern US) where you need cooling in summer almost more than heating in winter. Given how summers are going, I would really want aircon in some parts of the UK depending on build of house (previous terrace was a heat trap!)

not sure what is more efficient/ cost effective for heating - I imagine would probably depend on relative cost of oil vs. Electricity which can vary over time. Sounds like you have the option of turning off aircon and using traditional radiators alone, though?

As for the experience- it isn’t like the supermarket with blasts of air. Unless you are inches from a vent, you won’t notice (based on my experience of the systems used back home). The main complaint people have over this type of heat is that it can be quite drying - probably more of a concern if you live in a semi arid region vs. damp old UK😊