Buying an Air Conditioner ... But which one?

Why an Air Conditioner?

Unlike a heating system, an air conditioner is used in summer to cool the air in an apartment, house, or simply a living room.
Air conditioning is a system that does not create cold, contrary to popular belief. Any good technician will explain that to create cold, you need to expel heat from the home. Even a portable air conditioner uses this principle: hot air is expelled from it to send cold air in your direction.
Keep in mind that air conditioning should be installed by a technician trained in air conditioning because a polluting refrigerant gas circulates through the appliance's piping. This refrigerant must not be released into the atmosphere as it exacerbates global warming.
The same applies to car air conditioning recharge: it must not be released into the atmosphere, and it is essential to have a professional change the refrigerant during car air conditioning repairs.
Now, back to our home air conditioning install! Before rushing to buy a cheap unit, it is advisable to determine which device or solution is best suited to your home.

Which Air Conditioner to Choose?

There are monoblock and multiblock air conditioners.
The monoblock air conditioner is also known as a window AC. It is an installation that is placed through a window and contains all the spare parts in one unit. While it is practical, it is not an adequate solution for a typical home as it is noisy (notably due to the air conditioning compressor) and not aesthetically pleasing.
In the monoblock category, it is more common to use a portable air conditioner, which does not require the intervention of a technician during purchase. This type of air conditioning without an outdoor unit is a good way to cope with summer heat, although it only cools part of the room or home.
The multiblock air conditioner, on the other hand, consists of several blocks including an outdoor unit (monosplit) or multiple outdoor units (multisplit) and at least one indoor air conditioning unit.
With one outdoor unit, it is possible to connect several indoor air conditioning units. Therefore, the multisplit air conditioning is more suited for businesses or service buildings. A simple house or apartment will only require a monosplit air conditioning installation.
Each indoor air conditioning unit is connected to the outdoor unit by refrigerant lines, with at least one of the two pipes insulated. Unlike the monoblock or portable air conditioning, the split system air conditioner always operates with a remote control to cool the atmosphere… or to heat it!

Air Conditioner or Heat Pump?

The heat pump can be considered an economical heating installation depending on how you use it and your region. For example, it will be more economical to buy a heat pump for a house in southern France rather than in the north, as it captures heat from outside to bring into the home. This type of installation can be used as geothermal or air-to-air heating, meaning it uses heat found underground or in the air.
The advantage of the heat pump, like many current air conditioners, is that it can produce both heat and cold. It is referred to as a reversible heat pump.
An air-to-air heat pump absorbs heat from the outside air in winter to transfer it into the home: it does not remove cold air but warms it! Thanks to a spare part called a reversible valve, the heat pump becomes an air conditioner in summer: it expels heat outside and thus cools the inside of the home. This operation is similar for a heat pump using geothermal heating or water (air-to-water or water-to-water heat pump).
In summary, the operation of a reversible heat pump and a reversible air conditioner… is the same!