How Does Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning Work?

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Looking for a complete home cooling and heating system?

Reverse cycle air conditioning turns your home into a supercharged weather-defying machine.

And it’s perfect for our nasty summers and nippy winters.

What is Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning?

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A reverse cycle air conditioner is one unit that heats your home in winter and cools it in summer.

In fact, it’s one of the most energy-efficient and cost-effective ways of heating and cooling your home. 

At the touch of a button, you can:

Set the ultimate cool gaming temp in the kids’ room. 

Switch to something a little softer for post-dinner mags in the living room. 

And crank up the heat factor that welcomes you to the land of nod. 

Here at Hello Breeze, we believe reverse cycle air conditioning systems are a great addition to any home.

Let’s have a look-see at how these cracking little systems work.

How does Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning work? 

The key element in a reverse cycle air conditioning system is the heat pump.  

A heat pump uses the refrigeration cycle to cool down the internal environment and reverses the process to warm it up.

In cooling mode, the refrigeration cycle works as follows:

The Evaporator

A fan draws air from inside your home and passes it over a coil filled with cold, liquid refrigerant. The refrigerant absorbs the heat from the air, sending cool air into your home.

The Compressor

From here, the low-pressure, low-temperature liquid refrigerant is compressed and converted to a high pressure, high-temperature gas.

The Condenser

A fan transfers the gas to a heat exchanger outside your home, where it cools down and liquefies the refrigerant gas.

Expansion valve

The refrigerant flows through the expansion valve, which creates a low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant, absorbing heat as it passes back to the evaporator.

As the name suggests, reverse-cycle air-conditioners reverse the process to heat your home.

What’s more, it doesn’t have to be warm outside for the unit to do this. These nifty systems can perform this function even in freezing conditions.

Reverse cycle air conditioning is available in split systems and gas ducted systems.

So, what’s the diff?

Split System Air Conditioners

Split system air conditioners are the most common system in ‘Straya. If you have a small home or need a unit for just one room, these are a great, energy-efficient option.

Split systems consist of two units. An indoor evaporative heat exchanger mounted on your indoor wall and an outdoor condensing heat exchanger.

They’re a tad cheaper and easier to install than ducted air conditioning systems. 

However, they aren’t ideal for large rooms, double-storey properties, or homes with a flat roof.

Ducted Reverse Cycle Air Conditioners

Ducted reverse cycle air conditioners are uber-efficient systems that can actually increase the value of your home. 

Ducted air conditioning works by delivering hot or cold air throughout your entire home via a series of ducts installed in your roof cavity or under the floor.  

Zoning control allows you to regulate the climate of individual rooms. In addition, you can adjust the temps remotely using the MyAir Zoning app.

Ducted reverse cycle ACs cool down rooms quickly in any kind of climate - particularly humid areas.

Need more info? Take a squiz at our blog, where we bang on in more detail.

Is reverse cycle air conditioning expensive to run?

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Reverse cycle air conditioning systems are highly cost-effective in terms of electricity consumption. And when installed by professionals, they are around a third cheaper to run than direct element heaters.

This is because these systems require less energy to cool and heat your home, even during extreme temperature changes. 

Which means less money you need to fork over to the utility company.

Noice.

Benefits of the Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning 

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Here are some of the advantages of reverse cycle air conditioning:

• It warms in winter and cools in summer.
• Features an automatic defrost cycle, so even when the mercury drops as low as -15ºC, the system will still heat your home.
• Highly efficient in energy consumption, cost, and heating & cooling.
• They’re adaptable and flexible thanks to thermostats, sensors, and advanced inverter technology.
• Air purifiers filter dust, smoke, odours, bacteria, viruses and pollutants.
• They’re ultra-quiet.
• They are eco-friendly, producing one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions of a standard electric heater. Also, it uses R32 refrigerant.
• It’s a safe way to generate indoor heat, especially with curious ankle biters and pets around.
• Expect a long life span with regular cleaning and maintenance.

What Now?

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