Most UK homes use radiators or underfloor heating to distribute heat to each room. These are commonly referred to as ‘wet’ heating systems. One advantage of air-to-air heat pumps is that they don’t need a wet central heating system to warm the home.
An air-to-air heat pump uses either blowers or air ducting pipes to deliver warm air. Blowers are usually mounted high on the wall, which can be helpful where wall space is limited. Ducting systems are more likely used in new build properties as the ducts are typically mounted inside the ceiling voids to make them less intrusive.
The number of blowers used in an air-to-air system is known as its ‘head’. Air-to-air heat pumps can be either:
- Single-head: a single outside unit and a single blower inside.
- Multi-head: a single heat capture unit outside and multiple blowers inside.
Generally, single-head air-to-air heat pumps installed in the UK are only used in the smallest homes, or for single room heating. If you have more than two rooms, you likely need multi head air-to-air heat pump or a ducted system.
As there’s no need for a wet central heating system, air-to-air systems using blowers can be relatively quick and cheap to install. Multi-head installations need to have pipes travelling from the outside heat capture unit to each blower. This is similar to boilers needing pipes running to a radiator in each room.
Typically, these pipes run in a slim plastic channel around the upper edges of the room to keep them as unobtrusive as possible.
