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Most Kiwis think of their heat pump as a winter appliance, and then the first hot, sticky week of summer arrives and they remember it can cool the house too. The same unit that keeps you warm in July is a proper air conditioner in January, and used well it makes a real difference on those humid Auckland afternoons and stuffy nights. With spring here, now is the time to get familiar with cooling before you actually need it. Here is how to use your heat pump for cooling, and how to keep it efficient.
Your heat pump cools the house in cool mode, the snowflake symbol, by moving heat out of the room the same way it moves heat in during winter. Set it to a comfortable temperature around 23 to 25 degrees rather than the coldest setting, use dry mode on humid days, keep the filters clean, aim the louvres up so cool air falls through the room, and close curtains against the afternoon sun. Used sensibly, it cools efficiently without a big power bill.
Here is how to get the most from your heat pump this summer.
It is worth clearing up, because plenty of people do not realise it: a heat pump and an air conditioner are the same core technology, and a reverse-cycle heat pump both heats and cools. In winter it draws warmth from the outside air and brings it in, and in summer it simply runs in reverse, taking heat out of your room and moving it outside, which is exactly what cooling is. So you already own an air conditioner, you just need to switch it to the right mode. Look for the snowflake symbol on your remote for cool mode.
The most common summer mistake is blasting the heat pump as cold as it will go, which wastes power and often leaves the house uncomfortably chilly. Set cool mode to a comfortable temperature, somewhere around 23 to 25 degrees is plenty for most people, rather than diving to 18. As a rule of thumb, aiming for around 6 to 8 degrees cooler than it is outside keeps you comfortable without overworking the unit or creating an unpleasant shock every time you step indoors. And just as in winter, every degree matters for running cost, so a slightly higher cooling temperature noticeably trims the bill, which feeds straight into your overall heat pump running costs.
Auckland summers are as much about humidity as heat, and this is where dry mode shines. On those muggy, sticky days when the air feels heavy but not necessarily boiling, dry or dehumidify mode, the water-drop symbol, removes moisture from the air with far less energy than full cooling. Often, taking the humidity out is all it takes to feel comfortable, without cooling the room down much at all. Reaching for dry mode instead of cool mode on humid-but-not-hot days is both more comfortable and cheaper. For a persistently damp home, proper ventilation tackles the underlying moisture.
A couple of settings make cooling more effective. Because cool air sinks, aim the louvres upward or horizontally in cooling mode, the opposite of winter, so the cold air spreads across the ceiling and falls evenly through the room rather than pooling at your feet. Leave the fan on auto so the unit moves enough air to cool the space efficiently. These small adjustments help the room feel evenly cool at a higher, cheaper setpoint, rather than forcing the unit colder to compensate for poor air distribution.
Your heat pump cools far more cheaply when the house is not fighting it. Close curtains and blinds on the sunny side during the day to keep the afternoon heat out, since a room that never gets as hot is much easier and cheaper to cool. Keep doors and windows shut while cooling so you are not chilling the outdoors, and open up in the cooler evening or overnight to let the day’s heat escape naturally. Only cool the rooms you are using, and use the timer so the unit is not running to an empty house. Together these habits mean the heat pump does less work for the same comfort.
Cooling performance depends on airflow just as heating does, so clean filters matter year-round. A clogged filter chokes the airflow and makes the unit work harder and cool less effectively, pushing up your summer bill for less comfort. Give the filters a clean at the start of the cooling season and roughly monthly through heavy use, a five-minute job covered in our maintenance guide. If your heat pump struggles to cool the space even when set sensibly and kept clean, it may be undersized for the room, which our size calculator can help you check.
Your heat pump is a summer appliance as much as a winter one, and using it well, a sensible temperature, dry mode for humidity, clean filters and a house that keeps the sun out, means comfortable, affordable cooling through the hottest Auckland days. Spring is the perfect time to get it ready.
Varcoe has kept Auckland homes comfortable in every season since 1975. If your heat pump is not cooling as it should, or you want one that will, get in touch, call us on 0800 088 888, or email info@varcoe.co.nz.
Yes. A reverse-cycle heat pump is the same technology as an air conditioner, so it both heats and cools. In summer it runs in reverse, moving heat out of the room to cool it. Just switch to cool mode, shown by the snowflake symbol on the remote.
Around 23 to 25 degrees is comfortable for most people, rather than the coldest setting. Aiming for roughly 6 to 8 degrees cooler than outside keeps you comfortable without overworking the unit, and a slightly higher setpoint noticeably reduces running costs.
Cool mode lowers the room temperature, while dry mode removes humidity with much less energy and little cooling. On muggy but not especially hot days, dry mode is often all you need to feel comfortable, and it is cheaper to run than full cooling.
Upward or horizontal, the opposite of heating. Cool air sinks, so directing it across the ceiling lets it fall evenly through the room, cooling the space more effectively and letting you use a higher, cheaper temperature setting.
Set a sensible temperature rather than the coldest, use dry mode on humid days, close curtains against the afternoon sun, cool only the rooms you use, use the timer, and keep the filters clean. Together these keep the house comfortable without a big bill.
Common causes are dirty filters choking the airflow, the unit being undersized for the room, or the space heating up faster than the unit can cope due to sun and open doors. Clean the filters first, help the house stay cool, and if it still struggles, have it checked.
Whether it needs a service, the right settings, or a better-sized unit, our Auckland team can help.
