5 Pros and Cons of Using Your Air Conditioner as a Heater

People who live in hotter climates don’t really need to think about heating. But others that live in colder climates, or places where it’s occasionally cold, must think about the best way to warm themselves.

Many consider unorthodox is using your air conditioner as heather, while others do it all the time. Do you want to know which way is better? How to know if it’s a good idea to warm yourself during those cold nights with just an air conditioner? We will try to answer your wanders and show you the cons of using a system like this. But also, we are going to be honest about the cons too.

What do you need to learn before installing an air conditioner?

Source: haier.com

An air condition unit is a handy thing to own if you live in hot summer and cold winters. It’s great to have it in rooms that have south-facing windows but also rooms that are not adequately insulated.

But should you know before installing a unit? There are a few things that you should be aware of:

It’s always good when you find a great bargain, but for some things, it’s better to pay a little bit more if it is going to guarantee you quality. Before buying an AC unit, you should research, read reviews of popular models, and compare the prices. In the big run, an AC unit that is pricier will give you durability, lower maintenance, and it will last for years to come. And the cheap ones can easily break, cause you a lot of trouble, and cost you more money eventually.

When it comes to the size, you will want to choose something that will perfectly fit your room, not too big or too small.

Energy consumption is a significant factor and something that many people overlook. Depending on the power of the AC unit, it will consume energy. And if you need to save money, you need to be aware of this, because you can be unpleasantly surprised with your bills.

Maintenance is vital to every AC unit because you can soon say goodbye to your unit without it. Many people don’t think about it, and then they are surprised when their unit breaks or doesn’t work correctly. Also, regular maintenance will extend the life of an AC unit and eventually save you money. More about what maintenance services include, you can look up acservicesmaui.com.

Pros of using your air conditioner as a heater

Source: the-riotact.com

Now we will share some of the pros of using your AC as a heater, the thing you came here for in the first place. The things we chose are pretty straightforward and easy to understand. So, let’s start:

  1. You don’t have to spend more money – If you live in a warmer climate, and you have very few cold days, most likely you already have an AC unit installed. But do you do when you get hit with a cold wave, and you need something to warm you up? There isn’t a need to buy a brand-new heater; you can easily use your AC. And with that, we’ve come to our first pro for using an AC as a heater, is that you don’t have to spend more money, and you can use what you have.
  2. You will save space – Another unit for heating will only use up more space. And if you are living in a small space, you don’t want that. Also, if you live in a big house, you don’t need to have another unit that will occupy more space or something that you will always have to pull out once it gets cold.
  3. You will have one more minor unit for maintenance – We’ve explained to you that you need to perform regular maintenance for your AC, and you should do that also for your heater. Professionals do regular maintenances because you want someone reliable to do those things, and because of that, they cost money. So, if you don’t have to, why would you want to have two regular maintenances, if you can have only one.

The cons of using your air conditioner as a heater

Source: lcb-brand.com

If there are pros, there are also some downsides, which is entirely normal. If you want to use your AC unit as a heater, you will need to prepare yourself for some of these things:

  1. Not good enough in cold climates – Something like this you could expect. An AC unit is great for those warm and humid climates, with few cold days, but for cold climates not so good. If you live somewhere where most days are cold, where most of the year it’s cold, you will want to look for something else to keep you warm.
  2. High energy bills – Something that we already slightly mentioned are the energy bills. If you use AC units, you know how your energy bills shift in the months you use them. It will also be the same if you start using it in the colder months. But it won’t be anything special if you live in a warmer climate where you anyways use the AC unit every day.

We hope that we explained a bit more why and when it is okay to use an AC unit as a heater. And also, when it’s not that suitable. If you live in a state with warm weather and you need to use a heater only a few days in a month, or even only a few days in one year, you don’t have to think about it much more. You can confidently use your AC unit as a heater and not spend more money on other units. You need to remember that it is crucial to keep your AC unit clean and do annual check-ups and maintenances; on the contrary, it could break and collect mold and bacteria.