Polyvalent heat pumps can provide year-round climate control by delivering both heating and cooling, often with the added advantage of heat recovery. They therefore offer significant comfort, economic, and environmental benefits, says Roberto Mallozi from Klima-Therm
As the demand for energy efficient, low-emission HVAC solutions continues to grow, polyvalent heat pumps are emerging as a game-changing technology. These advanced systems go beyond traditional heating and cooling by seamlessly integrating multiple energy functions into a single, compact unit.
Whether they are delivering concurrent heating and cooling for different zones or supplying domestic hot water while maintaining indoor comfort, polyvalent heat pumps offer unparalleled flexibility and efficiency.
In a world increasingly focused on decarbonization and cost savings, their versatility makes them not only a smart investment, but also a strategic one.
Indeed, polyvalent heat pumps have much to commend them. Since they can both heat buildings in the winter and cool them in the summer, they eliminate the need for separate indoor comfort systems and simplify climate control management. They can also heat one part of the building while simultaneously cooling another, useful in buildings with diverse climate zones or varying occupant needs.
On top of this, a single polyvalent system can replace multiple appliances (for example,
a boiler, air conditioner, and water heater), freeing up indoor space.
But the benefits of these versatile devices don’t end there. They can also be adapted to a host of building types which makes them ideal for residential and commercial heating and cooling. They are also perfect for other applications such as educational establishments (see the box).
Moreover, they are environmentally friendly and sustainable, offering exceptional energy efficient performance and lower carbon footprints to the buildings in which they are installed. And they can recover heat from cooling processes and use it for heating, or vice versa, leading to big savings on utility bills and lower operating costs.
This winning combination of high efficiency and heat recovery leads to lower operating costs compared to traditional systems, making them a particularly cost-effective indoor climate control solution over the long term.
Another advantage of modern polyvalent heat pumps is their ability to support smart thermostats, zoning, and remote control, giving users precise control over temperature and energy usage.
However, the technology itself is only half the story. Although they require less maintenance than traditional forms of heating and cooling, polyvalent heat pumps do, nonetheless, demand regular HVAC servicing to prevent unexpected breakdowns.
By performing preventative maintenance tasks, you can ensure your HVAC system operates more efficiently, extend its lifespan, and reduce the risk of costly and disruptive repairs.
Routine maintenance tasks include monthly or quarterly visual inspection to check for signs of wear, corrosion, or leaks, and ensure casings and access panels are secure. Air filters should also be cleaned monthly or quarterly to optimise the airflow, and vents and ducts should be checked for blockages.
Other important checks include the twice yearly cleaning of evaporator and condenser coils to prevent heat transfer loss, and inspection for fouling or scale, especially in water-source systems. Furthermore, it pays to check the refrigerant charge and looking for leaks at least once a year, and, if applicable, examine water pumps, valves, and filters for functionality. Flush the system if there is scale buildup or sludge, and maintain the correct water pressure and antifreeze levels in geothermal or ground-source systems.
Finally, it is important to examine electrical components annually, tightening connections, inspecting relays and capacitors, testing thermostat and control systems and ensuring sensors are functioning accurately.
More advanced preventive maintenance measures include:
- Software and control checks, which ensure firmware is updated and optimise control logic for seasonal operation.
- Monitoring compressor start-up cycles and running amperage tests, since excessive short cycling or high-power draw can indicate developing issues.
- Checking the defrost system for air source units) to confirm correct operation in winter because poorly functioning defrost cycles can cause ice buildup.
- Maintaining system logs and diagnostics through the use onboard diagnostics, or BMS logs that analyse performance and looking for unusual trends or error codes.
Polyvalent heat pump benefits in a nutshell
Polyvalent heat pumps – also known as multi-functional or multi-purpose heat pumps – can:
- Provide both heating and cooling, often with the added advantage of heat recovery. This means they can heat buildings in the winter and cool them in the summer, eliminating the need for separate systems and simplifying climate control management.
- Heat one part of the building while, at the same time, cooling another, useful in buildings with diverse climate zones or varying occupant needs.
- Can be adapted to a host of building types, making them ideal for residential and commercial heating and cooling. They are also perfect for other applications such as educational establishments.
- Are environmentally friendly and sustainable, offering energy efficiency and lower carbon footprints to the buildings in which they are installed. They can recover heat from cooling processes and use it for heating, or vice versa, leading to big savings on utility bills and lower operating costs.
- Support smart thermostats, zoning, and remote control, giving users precise control over temperature and energy usage.
- Require less maintenance than traditional systems, further reducing long-term costs.
Cool schools – why heat pumps make the grade
Polyvalent heat pumps offer a sustainable, cost-effective, and intelligent solution for climate control in educational institutions.
Comfort and wellbeing are particularly important in learning environments where excessively high temperatures can negatively affect both productivity and student wellbeing.
Indeed, it has been proven that students perform worse on tests during hot days. A Harvard study found that heatwaves can reduce test scores, particularly for students in schools without air conditioning. Heat can impair decision-making and increase the time it takes to complete tasks. That’s why some form of air conditioning such as heat pumps make sense in schools, colleges, and universities – they ensure consistent indoor climate, crucial for student comfort and concentration.
But polyvalent heat pumps also deliver further advantages in these settings because their ability to provide simultaneous heating and cooling and the fact that they can be zoned mean they can deliver heating to one area (for example, classrooms) while cooling another (such as, server rooms, and gyms).
They also offer energy recovery so that heat rejected during cooling to support heating needs elsewhere in the building, significantly improving efficiency. And they support year-round climate control and cope well with variable occupancy patterns.
Polyvalent heat pumps from Klima-Therm
Rhoss POKER290
POKER290 is a ground-breaking new range of high-temperature, air-cooled, reversible, propane- based heat pumps with silent, brushless EC axial fans and state-of-the-art compressors. It adopts scroll technology and a modular concept to provide exceptional performance in cooling, heating, and high-temperature domestic hot water (DHW) production.
Key features include:
- Optimised structure, leak detector and ventilation system for total safety with A3 refrigerant.
- The refrigerant charge is less than 5kg for any kind of installation, maximising safety and allowing for outdoor installation without any restrictions with regard to use or access. In the unlikely event of leaks, detection is fast with prompt intervention of evacuation systems.
- Single refrigerant circuit, double compressor (fixed speed) configuration, with low noise operation of 44dBA sound pressure level at 10m distance (76dBA sound power level).
- Compact, high efficiency scroll compressor offering whisper-quiet operation.
- SDR – Rhoss Dynamic Sequencer integrated in the units, which also includes DHW production sequenced management.
- Optional three-way diverting valve for DHW production.
The Rhoss POKER290 is designed to produce high water temperatures and a wide span of operational limits, making it suitable for an extensive range of commercial applications including hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, theatres, universities, hospitals, and nursing homes. Featuring high efficiency scroll hermetic compressors, the POKER290 also benefits from the use of natural, non-toxic, eco-friendly R290 (propane) refrigerant gas.
The natural approach
POKER290 employs propane as its refrigerant. This has a host of benefits:
- Negligible Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 3 – R410A, for example, is 2088
- Zero ozone depletion potential due to no chlorine or fluorine
- Non-toxic
- Works with low compressor discharge temperatures to extend compressor life.
- Compared to hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and HFCs, propane has a lower system pressure drop and higher heat transfer performance.
- Lower density, resulting in a lower refrigerant charge
- Excellent thermodynamic performance – propane can go from a very low evaporating temperature to a high condensing temperature.
- Unlike hydrofluoroefins (HFOs), propane doesn’t break down in the environment into trifluoroacetic acid or other harmful substances.
- R290’s excellent thermodynamic properties offer exceptionally good energy efficiency, requiring less energy to reach and maintain the desired temperature compared with F Gases, which means less power consumed and lower fuel bills.
- Future proof solution, especially in light of new, more stringent F-gas legislation coming down the line, which include a demand for a reduction in the volume of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) on the market.
High efficiency, versatile operation
The Rhoss POKER290 offers outstanding performance by providing high efficiency both at full and partial loads (CoP in A class, SCoP 3.2 MT, SCoP 3.81 LT, A+ Class), POKER290 modules are completely independent but managed in a synergic way.
A versatile solution, it can generate temperatures up to 75°C with outdoor air as low as -20°C. It is also possible to make the most of the heat pump in summer mode, producing cold water for air conditioning as well as chilled water down to -10°C.
POKER290 offers the following extended operating limits:
- Hot water production up to 75°C, and 65°C hot water with external air down to -12°C (working range limit -20°C).
- Cold water production from -10°C to 20°C with external air up to 50°C.
Heating capacity can be increased according to plant load requirements. This is achieved simply and quickly by connecting up to four units via the new Rhoss integrated electronic dynamic sequencer – SDR – which includes the domestic hot water production sequenced management covering a capacity range from around 48 to 190kW.
Rhoss UniPack range
Rhoss UniPACK-P and UniPACK-P EXP are pioneering new lines of reversible heat pumps and multipurpose polyvalent units marking a significant step forward in sustainable heating solutions, delivering exceptional efficiency, low environmental impact, and versatility.
Designed for both new installations and renovations, the UniPACK ranges comprise 11 sizes in both high efficiency and super-silenced versions, covering cooling capacities from around 50 to 160kW, making them suitable for an extensive variety of commercial applications including hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, theatres, universities, hospitals, and nursing homes.
The super-silenced version comes complete with compressor technical compartment soundproofing and reduced speed fans.
Offering exceptionally flexible installation options, UniPacks feature two or four compressors in single or dual refrigerant circuits. Multipurpose polyvalent (four-pipe) units EXP units provide the same configuration options as the standard range.
The natural choice:
Like the POKER290, the units run on natural, non-toxic, eco-friendly R290 (propane) refrigerant gas which has negligible global warming potential (GWP), aligning with the industry’s growing focus on sustainability. Propane also has an ozone depletion potential of zero, so it has no impact on the ozone layer.
High efficiency, versatile climate control
The UniPACK-P and UniPACK-P EXP ranges offer exceptionally high seasonal performance (low temperature SCoP up to 3.86 and medium temperature SCoP up to 3.28) with extended operating limits. They produce hot water up to 72°C, even with external air down to -12°C and cold water from -10°C to 20°C with external air up to 50°C.
The latest hermetic rotary, scroll type compressors used in the heat pumps offer thermal protection and casing heater and two-four capacity steps with high efficiency at part loads.
External rotor axial type electric fans are equipped with internal thermal protection and accident prevention grilles. The electric fans, based on the sizes, are EC fans or fitted with a proportional electronic device for continuous adjustment of the rotation speed.
Fast, accurate microprocessor electronic control with adaptive function plus logic makes the heat pumps particularly cost-effective to operate and easy to use. On top of this, a comprehensive set of measures on the heat pumps that enhance safety and boost reliability includes refrigerant leak detectors, ventilation systems, and coil protection nets.
Other key features include the SIR integrated Rhoss sequencer for domestic hot water production management and plug and play logic with a wide range of pumping groups. A colour touch user keypad (fitted on the machine or remotely) with 7-inch display, interfaces for serial communication with other devices, including Smart Grid integration and photovoltaic system.
