"Micro” heat pumps aren’t as powerful as whole-home versions, but they’re portable, plug into a 120V outlet — and they’re increasingly effective in the cold.
I’m happy those exist (after all, not everyone can get a proper heat pump installed, maybe because landlord is an asshole, maybe because other people in your apartment building say they don’t want the noise, maybe you live in a historic part of town), but holy hell are they useless compared to a real heat pump.
If you CAN get a real one installed, but your current finances only allow for the portable one - I’d recommend considering waiting for the real deal if you’re able to save up for it. I spent ~300 euros on a portable one, it was OK for cooling a tiny room, never used for heating because the damn thing made too much noise to be worth it in a big house with a working central heating system. I then spent nearly 3000 euros (including installation) on a relatively powerful heat pump. It’s probably cut my winter heating costs in half (at the cost of driving up the electric bill a bit of course).
The kicker? The noisy portable one isn’t JUST gutless, it also uses more power.
And don’t even get me started on sealing it properly with european style windows (you know, the kind that tilt on two axes rather than lifting up).
I’m happy those exist (after all, not everyone can get a proper heat pump installed, maybe because landlord is an asshole, maybe because other people in your apartment building say they don’t want the noise, maybe you live in a historic part of town), but holy hell are they useless compared to a real heat pump.
If you CAN get a real one installed, but your current finances only allow for the portable one - I’d recommend considering waiting for the real deal if you’re able to save up for it. I spent ~300 euros on a portable one, it was OK for cooling a tiny room, never used for heating because the damn thing made too much noise to be worth it in a big house with a working central heating system. I then spent nearly 3000 euros (including installation) on a relatively powerful heat pump. It’s probably cut my winter heating costs in half (at the cost of driving up the electric bill a bit of course).
The kicker? The noisy portable one isn’t JUST gutless, it also uses more power.
And don’t even get me started on sealing it properly with european style windows (you know, the kind that tilt on two axes rather than lifting up).