Heat pump SEER rating

[Commander Kinsey]

Why can't I find a heat pump with a good SEER rating? The USA has a law stating 13 minimum. Yet here in the UK, I looked at Panasonic and they're all 7 to 11!

[A noiseless patient Spider]

It's because we use 120/240 volt 60 Hz two-phase.  Your single-phase 50 Hz is less efficient.

[Commander Kinsey]

I don't believe you. There is no way they can be twice as efficient with a different input voltage or frequency.

[alan_m]

Doesn't it also depend on if it's been optimised for air conditioning to cool air in the summer rather than being optimised for heating during the winter in climates such as the UK?

Consider also it appears from many of the examples I've seen honesty doesn't seem to be part of USA advertising.

[Commander Kinsey]

Is that necessary? If it's reversible, isn't it just that? Obviously it will be less efficient when it's pushing heat through a larger gradient (which will happen in heating mode), but that can't be helped.

Don't they have a government body to check they're honest?

And it ain't just the USA - almost everything you buy with a rating is a lie. Cameras with less megapixels than they say, batteries with less capacity than they say, etc. Every time I buy something like that, I test it thoroughly, then get a partial refund :-)

[The Natural Philosopher]

That is cobblers. I've seen efficient motors runbing off 3V DC.

And that doesnt support the contention either.

[Andy Bennet]

Its a longitude thing. High ratings are only achieved between about 70 and 120 degrees west. A bit like music power really.

[alan_m]

I'll bet that in the USA they may not be quoting the spec for heating, just cooling

[Max Demian]

Megapixels (and megabytes) are less than they used to be. 1,000,000 rather than 1,048,576.

[alan_m]

Hard disks have always have always been 1MB = 1,000,000 Bytes

[The Natural Philosopher]

I dont think so

[The Other Mike]

60Hz vs 50Hz?

For several manufacturers they all come off the the same production line, using the same refrigerant, most now use a multiphase inverter driven compressor.

The result is there is essentially bugger all difference in thermal performance and certainly none related to the mains input voltage and frequency.

[The Natural Philosopher]

No one with a monniker like "A noiseless patient Spider" van possibly have an IQ over 50

[A noiseless patient Spider]

And the IQ requirement to type accurately?

[Jane Black]

You are correct with the PC

[The Natural Philosopher]

Not correlated.

[The Natural Philosopher]

...has no relevance to this duscussion...

..implies the opposite...

[Commander Kinsey]

Indeed. Yet another con. Pretty annoying when your 2TB drive is 1.8.

[Jane Black]

Of course it does, it?s the first hard disk seen on the PC.

No it does not. The lines specifying the formatted capacity are clearly using 1,048,576. byte megabytes.

[Commander Kinsey]

The USA has snowy parts does it not? Have they not realised you can reverse those AC units?