HEAT PUMPS Multi-pipe heat pumps explained
The key to unlocking energy savings in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems is to think of it as a thermal management system rather than siloed heating and cooling plants. Heat pump technology enables this approach, but does everyone know that there are diff erent types of heat pumps on the market? This report from Trane lays it all out.
"A high TER means that the cooling and heating demands of a building are completely balanced. TER is commonly used by designers to compare Eurovent- certifi ed multi- pipe units."
O 2.
ne of the most advanced types of heat pump is the multi-pipe or four-pipe unit, sometimes called a multi-purpose unit.
Here are fi ve things that make a multi-pipe heat pump special:
1. It can heat and cool simultaneously. Unlike a traditional chiller or heat pump, a multi-pipe unit can heat, cool, recover heat, or do all of these at the same time. This allows it to satisfy the real-time needs of diff erent building zones.
It has three heat exchangers. These include:
■A heat exchanger connected to the cooling circuit ■A heat exchanger connected to the heating circuit ■An air heat exchanger.
The air heat exchanger plays a balancing role, either handling excess heat or supplementing renewable heat (from the ambient air) when the building needs more. This heat exchanger works either as a condenser in the cooling mode or as an evaporator in heating mode to balance the diff erence between the heating and cooling demands. It repurposes energy which would otherwise be rejected. Heat is an unavoidable by-product of any cooling process. In conventional cooling plants, it is typically rejected to the ambient air – an absurdity if you can consider that many buildings (like hospitals and hotels) require simultaneous heating and cooling all year round. Thanks to the additional heat exchanger, multi- pipe heat pumps can simultaneously capture and re-purpose this waste heat to meet the building’s heating demand. This fl exibility is the backbone of its effi ciency. It uses an innovative refrigerant system. Traditional heat pumps operate with a fi xed refrigerant charge, but refrigerant charges need to vary depending on whether the system is heating, cooling, or recovering energy. To solve this and optimise effi ciency, no matter what the operating condition, Trane has designed and implemented the Trane Adaptive Refrigerant System (TARS). This automatically adjusts the refrigerant charge based on the operating mode, ensuring the system always runs at optimal performance. TER is used to compare diff erent brands of multi-pipe
products. Because a multi-pipe heat pump is unique and sophisticated in the way it can deliver heating and cooling simultaneously, EER and COP were not representative enough of its performance level. Therefore, the industry felt the need to create a new energy effi ciency ratio called Total Effi ciency Ratio, or TER.
24 June 2026 •
www.acr-news.com TER = (Cooling capacity + Heating capacity) / Total power input
A high TER means that the cooling and heating demands of a building are completely balanced. TER is commonly used by designers to compare Eurovent-certifi ed multi-pipe units. According to Eurovent market intelligence, the multi-pipe heat pump market in Europe has more than doubled over the past 5 years. Below are the top three reasons why designers and building owners are opting for this technology for comfort applications. 1. Lower operating costs – reusing heat from cooling means you pay less to generate heat. Electricity use is becoming more productive. Seasonal energy bills drop signifi cantly.
2. Lower carbon emissions – because electricity powers the system, and the equipment is three to four times more effi cient than combustion-based heating, emissions can drop by factors of up to fi ve, depending on your building’s usage patterns. For owners pursuing ESG goals or carbon- neutral targets, this is a major enabler.
3.
Smaller mechanical footprint – replacing separate boilers and chillers with an integrated solution frees up space in mechanical rooms, reduces maintenance complexity, and lowers equipment redundancy requirements. In new constructions, this can even reduce capital investment.
4.
Higher building value – investors and tenants increasingly demand buildings that use renewable-ready electricity, reduce carbon footprint, lower operating costs, avoid air pollution, and, of course, provide stable and comfortable environments.
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