AIR HANDLING UNITS
A heating-led rethink for AHU design
Manuel Swärd, Export Director West Europe at IV Produkt, discusses why designing HVAC products for specifi c markets is no longer optional, but essential. He explains how tailoring AHUs to the realities of a heating- dominated climate like the UK can avoid design compromises that have long undermined effi ciency, comfort and sustainability.
I Manuel Swärd
"Sometimes the most eff ective innovation comes not from refi ning existing
compromises, but from rethinking the problem altogether."
n the HVAC industry, conversations about the development of integrated air handling unit (AHU) solutions have traditionally been dominated by cooling. This is understandable: much of the development of reversible heat pumps for AHU integration has historically been driven by the need to cool buildings eff ectively. Heating was often treated as a secondary function; something added on rather than designed from the outset. Yet in the UK and Northern European climates, the greater demand is for heating. Building operators want systems that perform reliably during colder months, without defrosting compromises, temperature fl uctuations or hidden ineffi ciencies. That requirement is now shaping the next generation of AHUs, which are being designed specifi cally for heating-led applications, while still providing suffi cient comfort cooling. For consultants, contractors and building owners, this represents an opportunity to align system design with real climate conditions, decarbonisation goals and the indoor climate expectations of occupants.
The problem with cooling-fi rst designs Most AHU-integrated reversible heat pumps in use today are based on systems originally designed for energy-effi cient cooling. In heating mode, particularly at lower outdoor temperatures, this leads to operational compromises. Defrost cycles interrupt supply conditions, supply air temperatures
Greater London Enthalpy Temperature and RH graph Thermocooler HP 24 October 2025 •
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fl uctuate, and supplementary heating coils or electric reheaters are often required. The result is that operators face three poor choices: accept reduced energy performance, add signifi cant amounts of extra energy, or reduce supply airfl ows and temperatures, and compromise the supply air quality. For many years, these outcomes were tolerated as the cost of having a reversible system. But with today’s focus on energy effi ciency, carbon reduction and healthy indoor environments, such compromises are no longer viable. The industry needs solutions that treat heating as the primary design condition. We recognised that we needed to design systems that meet market requirements, and so our ThermoCooler AHU integrates a reversible heat pump in a fundamentally diff erent way. Rather than adapting our integrated cooling machine for winter use, it has been designed from the ground up with heating as the priority. Key to this is the positioning of the evaporator and condenser coils on the warm side of the thermal wheel, paired with a new control algorithm that manages their operation in sequence with heat recovery. The outcome is an uninterrupted heating operation even at sub- zero outdoor temperatures, with no need for defrost cycles or additional pre-heat coils. Supply airfl ows and temperatures remain consistent, protecting comfort and air quality. For building owners, it removes many of the frustrations that have previously limited the wider adoption of reversible systems in heating-dominated markets.
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