How do you know if a heat pump is single stage or multistage?
Question:
How do you know if a heat pump is single stage or multistage?
Reply:
Heat pump refers to the reverse cycle capability of the machine to heat the occupied space.
In the air conditioning industry ‘multi stage’ normally refers to the number of compressors or stages of capacity the unit can deliver in a sequential order i.e. 3 steps at 33% each to reach the full cooling/heating capacity of 100%. A single stage unit has 1 compressor and therefore when it runs the machine delivers 100% capacity without loading capability (this does not take into account inverter machines which vary the compressor speed).
The benefits of multi stage or inverter units are that you are able to spread your energy consumption thus giving you lower operating costs and secondly having a more accurate control of temperature fluctuations inside the conditioned space.
For the lay person the only sure way of finding out is to make note of the brand and model number of the outdoor unit and calling the manufacturer.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

