Heat pumps in Mallorca · Fitted by Joaquín and Juan since 1998

An air-source heat pump (aerothermal) draws energy from the outdoor air to heat, cool and produce domestic hot water. It burns nothing: using electricity it moves heat from outside to inside, and the other way round in summer. That is why it delivers more energy than it consumes: the Daitsu Multi-Hybrid we install has a SCOP of 3.72, meaning around 3.7 kWh of heat for every kWh of electricity on average over the season (official Daitsu 2024-25 catalogue). A single unit covers heating, cooling and hot water.

With the manufacturer's figure, not an internet average: the Daitsu Multi-Hybrid we install has a COP of up to 4.24 and a seasonal SCOP of 3.72 (official Daitsu 2024-25 catalogue). To give your home 100 kWh of heat it uses about 27 kWh of electricity. Electric radiators or heaters use 100 kWh of electricity to give those same 100 kWh of heat, so against them it is around 73% less energy. An oil or gas boiler burns fuel and does not multiply the energy; what you save in euros against it depends on the price of a litre of oil or a kWh of gas compared with electricity, and that changes with every tariff: we work it out from a year of your bills. If you also add solar panels, part of that electricity comes from your roof.

Yes. The same heat pump reverses its cycle and cools the home in summer through fan coils or ducts (in Mallorca the cooling doesn't run through the floor: with our humidity it would condense). That is why we call it a 3-in-1 system: heating, cooling and hot water from a single unit. On the 3-pipe Multi-Hybrid system we install there is a detail that pays off in a Mallorcan August: while it cools the house, the heat it removes is diverted to the hot water tank instead of being dumped outside, so summer hot water costs you nothing extra in electricity. Its cooling EER is 3.97 (official Daitsu 2024-25 catalogue).

Yes, and there is a figure that explains it: the Daitsu Multi-Hybrid is rated to operate down to -15 °C outdoors (official Daitsu 2024-25 catalogue), and Mallorca's winters are mild, so the machine nearly always runs far from its limit, which is where it performs best. That is the opposite of what happens in the UK or central Europe, where output drops off in a hard frost. What you do have to watch on the island is salt and coastal humidity: they decide where the outdoor unit goes and how often it is serviced.

Sometimes, and we check before promising it. Radiators for a boiler were sized for much hotter water than suits a heat pump, and with cooler water they give out less heat. If the house is well insulated or the radiators are oversized, they may work as they are. If not, there are two ways out: replace only the ones in rooms that fall short with Jaga low-temperature radiators (Low-H2O), designed for the warm water of a heat pump, or move to underfloor heating if there is a refurbishment. To know, a photo of each radiator with its measurements and the square metres of each room are enough. Underfloor heating is not compulsory, but it is the emitter the heat pump performs best with.

It is the figure that changes consumption most. The cooler the water leaves for the house (the flow temperature), the less the compressor has to work and the more heat it gets from each kWh of electricity. The EU energy-labelling rules for heat pumps (Delegated Regulation (EU) No 811/2013) measure them in two cases: "low temperature", with water at 35 °C, and "medium temperature", at 55 °C. The SCOP of 3.72 we quote for the Daitsu Multi-Hybrid is the medium-temperature one; with underfloor heating, which heats with cooler water, the machine has an easier job. That is why we choose the emitters before the machine: underfloor heating or low-temperature radiators for heat, and fan coils for cooling.

Here is the figure rather than an impression: the Daitsu Multi-Hybrid outdoor unit has a sound pressure level of 55 dB(A) on the AOHD 40, 56 dB(A) on the AOHD 45 and 58 dB(A) on the AOHD 54, according to the official Daitsu 2024-25 catalogue. The hydraulic module indoors has no compressor. In Mallorca what matters most is not the machine but where it goes: open air in front and behind so it can breathe, supports or a base with anti-vibration mounts, a drain for the water it releases in winter, and away from bedroom windows, yours and your neighbour's. In town houses with a courtyard or a party wall, that counts for more than the unit itself. Noise towards the neighbours has legal limits (the Balearic noise law, Llei 1/2007, and your town hall's by-law), and in a building the façade and roof are common areas: talk to the community first. That is why we ask for a photo of the spot where it would go.

Heat pumps qualify for the FACTOR 2026 call from the Balearic Government, open since July 2026, which for individuals resident in the Balearics covers 70% of the eligible cost, calculated on at most €1,000 per kW of heating output (€1,450 if the heat distribution is also new) and capped at €25,000 per installation. It is awarded first come first served until the funds run out, with a deadline of 28 February 2027. The heat pump must have a seasonal performance (SPF) above 2.5, air-to-air units in homes are excluded, work started from 1 January 2026 is accepted and it cannot be combined with another grant from the regional ministry for the same work. If the house is your second home and you do not live in the Balearics, ask us about your case. The income-tax (IRPF) deduction for energy-efficiency works may also apply, if it is your main home or a home you let and the energy certificates prove the improvement; its base is reduced by any grant received. We prepare the paperwork and, with your authorisation, file and justify the grant; you sign the application and the grant is paid into your bank account. Income-tax (IRPF) deductions are claimed by you in your Spanish tax return, using the invoices and certificates we hand over. Source: BOIB no. 83, 2 July 2026.

Yes, two of them: one before the work starts and one when it is finished. The Spanish deduction for works that improve a home's energy efficiency (additional provision 50 of the IRPF Act) compares the energy performance certificate from before with the one from after: 20% if heating and cooling demand falls by at least 7%, on a maximum base of €5,000 a year, and 40% if non-renewable primary energy consumption falls by at least 30% or the house reaches an A or B rating, on a maximum base of €7,500 a year. The 20% and the 40% are for works on your main home or on a home you own and let as a dwelling, or intend to let provided it is let before 31 December 2027; if the house is your second home, check with your tax adviser. An earlier certificate is valid if it is no more than two years old when the work starts. They are signed by a qualified technician, who registers them in the Balearic Government's certificate register. The work has to be done by 31 December 2026 and the after certificate issued before 1 January 2027. Payment must be by bank, never in cash, and any grant is deducted from the base. Income-tax (IRPF) deductions are claimed by you in your Spanish tax return, using the invoices and certificates we hand over. If you are not tax-resident in Spain you pay a different tax and these deductions do not apply in the same way: check with your tax adviser.

It depends on the unit: the Daitsu Multi-Hybrid uses R410A and the Free Max ACS, R32 (official Daitsu/Eurofred data sheets). If the refrigerant circuit is split between the outdoor unit and the indoor one, installing and opening it requires the F-gas certification, which we hold; in a monobloc unit the gas stays sealed in the outdoor unit and only water reaches the house. And there is an obligation that depends on the charge: from 5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, Regulation (EU) 2024/573 (art. 5) requires leak checks by certified staff: below 50 tonnes, at least every 12 months (every 24 if the unit has a leak detection system). With R32, whose global warming potential is 675, those 5 tonnes are about 7.4 kg of gas. Hermetically sealed equipment labelled as such is exempt below 10 tonnes and, in residential buildings, below 3 kg of gas. We check the rating plate of your unit and, if it applies, we tell you.

In a private home the Spanish legionella rules do not require a control programme: article 3.2 of Royal Decree 487/2022 excludes installations in buildings used exclusively as homes, as long as they do not affect the outdoor environment. Even so, the hot water from a heat pump is stored in a cylinder, and lukewarm standing water is what you want to avoid. That is why the unit has an anti-legionella function that raises the cylinder to a high temperature every so often, and we set it up to suit how the house is used; in a house that stands empty for weeks it is the first thing we look at. If it is an agritourism property or a holiday let, ask us: a different standard may apply there.

The rule we follow: at least what the Spanish RITE requires and, if the manufacturer asks for more, what the manufacturer asks. The RITE sets, in table 3.1 of its IT.3 (BOE consolidated text, last amended 2 August 2022), how often each type of equipment is serviced, by output and use; for example, air conditioning of up to 12 kW every 4 years in homes and every 2 in other uses, and from 12 to 70 kW every 2 years in homes and yearly otherwise. It adds that the manufacturers' specifications must be taken into account in all cases, so for your specific unit its manual and its warranty conditions count too. The work is logged in a record the owner keeps for five years (RITE, art. 27). Our own rule: on a seafront property, with salt on the coil, we do not let years go by, because performance drops long before the law makes you look at it. We do it through our maintenance service.