Nick Houghton-Best is national new build sales manager at Daikin UK
The UK housebuilding industry is facing a double challenge. On the one hand, government regulations like the Future Homes Standard mean every new development must drastically cut carbon emissions. On the other hand, recent record-breaking heatwaves have made summer cooling a major priority for buyers and planners alike.
Heatwaves over recent summers are changing the way people live and organise their daily routines. Daikin’s World Air Survey results, published summer 2026, highlight the growing impact of heat on daily life around the world, including across Europe. Across all cities surveyed, 86.5% of respondents said their area has become hotter compared with five years ago, while 89.9% reported experiencing some form of heat-related physical discomfort. In addition, 84.1% said the period during which they use air conditioning has become longer. The findings indicate that rising temperatures are increasingly affecting daily routines, health, and cooling needs in many regions around the world.
For most housebuilders, meeting heat and carbon regulations has usually meant installing air-to-water heat pumps. They are a reliable and familiar way to comply with energy rules (Part L). However, as buyers increasingly demand built-in summer cooling and Building Regulations enforce stricter anti-overheating measures (Part O), developers are finding that traditional heating setups do not solve the whole problem.
To bridge this gap without adding costly extra equipment, housebuilders are turning to air-to-air heat pumps. Modern air-to-air systems offer a simple, efficient way to handle heating, cooling, and hot water all from a single outdoor unit.
Historically, many in the trade have viewed air-to-air units as a secondary extra, and a few common myths still hold developers back from using them on main build sites.
The first misconception is that air-to-air systems cannot provide hot water. Today, you can pair a single outdoor unit with a domestic hot water cylinder, such as the Daikin Multi+. That means one system takes care of winter heating, summer cooling, and daily hot water for the entire home.
The second misconception is that these systems can only cool or heat one or two rooms. While older setups were limited, modern multi-split units can easily run up to five separate indoor units from just one outside box. For a modern townhouse, starter home, or apartment, one outdoor unit is more than enough to manage the entire plot year-round without needing any gas or oil back-up.
From a commercial and design perspective, this brings huge benefits to a build site. Instead of specifying separate systems for low-carbon heating and summer cooling, a single air-to-air setup hits both compliance targets at once. It delivers the low-carbon heating required by Part L while solving the overheating challenges of Part O.
Even better, these systems fit naturally into the smart tech buyers now expect. They connect easily with mobile apps and integrate smoothly with rooftop solar panels. This allows homeowners to run their heating and cooling using their own generated electricity, keeping household energy bills down and giving developers a genuine selling point in a competitive market.
Of course, air-to-air technology is not a one-size-fits-all fix for every single build. It works best in well-insulated, modern homes and apartments where spaces are compact and sealed. In these properties, sleek indoor wall units save valuable floor space while maintaining ideal indoor temperatures year-round. For large, sprawling properties or draughty retrofits, traditional air-to-water or radiator systems remain the more practical choice.
For evidence of how this technology can be integrated, even in sub-zero temperatures, it’s worth looking at the Scandinavian example, where air-to-air systems are well established – showing how well the technology can perform in colder climates. Air-to-air heat pumps are also widely used as a primary heat source in countries such as Norway and Finland, heating homes through sub-zero winters and cooling them in summer. This is a useful demonstration for UK policy makers of how the systems can be better integrated, as current discourse still tends to treat air-to-air as a secondary technology.
There are still barriers to wider uptake, mainly in the installer supply chain. Installing air-to-air systems requires F-Gas certification, and for installers coming from a wet heating background, gaining these skills takes time and investment. To fix this, manufacturers, industry bodies, and government regulators need to work together to make training easier and update regulations so they reflect what modern equipment can do. Daikin supports independent installers with a full range of air-to-air courses, from standard splits to advanced VRV, delivered in person, by webinar or through e-learning.