Active cooling function heat pump or air conditioner in new construction

I believe almost everyone here agrees on active cooling using an air-water heat pump. Passive cooling has the huge advantage that it costs almost nothing during operation and consumes almost no energy. This ecological and economic advantage is lost with the active variant, so in this case I would rather use an air conditioning unit directly instead of active cooling through the heat pump.

I am talking about active cooling via brine-water heat pump. Of course, passive cooling uses less electricity, but the power consumption with active cooling via brine is really minimal because the compressor actually doesn’t need to work. At first, I didn’t look closely either and thought passive cooling was standard from the factory (supported, it says in the brochure). But I now think that the extra cost does not pay off financially given the low number of "cooling days" per year.

In my case, the additional cost was well under 500 euros for passive cooling.

I have no experience with active cooling of the brine-water heat pump. Besides the disadvantage of higher electricity costs (but apparently significantly less than active cooling with an air-water heat pump), it also affects the lifespan of the heat pump, because the compressor is involved and has to cycle (and the lifespan of heat pumps typically depends heavily on the compressor's cycling rate).

However, since in your case it is included for free, ... yes, then I could imagine that it definitely makes sense to use it. For mine, for example, it is not included, but there is a significantly lower additional cost for passive cooling. It is a case-by-case decision; the result (cooler temperatures) should be the same.

Hello, thank you for the answers. Of course, it was a mistake on my part. So the installer charges about €3000 (including additional module, sensor, small buffer tank, etc.) for the passive cooling (Natural Cooling at Vaillant) and not for active cooling. So it is about the decision between passive cooling with brine heat pump or split air conditioning system. I have understood your arguments. Of course, the maintenance intensity of an air conditioning system probably also plays a role, unfortunately I have no experience with that. With an air conditioning system you simply have a higher efficiency than with passive cooling.

You definitely do not have a higher efficiency with an air conditioner, but you do have a higher cooling capacity. With a 3,000 euro surcharge for passive cooling, ... phew, that is really a big number, or should I say rip-off....

Just checked the offer again. 1. Expansion module Natural Cooling 1,200 € 2.3 Sensors 110 € 3. Compact buffer storage mps 40 604€ 4. Additional cost room sensor 195 € 5. Installation, materials, functional test 450 € All net.... is this a rip-off?

No idea, but I know from my circle of acquaintances significantly smaller surcharges, up to a max of 1,500 euros gross. - I don't see why a buffer tank would be needed for that, for what? - You need a dew point sensor, but that was already included in the control unit I wanted. - Difference between sensor and room sensor? - And installation... Where is the additional effort? OK, the dew point sensor, but otherwise? (In your case certainly the buffer tank including connection, but I wouldn't know what it should be good for...) - Expansion module.. OK not cheap but I think within the reasonable range