This paper presents a split air conditioner with a new hybrid equipment of energy storage and water heater all year round (ACWES). The authors made a special design on the storage tank to adjust the refrigerant capacity in the storage coils under different functions, instead of adding an accumulator to the system. An ACWES prototype, rebuilt from an original split air conditioner, has been finished, and experimental study of the operation processes of the prototype was done from which some important conclusions and suggestions have been made, which were helpful in the primary design and improvement of an ACWES system for potential users. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.