Cooling Mini Splits
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WestCoast Hopeful
28 days agoWestCoast Hopeful
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Help me plan cooling my new house/rooms with mini splits
Comments (8)If window units will keep you comfortable, then mini splits will as well, but with less noise and higher efficiency. Although window units are getting better all the time, mini splits will probably do better humidity control too. Mini splits vs. ducted systems is more of a continuum than it used to be. There are mini split ducted units that can handle more than one room. The difference, I think, is that the static duct pressure is much lower so the design approach is totally different. In a well insulated and constructed home, heat and humidity move between rooms a lot faster than through the exterior walls. That's why zoning does little good in economy measure in that kind of home. It will help you with any uneven temperature problems. Complexity, as Austin pointed out, increases with the number of units so that is a negative. Keep in mind that with more than one compressor, you throttle back to a lower output than with one large one running three. That keeps you out of the cycling mode longer and keeps humidity under control better if you are not running all three units indoors. I've posted a lot about mini splits on this forum even some this week. Take a look....See MoreMini-split for cooling and supplemental heat
Comments (30)@fsq4cw - how about a ballpark price just for the air-to-water heat pump? Just out of my own curiosity. Note that due to @mtvhike having a fairly large solar array and the specifics of his tariff scheme, I'm not sure that any significant capital cost to reduce his electricity usage will pay off well. This shows one of the oddities about specifics of solar tariffs. As I understand the way it works is this: his base tariff for electricity is 9.5 cents/kwh. Any solar he generates offsets the electricity he consumes (calculated annually?). BUT: any solar generated in excess of consumption is only paid at the wholesale rate, which is dramatically lower than the retail rate (call it 1 cent / kwh). Right now - without full year data - he expects to consume somewhat more than his panels generate. The upshot is that his savings from reduced consumption are limited (You could analyse this differently but I find it easier to just take what he already has as the base case, I think the conclusions are the same). Let's say, for example, he consumes 4,000 kwh annually more than he generates, for a bit less than $400 (netted out annually). If he saves more energy than that, every 'extra' kwh saved only gets him 1c / kwh. At least unless or until he adds some significant extra load, like buying an EV or putting an aluminium smelter in his garage or something. So: I'd say it makes sense to consider a minisplit primarily for the air conditioning comfort and if it also offsets some of his straight resistance heating, great, there's some modest savings there (within a 'limit' of however much his consumption currently exceeds his solar generation). Spending much additional for the 1c/kwh savings just won't make much sense financially. This is pretty simplistic as right now he has historical data for consumption and the solar array is relatively new so annual generation only estimated, and of course from year to year both may vary. And at any rate, a good argument to not rush into anything with high upfront expenses or to prioritise other projects for the time being....See MoreThermostat for Mr Cool Mini Split?
Comments (10)I just read the manuals. If you use the Mini-stat, don't use the remote control. Control the unit ONLY from the Mini-stat. Using both would be like trying to control one TV with two remote controls; they will interfere with one another. "it seems they all measure the current indoor temperature up at the indoor unit on the wall." That makes sense as the room temperature has to be measured from a fixed location and both the Mini-stat and the remote control can be moved around. If you wanted the room temperature to be measured elsewhere, you'd probably have to use a conventional thermostat such as the Universal Thermostat. "[I] already see that IR signal is very poor from the remote and often fails to talk to the indoor unit unless I'm directly pointing it at the unit." Right. Infrared (IR) remotes are line-of-site; the remote and the Mini-stat need to be able to "see" the unit, just like a TV IR remote needs to see the TV. "or an app you use on your phone" It gets confusing because you can use a phone app to control the Mini-stat OR you can use a phone app to control the unit (maybe just some units???) directly if equipped with the so-called Smart Controller. If I were using the Mini-stat and wanted remote access, I would configure it's wi-fi capabilities. If I weren't using the Mini-stat and wanted to control the unit remotely I'd configure the Smart Controller....See More2nd floor mini-splits cooling the 1st floor?
Comments (3)I installed a mini split in the upstairs of my 2000 sq ft home a few years ago. It is in a large open room used as the main bedroom. I seldom turn it on, as I like to sleep cold (but if the outside temps go into the 30's I'll use it to warm the room). We don't normally need air conditioning here (PNW) because the nights cool nicely, my room has walls of windows, so it sleeps like a screened porch almost. I live near the saltwater and benefit from cooling breezes after dark. My lower floor (the main living area), stays cool for the most part. But a few years ago, the forest fire smoke choked the air and I couldn't open the windows to cool the upstairs in the summer, and it was stifling. So, I put in the mini split but didn't really use it for air conditioning because the following year we had no smoke, so I just kept the windows open...until last year when we had a record breaking heat wave with temps near 110 or over. Even the normally cool downstairs got sweltering, the upstairs unbearable. The two floors are connected by a small entryway/stairwell with a door at the top of the stairs and door at in the entry leading to the living room, kitchen/dining, which makes keeping the heating zones easily separated. I keep the doors to the bedrooms on the main floor closed always But last year when it was so hot, I ran the air upstairs and opened the doors between the floors. The mini split kept the upstairs cool, kept the downstairs not so cool, but cooler than without. I finally remembered I have portable fans, so I set those up downstairs to move the air and make it feel cooler. This year, I added a mini split downstairs, just in case we have such suffocating heat in the future. I would not rely on the upstairs unit to cool the downstairs effectively, but it will likely provide some cooling as Elmer describes, when the hot air from downstairs rises and gets cooled. But it's not powerful enough to draw much air from downstairs via the fan system....See MorePaul F.
28 days agolast modified: 28 days agoOlychick
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