Split Air con

[YoungBlood]

Spoiler

Anybody have a split air con setup?
I'm wondering if I could get away with a unit installed on the wall in red (external wall).
The green is the "landing upstairs"

If we assume all the upstairs doors are always open, and the main source of summer heat is actually that red wall (their is a huge window that catches the sun in summer) the bedrooms don't catch the sun at all but heat up from the huge amount of heat radiating from the landing.

I also like the idea of it here, as during winter it would be better to have it doing it's background heat thing on that wall rather than stuck in a single room, and it would be used for heating about 45 weeks of the year.

Anybody gone for a landing install rather than a bedroom? How did it work out.

 

[RJC]

I have mine on the landing and need to use a tower fan to help cool my bedroom down in the hotter summer days.

Also use this during the colder months to help heating.

Mine is also on the external wall same to where your looking.

 

[YoungBlood]

Ah perfect, guess a fan by the door sucks in the cold air?
My main concern is the noise of the outside unit, it will mainly run at night, and of course during summer people have the windows open, with the neighbors window being a garage door width away I'm hoping they don't go thud thud thud like the portable ones do. With the compressor kicking on and off.

@RJC can I ask what BTU you have?

 

[Maccapacca]

Rather than winging it why not a split unit ducted to each room and the return in the hallway?

They aren't that much more money really because they don't come with the plastic housing and have to be as small as possible?

That's what we have done this year, yet to use the a/c but the heat function is tip top

 

[RJC]

Go with a inverter driven compressor, this will ramp up and down depending on load - go with a decent make like Daikin or Mitsubishi and these are very quiet.

EDit: The fan by door draws the cool air into the room.

 

[YoungBlood]

Rather than winging it why not a split unit ducted to each room and the return in the hallway?

They aren't that much more money really because they don't come with the plastic housing and have to be as small as possible?

That's what we have done this year, yet to use the a/c but the heat function is tip top

Purely cost but I will ask for quotes for this. But if I was going to have a split system I would rather have 1 unit upstairs and 1 downstairs.
It's very open plan 35 Sqm so not huge areas.

Also where do they draw the power from? Does the inside unit power the outside or vice versa? I'm just thinking of possible sources to plum in the electrics.

 

[Maccapacca]

Purely cost but I will ask for quotes for this. But if I was going to have a split system I would rather have 1 unit upstairs and 1 downstairs.
It's very open plan 35 Sqm so not huge areas.

Also where do they draw the power from? Does the inside unit power the outside or vice versa? I'm just thinking of possible sources to plum in the electrics.

Still a split system, the 2nd bit is in the loft rather than being bolted to an internal wall with ducts to each room and a return duct.

It's a bit more labour. For ours it was a few hundred to go to a hidden ducted system and I'm not looking at a hideous unit on the wall and its virtually silent with all the noise in the loft.

 

[Chief Wiggum]

We have a 4a way, 10kw Mitzi system and it’s fab. We opted for two units upstairs (master and 2nd bedroom) (2.5kw each) and a 5kw unit downstairs in our new extension. We considered but ruled out a ducted system, but if I was doing it again, I’d be in two minds to go ducted upstairs to feed all the rooms. We didn’t think it was really needed originally as it’s only the three of us and handy to have the individual room controls. The units aren’t great looking, but you forget they are there after a while, though for sure if you’re thinking aesthetics then ducted is the way to go.

Edit - something to think about is the water drain. We pump the master bedroom - don’t do that, gravity drain where possible as those things are loud when you’re asleep! We pumped it to keep it a bit more hidden on the outside, but I think when we get it serviced later in the year, we’ll just get them to re do it and drain it. The other two rooms are gravity drained.

 

[RJC]

Condensate pumps are always a pain, as you mention gravity is always best

 

[fobose]

I am having air con installed this year. 3 rooms on a split system. I have a town house so the roof only has access to master bedroom and ensuite. Unless I have the internal unit above my bed's headboard, I can't have the condense gravity drained so they will need to put a pump in the loft. Will this be really annoying in the night?

 

[RJC]

It will depend if you want to keep it running during the night, pump can be annoying as they do have a buzz!

Luckily my work was industrial so did not get too involved with these.

Do you have have much room in your loft? you could put a ceiling concealed unit in and have it ducted into the room and have the condensate running out through the soffits?

 

[Adam_151]

With the compressor kicking on and off.

To put maccapacca's advise in contact, Inverter drive machines don't "kick" on an off, most of the control is by varying the speed, and when they do need to stop and start, the inverter means it ramps up, rather than "kicks" into life

 

[fobose]

Bugger, I did not think about a ducted unit. I wonder why the AC guy didn't mention it. That would have been the ideal solution!! I have already paid the deposit for the 3 rooms, may well be getting installed next Thurs/Fri, depending on the conronavirus situation.

 

[RJC]

Might be worth phoning and see if they can change.

What make have you gone for?

 

[fobose]

I'll ping him an email as it's the weekend. I am working 10 hour shifts Mon-Wed I've gone for mitsubishi electric (zen units as they look a lot nicer).

Originally I was thinking the unit could go where the red box here is as it would be completely out of sight too, and all pipes could be directed out through the brick wall in the loft (external wall is on the left of the picture where my head board is). The chap suggested to put it on the wall opposite my bed (blue box) and have a pump in the loft for the condense.

 

[RJC]

Just wondered how much room there is to get the unit up then run all the ducting.

You could have the return air duct above the door and the grill just below the red square.

They would install a small inline pump within the unit - would you leave it running all night?

 

[RJC]

Also amount of condensation is going to be hard to determin, as this would also depend on the coil temp, if the unit on low load then the coil temp would be higher and not produce much condensation.

 

[fobose]

There is an ok amout of room in the loft, as technically the bedroom is in the main part of the house's 'loft', it is only the very top that I have left but I can stand in the middle with a bit of room above my head.

It will be left on at night if we have carrying on having the hot summers. Ideally like the bedroom to be about 22c max for night time sleeping but we were stuck at about 26-27c (and humid) last year by very late evening.

We had a mobile unit in there last year ducted out the window which is right next to my side of the bed. I could not sleep, it was so bloody loud! I turned it off and suffered the heat

*edit* I mean I could just tell him to put it where the red box is on that picture, as then it could rely on gravity for the condense. Perhaps it's not as efficient blowing in that direction (a slanted roof, towards the window). I would have thought the higher up it is, the better.

 

[RJC]

You could do that, As that might also be a hotspot as the warm air will rise, only thing you don't want is to short circuit the air.

But if you put it low enough not impede the condensate.

Least you got room for a ducted unit - have a word with them and triple check.

My unit is in the hall upstairs and I need to have a fan blowing into my bedroom to cool it down. I only have one out side wall and this is at the front - I would need to install a ducted split for the best option.

 

[fobose]

I've emailed him to see why it shouldn't go where the red box is. I'll then ask him about the ducted unit depending on his reply.

I had a quote for 4 bedrooms and my living room (would need a second outside unit on the side of my garage), which would be lovely to have but my main focus was to just get the master bedroom done and my office (Smallest bedroom) as it is south facing and ends up being around 28-29c when gaming hard in the summer!. I am getting my other south facing bedroom done too as it makes sense for them all to go to the same external unit.