This cant be emphasized enough. Every time i do a nice tight rehab i cant get over how little energy it takes to keep it warm and cool. But then you have those who will open the windows on 95 degree days when the house is 75 inside.
Costco now selling DIY mini splits.
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CaptSpiff
Minister of Fire
Beware the "sales pitch" of bigger tonnage is better. I much prefer a Unit pulling out the humidity by running longer, compared to walking into a cold but clammy room.Air sealing/insulating this place is sort of a never ending project (I buy Great Stuff by the case) that I pick up and put down whenever I have time. I think maybe we could get by with 3 (4.5 tons) but 2 would probably be a undersized for our square footage and climate zone even with better insulation and air sealing.
True, but this is where mini-splits shine. With 3 or 4 units I can operate each one individually, so if/when I need 4.5-6 tons I can run the system full out, but when I don't, I can shut some of them off, and do it with voice commands to boot.
maple1
Minister of Fire
IMO buying splits that aren't max efficiency cold climate capable is kind of a waste of potential.
I already have heat-I need air conditioning, and this is the best way to do it. I'd love to build a superinsulated net-zero house with ground source heat pumps for all heating and cooling needs powered by off-grid solar, but for right now, I'm working with what I've got.
Just as bad are the folks who leave the windows open in damp weather with high relative humidity and then complain the AC will not cool the place down. They dont realize how much capacity is used up condensing water vapor out of the air. Far better to leave it running with windows closed despite the marginally cooler temps outdoors.
I just installed a 2 ton diy mr cool. Did everything myself. Install was pretty easy. Works great. Obviously longevity is a concern, but since I do not live in Florida where AC is a must, I felt the savings was worth the risk. So glad the noisy window units are no longer needed. It is quiet inside and out. Outside side condenser is surprisingly quiet, so those who might be afraid of disturbing neighbors, I would not worry.
Now if I lived in an area where you needed AC to keep your house from molding up, I would spend the money and have a local reputable shop put in the AC of their recommendation.
Now if I lived in an area where you needed AC to keep your house from molding up, I would spend the money and have a local reputable shop put in the AC of their recommendation.
Why? I just did a 1.5 ton Mr. Cool on our second floor and its fantastic-and we definitely need it here (NJ).
Thanks for sharing that. Outside noise is a major concern to me.
I was shocked at how quiet ours was when I started it up. I had previously planned to only locate the condensers on the side of the house opposite our deck/patio area-now that I know how quiet they are I am reconsidering.
I am not sure of the climate in your area but in Florida, if you loose ac for a while, mold will grow inside the house. I do not have to worry about that here in NH. My point was around the durability and serviceability of these units. Unknown at this point. Not sure how a local HVAC guy would deal with this unit, if at all. When I was installing generators, I would not touch a generac whole house unit (mid 2000's). One you service a unit, the owner thinks its your responsibility now. I bought this unit with eyes wide open. I have friends in the HVAC industry that could charge this if necessary, but I would not hold them accountable for any future issues.
I looked into the Mr cool units but the heating capacity is pretty terrible. They start dropping off capacity at like 45-50 degrees. Good cold weather units can put out 100 percent capacity below zero. I would use these for cooling only.
![[Hearth.com] Costco now selling DIY mini splits.](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/245/245726-a3376ae3aab1df55e4b80d8ba59b1c2c.jpg?hash=MAYpkuDlPO "[Hearth.com] Costco now selling DIY mini splits.")
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Looks like they drop to like 40% of rated capacity at zero degrees. Just buy 2.5 times the rated capacity you need or maybe a few of these units.
I’ve wondered if this isn’t just a shell game where the good brands just underrate their equipment so that they still deliver at low temps.
Having lived through a couple of cold winters with my Mitsubishi cold climate I can confirm that yes it does put out heat down to -10 but not much. Folks forget that as the temp drops the heating demand goes up significantly so they are trying to heat a house with a unit that is derated.
A friend of the family is selling rebuilt Monitors kerosene heaters to people who thought they could heat their house in cold climate with cold source minisplit. Its great supplemental heat in standard home but plan on another sources of heat for really cold conditions like a wood stove and a pile of seasoned wood.
A friend of the family is selling rebuilt Monitors kerosene heaters to people who thought they could heat their house in cold climate with cold source minisplit. Its great supplemental heat in standard home but plan on another sources of heat for really cold conditions like a wood stove and a pile of seasoned wood.
Yes, you'll want to have a backup supplement unless living in a milder climate than NH. This is a hyper-heat unit, right? How well does it heat the place at +10 or 15ºF?
A ducted system makes this option easier. Adding a resistance coil box is straight forward. I am considering this path now that Mitsubishi and Daikin are making replacement options for central hvac systems. Our system was high-end in 2006, but it cuts over to resistance heat at 25º. We are burning wood at that point, but during a bad temperature inversion and burn ban we are running on the electric heat coils.
A ducted system makes this option easier. Adding a resistance coil box is straight forward. I am considering this path now that Mitsubishi and Daikin are making replacement options for central hvac systems. Our system was high-end in 2006, but it cuts over to resistance heat at 25º. We are burning wood at that point, but during a bad temperature inversion and burn ban we are running on the electric heat coils.
I only have a one ton hyper heat unit on my main floor. I can carry my house if its 20 F or higher. and running 24/7. Anything consistently less than 20 F and it reallly cant keep up as the heat loss from the house probably exceeds the units rating. Around 10 F especially on snowy days it starts to defrost more often and the air temp leaving the unit is cooling down. Its still warmer than the room temp. I have an oil furnace as my ultimate backup if I not around to feed the boiler. Sure I could install more units but hard to justify 3K for something that wouldnt need t be used often.
A utility in Maine was one the first to really push cold climate minisplits. They never represented them a the only heat source. Maine has old housing stock and seniors so the concept was keep the main house cool using the existing heating system and then warm up a day space with minisplit for the owners to hang out in during the day.
A utility in Maine was one the first to really push cold climate minisplits. They never represented them a the only heat source. Maine has old housing stock and seniors so the concept was keep the main house cool using the existing heating system and then warm up a day space with minisplit for the owners to hang out in during the day.
Ah, so it's also a case of insufficient capacity. I'm impressed that a single 1ton can heat the place down to 20º. How many sq ft in the house?
950 square foot first floor and about 350 square feet of heated space on the second floor. Built 1988, 2x6 walls and a few walls have been retrofit with 1/2" isoboard inside the studs and the majority of the windows have cellular blinds with side tracks.
I think Mr. Cool did their homework as far as their intended customer base with these units. If you're willing to buy one, run the dedicated 20A/240V circuit yourself, mount the units, drill a hole in the side of your house, etc...you're not just going to continuously call an HVAC pro for repairs and "hold their responsible," if and when something goes wrong. Rather, they are going to figure it out themselves or find someone who can help. I spoke with a buddy who is an HVAC pro who told me that if I ever had issues that he would look at it, and in all likelihood the parts were generic. These things are all made by two or three huge companies in China and a lot of the parts are the same.
I doubt I'll ever use mine for heating. For us these were a low-cost DIY solution to a 120 year old farmhouse with no AC and no ductwork and so far it's working great. After enduring last summer either being uncomfortably hot while trying to sleep at night and/or having to sleep with the drone of a window shaker in my ear, this summer is a dream come true. We set the unit to "Dry" at night before we go to bed. It runs just enough to cut the humidity down-last night we were sitting in our bedroom watching the evening news and though it was 78°F in the room we were perfectly comfortable because the humidity was so low.
I had Dakin unit in my other house and all I used for was cool september and october mornings. I have a pellet, wood and oil heat. Really could care less about the heating capability. Getting rid of the window AC units was a must.
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