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Air Conditioning recommendations in Central FL?
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 5:07 pm
by Springfield
Our house air conditioner died, it's the compressor and since system dates back to 2005 there are no replacement compressors available. We're wanting to get either a full ductless system, or a hybrid system with the main central rooms on a conventional system and each bedroom on it's own ductless unit.
Any recommendations (or warnings) about who can do a good job? Anyone else with experience getting ductless A/C in their home?
Thanks for any info or insights in the next day or 2.
Re: Air Conditioning recommendations in Central FL?
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 8:28 pm
by Tenzing_Norgay
I installed 4 Mitsubishi mini-splits in my home (1500 s/f). Big unit is 12k BTU, remaining 3 are 9k BTU (LR/DR, Kitchen, MBR & Office).
I set them to "dehumidify only" and the house stays at 74F. When it's really hot (if home during the day), I may switch them to A/C, but as soon as the sun goes down, it's de-humid only. At night, I turn off all units except the big one and the house stays comfortable. Additionally, I'm married to a cold-blooded woman who would LOVE to leave everything set to 80F day/night...
... so with this set-up, she can go in the bedroom and toast, while I'm in another room making ice sculptures.
In the event of a hurricane, a small generator will run one of the units...they only draw <15a.
My electric bill is around $57/mo. The highest it's ever been was $75.
No duct-work, no filters, super efficient, completely silent...Mini-splits are the way to go.
Side-note - house is super insulated. Spray-foam on roof, insulboard on walls with a 3/4" air gap created by foil. This helps with the numbers quoted above...basically a giant igloo cooler:
(Pardon the mess...still under construction):
Re: Air Conditioning recommendations in Central FL?
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:48 pm
by cvo
Springfield wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 5:07 pm
Our house air conditioner died, it's the compressor and since system dates back to 2005 there are no replacement compressors available. We're wanting to get either a full ductless system, or a hybrid system with the main central rooms on a conventional system and each bedroom on it's own ductless unit.
Any recommendations (or warnings) about who can do a good job? Anyone else with experience getting ductless A/C in their home?
Thanks for any info or insights in the next day or 2.
If you want to upgrade that's fine, but I bet compressors are available.
Re: Air Conditioning recommendations in Central FL?
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 2:56 am
by Outgunu
In the sand box the smaller living spaces that had A/C used mini splits. They were breaking all the time, granted many were running off generators, don't know if that was the cause of them not lasting long though...
Re: Air Conditioning recommendations in Central FL?
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 6:34 am
by dammitgriff
Outgunu wrote:In the sand box the smaller living spaces that had A/C used mini splits. They were breaking all the time, granted many were running off generators, don't know if that was the cause of them not lasting long though...
Yes. The compressor motors are sensitive to the fidelity of the AC input waveform. Most generators’ AC outputs look like a mountain range on the horizon, instead of a nice, smooth sine wave.
R/Griff
Re: Air Conditioning recommendations in Central FL?
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 8:09 am
by Tenzing_Norgay
Mini-splits have been used world-wide for decades, only recently catching on in the U.S. I have seen many (relatively) ancient units running in IT rooms that were 20 yrs. old.
Mitsubishi is the #1 unit for reliability in all surveys I've read, which is why I picked the brand.
If/when they do break (which is rare...mine have been running 4 yrs. with zero issues), components are cheap compared to traditional split systems. There's not much to them...motherboard, fans, compressor...all easily replaceable by the end user.
Additionally, if one of the units breaks, I have three more to keep the house cool.
Disregard the naysayers...they're probably still bitching about EV's, too.
Re: Air Conditioning recommendations in Central FL?
Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2021 8:38 pm
by weaselfire
Bay Area Air did ours. Good price, excellent service and installed quickly. Free quotes.
Jeff
Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk
Re: Air Conditioning recommendations in Central FL?
Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2021 9:02 pm
by cvo
Tenzing_Norgay wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 8:28 pm
I installed 4 Mitsubishi mini-splits in my home (1500 s/f). Big unit is 12k BTU, remaining 3 are 9k BTU (LR/DR, Kitchen, MBR & Office).
I set them to "dehumidify only" and the house stays at 74F. When it's really hot (if home during the day), I may switch them to A/C, but as soon as the sun goes down, it's de-humid only. At night, I turn off all units except the big one and the house stays comfortable. Additionally, I'm married to a cold-blooded woman who would LOVE to leave everything set to 80F day/night...
... so with this set-up, she can go in the bedroom and toast, while I'm in another room making ice sculptures.
In the event of a hurricane, a small generator will run one of the units...they only draw <15a.
My electric bill is around $57/mo. The highest it's ever been was $75.
No duct-work, no filters, super efficient, completely silent...Mini-splits are the way to go.
Side-note - house is super insulated. Spray-foam on roof, insulboard on walls with a 3/4" air gap created by foil. This helps with the numbers quoted above...basically a giant igloo cooler:
(Pardon the mess...still under construction):
You don't have filters in your units?
Re: Air Conditioning recommendations in Central FL?
Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2021 1:38 am
by Tenzing_Norgay
cvo wrote: ↑Mon Apr 12, 2021 9:02 pm
You don't have filters in your units?
There is a "filter" in the unit, but it isn't a traditional paper/woven contraption...it's a plastic washable screen that slides in/out. Takes about 30 secs. to rinse/replace.