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Ductless Wall Mount Mini Split System Air Conditioner & Heat Pump

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
We added a 20x24 window room off our dining room. In the design of our house it was meant to be a deck, but finishing off the room makes a great gathering place, and a perfect addition for hosting the family for Thanksgiving dinner.

We called it a window room / 3 season room when we built it last May. But, now we are considering heating and A/C for the room. This was an afterthought as it was to expensive to add duct work and incorporate our current heating and cooling system to include this room.

I had a HVAC guy out yesterday, he said they would install a small gas space heater for around $400. Running a gas line would be the bulk of that labor.

But, he also suggested for long term we should consider a Ductless Wall Mount Mini Split System Air Conditioner & Heat Pump. Doing research on these, they sound to good to be true. Quiet. Low cost way to heat and cool a single room. Amazon has a Pioneer one for less than $1000.

Wondering if anyone on here has experience with these units?
 

jwstewar

Active member
We just built the milk room in our barn and I was facing a similar dilemma. I started looking at the mini-split systems. Our room is 12x14, so quite a bit smaller than what you have. Originally I was going to put an electric furnace and normal heat pump in, but since I only put 100 Amp to the barn, I didn't have enough power. Being on a pretty tight budget with the project and not really wanting to cut a hole in the side of the barn I found a window unit. It is an Amana 9000 BTU (too large for the area, but with the added heat from the milk machine and stuff, it works pretty well). It is AC with heat pump and back-up heat strips for when it gets too cold for the heat pump. Haven't used the heat strips yet, but have used the heat pump when it was chilly in the spring to make sure it worked.

I went with this unit: https://www.appliancesconnection.com/amana-ah093g35ax.html In the spring I got it for about $530. Just need a 12-2 line and a 20 Amp dual pole breaker and an outlet to run it.
 

jimbo

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
We added a 20x24 window room off our dining room. In the design of our house it was meant to be a deck, but finishing off the room makes a great gathering place, and a perfect addition for hosting the family for Thanksgiving dinner.

We called it a window room / 3 season room when we built it last May. But, now we are considering heating and A/C for the room. This was an afterthought as it was to expensive to add duct work and incorporate our current heating and cooling system to include this room.

I had a HVAC guy out yesterday, he said they would install a small gas space heater for around $400. Running a gas line would be the bulk of that labor.

But, he also suggested for long term we should consider a Ductless Wall Mount Mini Split System Air Conditioner & Heat Pump. Doing research on these, they sound to good to be true. Quiet. Low cost way to heat and cool a single room. Amazon has a Pioneer one for less than $1000.

Wondering if anyone on here has experience with these units?

Virtually every motel room in the US uses this system, and have for years. They seem to be trouble free and non offensive.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
If the room is mostly WINDOWS (3 walls of 75% glass) then you need to size up the heat and AC needs as windows are bad insulators compared to walls.

You will probably need a unit that is close to twice the capacity of whatever you think you need based on cubic feet of room space. From the comfort standpoint you might be better off with 2 smaller units than 1 bigger unit. Would cost a bit more. But airflow and temp control might be better so all the air is not blowing out of 1 source. Might also eliminate some cold spots, etc.
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Agreed Bob, we have 10 windows with an outside door and french doors leading into the dining room. The HVAC guy will come back with a recommended BTU size. A regular insulated room would call for 14,400BTU (figuring 30 BTU per square foot). Amazon shows an 18,000 BTU unit and a 24,000 unit. If you oversize to much that can impact the efficiency of the unit so I"ll see what my HVAC guy says and go from there.

Doing our best to avoid having a window unit, as we have nice views from all the windows. Before going that route we'd do without A/C and go with a small unvented gas heater, and just use the ceiling fan with open windows in the summer. If heat was to unbearable we'd just stay in the A/C part of the house, no biggie.

I like the idea of these split units and the operating costs some have mentioned on the amazon user reviews say these things are very affordable to operate. The HVAC guy did mention the split units can cost 5k. Damn. So I will wait and get his estimate and compare with what I can find online and go from there.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
...

I like the idea of these split units and the operating costs some have mentioned on the amazon user reviews say these things are very affordable to operate. The HVAC guy did mention the split units can cost 5k. Damn. So I will wait and get his estimate and compare with what I can find online and go from there.
I have one in my workshop.

The reason they are so affordable is because you only cool/heat the room when you use it. So its off most of the time. If you have an open concept type home they don't work as well. If you have rooms that can be closed off then you only use the units when the rooms are occupied.

Traditional units are "on" 24/7 and keep the whole house at a pre-set temp, or if you use a step down thermostat, at various pre-set temps. With these all the rooms are off until you go into the room and turn it on. It makes it ideal for an infrequently used addition, etc.

Its interesting in some European houses I've visited the house is basically hot, but the bedroom can be cooled down for sleep. But step into the hall or the bath and you may swelter and sweat until you get back into the room with the AC on.
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I asked for a solution to keep the room above 60 degrees year round. The split unit would do that down to -5F ...below that there is no heat to take out of the air so the unit would not function.

Maybe the 5k price was for a unit to maintain a comfortable temp year round. Comments from the amazon users also seemed to indicate they were heating and cooling a room in the house full time, such as a garage that was converted to a family room and they used the split unit as their solution. I will do more home work to see if Im on the right track or not.

I've been warned that the drywall in this new room will start showing tape lines and looking bad if I do not heat the room in winter. This came from a friend who claims to be in the know.
 
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