Mini-split condenser on south side of house?
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| Posted in Mechanicals on
I’m in climate zone 2B. Winter nights drop into the 20s; days reach the 50s. Summer days reach 100 and cool to 70 at night. We get maybe a few inches of snow per year. The Manual J heating load for my house comes out to around 12,000 BTU, cooling around 6000. Would it optimize efficiency to place the outdoor unit on the south side of the house and shade it (with plenty of clearance) in the summer and expose it in the winter? (The south side is the best spot for other considerations particular to my floor plan.)
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Replies
Jeff,
Shading won't make any difference to the performance of your minisplit's outdoor unit. All that matters is the outdoor air temperature. Believe it or not, the outdoor air temperature on the south side of your house is the same as the outdoor air temperature on the north side of your house.
That's why the weather forecaster on the radio can say, "It's 86 degrees right now in Chicago." The announcer never says, "It's 80 degrees in your back yard and 90 degrees in your front yard."
For more information on this issue, see How Much Will Shading Your Air Conditioner Improve Its Efficiency?
Thank you very much, Martin. After more reading, including your comments at https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/heating-minisplit-heat-pump, I understand that the small amount of warmer air right next to the south side of the house won't make any difference given the huge volume of air that passes through the outdoor unit.