Minisplit location
Hi all,
Getting ready to order a Daikin ceiling mounted mini split and have some questions on its location to make sure I am going to be able to get even temperatures throughout the house.I am using the ceiling unit because my wife hates the look of the wall units and am going Daikin due to having a family member being able to get me the unit at cost.
I am picking the 1.5 ton unit to heat the section of the house attached in the layout PDF up until the blue line. The house was originally a ranch with a detached two car garage that the owners connected in a giant sun-room with all windows so for now I am focused on the main portion of the house. Though the rooms aren’t to scale, the overall measurements are correct.
1. Do you think placing the unit right before the hallway is a good spot for it? (red circle) and green circles are doors which will remain open.
2. I would like to put the outside compressor in my screened porch against the house (orange circle) to protect it from snow and the elements. The porch is 8′ tall and is screen everywhere from 2′ to the roof.
Thank You All.
Side Note:
I am in Ocean County NJ, zone 4A and picked the 1.5 ton because it is barely able to cover my needs right now as I am still in the early stages of energy retrofitting and when I am done I figure it can help with the sun-room as my wife eventually wants to remove the dividing wall.
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Replies
Chris,
The location you have chosen for the ceiling-mounted indoor unit is logical. But if it is important to you to "to make sure I am going to be able to get even temperatures throughout the house," you are likely to be disappointed. It's important to manage expectations, especially if family members like to sleep with bedroom doors closed, and especially if this is an older house.
For more on this issue, see Rules of Thumb for Ductless Minisplits.
I don't recommend that your outdoor unit be installed in a screened porch. It's important that the outdoor air have unimpeded access to outdoor air temperatures and air flow. That's not just my advice -- it's usually part of the manufacturer's installation instructions.
Thanks Martin, appreciate the feedback. Back to the drawing board on the compressor location.
Even with sufficient air flow you wouldn't want the compressor in the screened porch due to the very high volumes of somewhat heated air you'd be getting out of it during the cooling season making the porch area less pleasant to hang out in. The floor of the porch is going to amplify the amount of vibration noise too.
If the foundation is a full basement or crawlspace a 1.5 ton mini-ducted version mounted below the floor could work out favorably. Fujitsu's 18RLFCD mini duct unit has comparable output, and slightly higher SEER/HSPF numbers, and probably a wider modulation range.
http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/PDF_06/Submittals/18RLFCD%20Submittal.pdf
Daikin's CDXS18LVJU slim duct cassette has roughly comparable capacity & efficiency, if you're committed to Daikin equipment:
http://www.daikinac.com/content/assets/DOC/SubmittalDataSheets/SkyAir/SDS-FBQ18PVJU-RZQ18PVJU9-Rev-4-25-13.pdf
The key with mini-ducted solutions is to find somebody other than a HVAC hack to specify the ducts, who understands the limitations of mini-duct air handlers and how to design for low heating/cooling load houses. Many mini-split installers don't do ducts, and many HVAC installers don't do ducted mini-splits. To find the right contractor for mini-ducted units you may have to ask the distributor for references.
Thanks Dana, in regards to the floor of the porch amplifying the sound. Most setups I see have the mini split on a concrete pad how would this be any different from my porch as it also is concrete? The only thing I can assume is because it's not right against the foundation like the porch but want to make sure.
Thanks