Full Ducted Or Ducted / Split Combo ?

Hi Guys,

We're getting close to "signing off" on a new home and will be getting R/C air-conditioning in it.

Background Info.....
I saw in another forum that a guy had been quoted $5500 for a Daikin Multi-Split, and $4500 for three pairs of "regular" Daikin split systems.

We will have four "bedrooms" we need to consider, all along the south wall of the house.

The main bedroom is on the south-east corner of the building, east facing window, so it will receive morning sun, next are the "other two" bedrooms, south facing windows only, and finally, at the western end of the southern wall (window facing west) is the study.

Mrs P_D and I do spend A LOT of time in the study, this won't change in the new home.

The middle two bedrooms will be used as "guest" rooms when children / grandchildren visit us, IE, not all that frequently.

No matter how "low" an inverter-type ducted compressor can run, surely this would not be appropriate just to cool our master bedroom overnight ?

Wouldn't a "bed-room" size inverter unit run at a lot less power ?

Similarly, during the day / evening, most of the time we would only need the study air-conditioned.

Is there any reason that (small) splits (or appropriate MultiSplits) would not be a good choice for these rooms, and a ducted system for the rest of the house ?

My research seems to indicate that using a ducted in just one room really needs its own return-air system in the individual rooms, otherwise you're relying on the air "squeezing" out under the door (noise factor) and "conditioning" the air between the room and the final location of air as it heads towards the return air grill ??

This home is to be our "downsizing" home, to this end we are making it as high-efficiency / low-maintenance as possible, and we "plan" on being there for the foreseeable future !!

The question for today is, "Is it a good idea to have a "combo" set-up, where we would have ducted for the family room / kitchen / hall / formal lounge areas (split / zoned as required) and splits for the bedrooms ? "

Bonus question for today is regarding the differences between MultiSplits and multiple split systems......

Seems to me a fair summary of the differences might be ..........

Multi-Splits may be more expensive
Multi-Splits have a "master" room, if this room (say) selects "COOL", while all other rooms can control their own "coolness", none can have "heat" (not really a biggie though ??)
Multi-Splits lose redundancy in the event of the outdoor unit failing / going off-line / servicing
Multi-Splits only have one outdoor unit (may be a good thing depending on the physical configuration of your particular house / side of house / place

Have I missed anything on the differences between the two types of splits and, if going the "ducted in part of the house and splits in the bedrooms" path, generally speaking, are MultiSplits or multiple individual split systems the way to go ?

Thanks,

P_D

I am in a similar position to you.

Downstairs is open living and will be cooled by one big split system. For upstairs I was thinking of using a multi split as I don't want another 3 boxes on the side of the house.

I'm sorry, I can't help with the specifics of the different systems but something to consider...
If you are wanting your home to be 'efficient' then do you need the split systems in bedrooms??
Have you considered ceiling fans for hot days?? Just a thought!!
Also, I think there are very efficient panel heaters on the market designed for smaller rooms not sure how they compare in efficiency to split systems!!
Good Luck.

Have you considered the Actron Air ESP+.
This is precisely what they are are made for. The ESP+ can run down to one outlet if you want and save a fortune in running costs.

YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whT4ooaS ... plpp_video