Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Apr 19, 2008 9:11 pm I know the split system that I want to buy, so do I just go into a shop and buy it, and then ring up an installer out of the local paper, to come and put it in?
Or do I go to the installer first and do they buy it for me? And do I need to consult the installer first on the best place to put it? Or will he just put it wherever I tell him to? Re: Sorry if this is a silly question, but.... 2Apr 19, 2008 9:29 pm Without insulting you, I would suggest that if you are asking these sorts of questions, then you need to learn a bit more about them, in which case it's good that you are on this forum!
Split systems need to be (preferably) located on an external wall, and within proximity of an easy external location for the outdoor unit. Now before we see a list of "I've seen them on internal walls etc" posts, yes, it is possible to push the boundaries, but at a lot of additional cost, and often, loss of efficiency. I would suggest you get hold of the catalogue from a split system manufacturer. In there, they usually have a calculation example so you can work out what size unit you need to suit your room size, windows, sun loading etc. Now they will all quote them as "room" air cons, but they will do a lot more than a room, so going bigger than required is always a good thing - as long as the adjacent rooms can receive the airflow easily. As an example, out old house's layout was very open, and a 2.5hp split managed the lounge, dining, kitchen & 2 bedrooms. Our current place has a 3.5hp unit in the lounge, that barely gets to the kitchen without the assistance of a pedestal fan, but works well for the dining & family. We supplemented this with 2 more 1.5hp units at the other end of the house, and between 1 of them & the 3.5, we can do the whole house. Inverter units will save you money - but only if they are sized well. An inverter running flat out to keep up, will use the same amount of power as a regular A/C unit. I would suggest taking a plan of your house to the retailer if you want to buy a unit & have it installed later. Otherwise, some installers will also buy the unit for you (as long as it's a brand they support) and sometimes get it cheaper than you could. Some retailers (Bing Lee for example) can organise the installation for you (for a fixed price - but within conditions). So I'd go looking at the retail stores, armed with a plan of your place, and the better ones will be able to help you. If they aren't helpful, then find another! If that fails, then I'd find an installer who can supply a unit at a good price, and install the same unit - they are more comfortable installing brands they know. Re: Sorry if this is a silly question, but.... 3Apr 20, 2008 2:41 pm We brought ours from Retravision and the price included basic installation. Most good stores will provide you with this option but it may not be the cheapest way to go.
Sorry CN but hp is not relevent here at all. You want to be looking at Kw and BTU. You should look at both the input and output Kw. eg. my portable unit has a 1800 (1.8Kw) input and a 4400 (4.4Kw) output. this gives a 244% efficiency. The best units get up to around 490% efficiency. You can achieve greater than 100% efficiency because you are moving heat (in - heating or out - cooling) and not creating heat. The input power is the actual amount of power you will use and what you will rack up on your electricity bill. The output power is how much you will heat or cool your room/home. The BTU figure is a measure of how much heat or cooling is transferred and this should be as high as possible for bigger areas. Non invertor air conditioners work as follows. Whe the unit is switched on, the unit runs at full capacity (power use) until a certain set temp is reached. Once reached, the unit switches off (although the fan may still run) until the temp rises to a certain level above the set temp and then it switches on again. This repeats with the unit switching on and off. Invertor air conditionerswork as follows. When the unit is switched on, the unit runs at full capacity until a certain set temp is reached. Once nearly reached, the unit slows down (uses less power) and gently increases or decreases the power use as needed to keep as close as possible to the desired temp. This means that the tempreature is more even - no hot and cold all the time. In a well insulated house, the temp is very even. This method also uses less power. This is because the unit is more efficient when it is not running at full power. I recommend an inverter unit, with high efficiency >250% and one that is somewhat overspecced (claims to cool a larger area) for the area. This will allow you to cool colder on hot days, use less electricity and have more even tempreatures. Everything else is marketing which is where the real money is made. Re: Sorry if this is a silly question, but.... 4Apr 20, 2008 6:42 pm If the house is still at frame stage then you’ll have more opportunities to put the head unit where you want. The biggest problem is usually the drain, since this is gravity and requires to be connected to the outside usually a down pipe. There are ways around this not always successful and in most cases expensive. If your house is finished then an outside wall for the head unit is really your only option. Re: Sorry if this is a silly question, but.... 5Apr 20, 2008 8:17 pm We had a Fujitsu split system installed in our existing house about 7 years ago. We left it up to the installer, who does nothing else but install split systems, to recommend which brand to go for. It has been a fantastic bit of gear.
We have lined him up to install a split system in our new house; the head will be installed on an internal wall so we have organised our Supervisor to contact him at the appropriate time (after roof tiles but before bricks) to pre-run the necessary pipework. We have also organised a separate electrical circuit to be run and terminated in a junction box for a split system on a 20A breaker (we did this at the electrical and colour selection centre) at the appropriate location for him to install the outside unit after handover. Too easy. His current recommendation is Mitsubishi. We trust him completely. Geoff - Decophile. Joe, it depends on your certifier but we are noticing the ones we deal with are really cracking down. So i would recommend you follow your approved landscaping plans to… 4 10976 Hi Simeon, Thank you for laying it down for us. Makes sense. Appreciate it very much. Have a nice day. Cheers 2 9015 1) I had requested R6 ceiling insualtion batts, however I noticed that on some areas there are huge gaps which will allow hot air to sweep in, and also noticed black/grey… 0 3597 |