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[Woggleman]

Our conditioner which was a central air unit went kaput so we called over a guy and he is trying to talk us into going with a mini split. It does sound worth looking into but we would need to put about four of them in to cool down the whole house which would cost a lot of money. Our duct work probably needs some repair but we can have a top of the line model put in and cool the whole house down for less money. For people who know a lot about this is it worth going with a mini split?

 

[nush]

For people who know a lot about this is it worth going with a mini split?

I had a three bedroom apartment all of the rooms had mini splits except for the main living room that was a larger standing system. The advantage is that say for the bedrooms, you don't need to keep them cool all day so you can switch them off during the day and vice versa the big unit in the living room.

Do the math, what's it going to cost to fix your central air conditioning vs 4 mini splits and consider the energy costs of not having to run them all the time.

 

[Solarstrike]

Not too versed on Central Air installation but here's a video which talks about it. Seems like they are efficient, quiet and duct-less. Maybe it can send you on the right track.

 

[jason10mm]

You have to consider your climate, the house layout (are the bedrooms all up stairs so at night you could cool them without cooling the whole house), the condition of your windows and insulation, and how much longer you will be in that house, as the fancier multi units with variable speed (so they can run slower to better maintain a consistent temp, keep the humidity even, and use less total power since the start up is the most power hungry part). The higher the SEER the, in general, less energy it will use but if its a 10-15K difference in installation price for $100/mo savings, that's a 10 year break even ROI, if you plan on moving in 3 years you won't see that savings.

For example, in my house I have a upper story and lower story unit. For cooling they both run since hot air downstairs will just go upstairs anyway. But for heating I can set the upstairs to be a bit warmer at night since no one is downstairs. Programmable units can get even slicker to just cool specific rooms but thats a lot of investment in ductwork. At the time I got my units, the windows were old and leaky, so I just got single stage units since where I like it is nuclear hot for 6 months a year, the A/C is basically on all the time anyway and with leaky windows I wouldn't see much advantage to the variable speed. But now that I've replaced my windows, I kinda wish I went with the VS just to see if I could go all day without needing the A/C on full blast. Oh well, you can't go back, thats for sure.

Also, if you have the old refrigerant (R-27 or whatever), that stuff is now SUPER expensive versus the new R-117, if you are replacing your units anyway, you might be able to work out a deal to sell the old refrigerant separately since the A/C company will just take it and then sell it themselves otherwise.

 

[DeceptiveAlarm]

Did your old system cool house well with your current duct work? Ductless are nice and they are efficient but I usually only recommend if you have no duct work. The ductless will still need refrigerant lined from the inside unit to the outside unit. So depending on if he is trying to sell you one or two units with multiple heads or individual you will still have to run lines. Some times that can mean line hide all over the outside of your house.

Where do you live? No matter what you do get a second opinion. I've been doing HVAC over 20 years and I've seen a lot of hacks.

 

[FunkMiller]

I find ducted to be the quieter and more efficient choice, but that’s talking about the tropics of Far North Queensland, so ymmv depending on what kind of heat you’re in.

 

[Fbh]

The place I rent to live and the place I rent for my business have them....but we mostly use them for heating, and they fucking suck at it (they are okish in early fall but can't keep up during the winter)
The couple of times a year I actually use them for cooling they are quite nice and inexpensive on the electrical bill.

 

[Woggleman]

I live in a house at the Jersey Shore and our house was built in the 90s. The ductwork was fine during the winter with heating but when I tried the air for cooling it blows but barely. Right now we are just using a portable window unit in one room I had left over from when I was renting. I am glad I saved it.

Through my job I know a lot of business owners and one of them put me in touch with somebody who takes care of most of their cooling needs so I will give him a call.

 

[digital_ghost]

Some apartments are such scam artists. My friend had to turn off her ac permanently cause they were charging her over $500 a month. She has a small 2 bedroom apartment.

Meanwhile I've lived in 2 apartments since the last 2 years. We kept it freezing in the apartment 24/7. Yet our electric bill never exceeded $120 a month.

My friend and I both live in south Texas where it is already 99F outside. So ac is a necessity.

I feel bad for my friend, I dread going over there to visit. Even if she has fans .

 

[Hudo]

Even if she has fans .

She has Only fans?

 

[Woggleman]

My old apartment didn't have central air at all. I used window units but I had a portable one for one of the bedrooms and I am glad I saved it. We slept in the living room last night because it was the only one with AC.

 

[digital_ghost]

She has Only fans?

Lol no. The kind that cools you down.

 

[SpiceRacz]

Replace the unit and get as large of one as you can get away with for the square footage of your home. I know on my house whenever the unit goes, we’ll probably be getting one that’s 1 ton higher than what we currently have. There’s probably nothing wrong with your ductwork. Unless you have flex duct in your ceiling that’s like spaghetti, then it’s probably fine.

 

[Dacvak]

How bad are the ducts? If you can get them repaired for a reasonable amount of money then just get a new central air system.

 

[Woggleman]

I don't know how bad the ducts are. The heat works completely fine in the winter and it uses the same ducts so I imagine they are okay.

 

[DeceptiveAlarm]

I don't know how bad the ducts are. The heat works completely fine in the winter and it uses the same ducts so I imagine they are okay.

If your old ac worked fine until it broke all you need is a new ac. If you want to redo Infrastructure and go all out then other options are available. Idk your budget.

 

[Unknown?]

Minisplits are nice but if you already have ductwork that isn't bad, I would just go central again.

Minisplits are quite complicated compared to a traditional unit. Everything is run via a control board with DC inverters. They can have lots of problems. A simple plain unit without all the tech should last pretty long.