Central / Ductless split AC?

[BrianShaughnessy]

Getting fed up with window unit air... 50 year old 3br ranch  w/  water baseboard heat.   

Thinking about getting around to actually call up about getting a central or ductless system.     Pros / Cons ? Real life experiences and costs?   

I'm pretty much ok until the temp gets close to 90 and the humidity goes up but I get much more tired of hearing the wimmin whine.    Had to drag up the beast from the basement yesterday
much earlier than I ever figured.   



 

[Todd Wilson]

Central heat and air is the way to go if you can swing the costs.  My old house had it put in and it has one big return air vent into the system in the dining room.  We notice sometimes the bedrooms can get stuffy because they dont have return air vents. New houses built with central  all have return air vents in various locations around the house.   I also have the heatpump system outside which is nice.  I have a natural gas heater inside and the heatpump outside. It runs as AC in the summer and then in the winter its a heater. On really cold days or extreme moisture events (ice/snow)  then the gas heater takes over.



Todd

[BrianShaughnessy]

Yeah... not really looking to retro fit the entire heating / cooling system.     Well,  unless the house magically burns down and I can rebuild it from scratch with the insurance check
New built vs retrofit is 2 different things.

Some of these ductless systems are both AC and Heat pump systems in one but I can't really see how that heat pump stuff works up north too effectively.    Haven't researched it too much yet.

[69 OUR/TEA]

Yeah... not really looking to retro fit the entire heating / cooling system.     Well,  unless the house magically burns down and I can rebuild it from scratch with the insurance check
New built vs retrofit is 2 different things.

Some of these ductless systems are both AC and Heat pump systems in one but I can't really see how that heat pump stuff works up north too effectively.    Haven't researched it too much yet.

It does'nt,heat pumps are for down south areas were the temps don't get down nearly as we get up here.Put it in up here,you're wasting your money,it's only adequit for about two weeks Oct/Nov !!!!!
If it's a one level ranch or raised ranch,the unit goes in the attic and you will have one central hallway filter grill(return).You only do returns in every room if it also serves as a heating system to.
  For a turn key, soup to nuts,parts, material,labor Central A/C system depending on your contractors in your area,you can be in the $5-7K range.Rheem,Heil,Carrier,Lennox are all good units,mostly as the compressors are only really made by three companys,so chances are that all of those mentioned have the same compressors.Stay away from any contractor that trys to sell you a Goodman!!!!

True fact,if you run 2 or more window units,it costs less to run central air non stop all month as opposed to a few days with the window units.Good luck Brian.

[69 OUR/TEA]

Oh yeah,not a big fan of the ductless,it's a glorified window unit.They are primarily for situations that you cannot have access to a good size area for ductwork and unit  to be in.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

I installed central air in my house last year....best investment I have made in a long time (except for my garage extension & new concrete)

My house is a colonial style & was built in the 20's & I have cast iron radiators (hot water heat) so no ducts in the house....

For the 2nd floor I installed a ducted system that has an air handler & all the ducting in the attic...compressor is outside  (Trane unit)  This setup has a 16.5 SEER rating (enough to get me the $1500 tax rebate for 2010)

For the first floor I installed a ductless system.  Unit is mounted in the dining room & cools the entire first floor nicely.  This one is made by Daikin

Total cost with a new thermostat, new sub-panel in basement for wiring etc was 13k

Now I just have to get used to leaving the systems ON instead of turning them off & on.....I do have the programmable thermostats but I still cant get it into my head that its more cost effective to regulate the temperature in the rooms instead of putting a full load on the system & try to cool the house down when its hot...

[moparstuart]

I installed central air in my house last year....best investment I have made in a long time (except for my garage extension & new concrete)

My house is a colonial style & was built in the 20's & I have cast iron radiators (hot water heat) so no ducts in the house....

For the 2nd floor I installed a ducted system that has an air handler & all the ducting in the attic...compressor is outside  (Trane unit)  This setup has a 16.5 SEER rating (enough to get me the $1500 tax rebate for 2010)

For the first floor I installed a ductless system.  Unit is mounted in the dining room & cools the entire first floor nicely.  This one is made by Daikin

Total cost with a new thermostat, new sub-panel in basement for wiring etc was 13k

Now I just have to get used to leaving the systems ON instead of turning them off & on.....I do have the programmable thermostats but I still cant get it into my head that its more cost effective to regulate the temperature in the rooms instead of putting a full load on the system & try to cool the house down when its hot...

[BrianShaughnessy]

Good info       Thanx!

[PocketThunder]

Now I just have to get used to leaving the systems ON instead of turning them off & on.....I do have the programmable thermostats but I still cant get it into my head that its more cost effective to regulate the temperature in the rooms instead of putting a full load on the system & try to cool the house down when its hot...

Is that true?  Just let it run all day when you are not home and it will use less electricity than if you had it off durring the day and then turned it on when you get home?

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Thats what they tell me....thats what the programmable thermostat is for....same like the heating system.

i wouldnt keep the house at 68º when im not home.....keeping it at 76-78 or so then setting the therm to drop the temp down to 68 at say 4pm...works less to get it down to that temp if you were starting with a house thats 85º

[crusty440]

If you've been getting by with a window-shaker, you'll probably be happy with a ductless-split.  The new D/S heat pumps are also fine at low ambient temps also.  You can still get good heat out of them when outside air is below 0 degree F.  Also you can get a system that has 3-indoor air handlers running off 1-outdoor unit.  This allows you the option to have different temps in different rooms,   fairly cheap to run.  I'm a HVAC contractor.

[69 OUR/TEA]

If you've been getting by with a window-shaker, you'll probably be happy with a ductless-split.  The new D/S heat pumps are also fine at low ambient temps also.  You can still get good heat out of them when outside air is below 0 degree F.  Also you can get a system that has 3-indoor air handlers running off 1-outdoor unit.  This allows you the option to have different temps in different rooms,   fairly cheap to run.  I'm a HVAC contractor.

He has hot water baseboard, 3 bdrm ranch.So I'm geussing 1,000-1,200 sq ft. 1,500 being a larger one.Anywho,keep it simple,central air by way of airhandler in attic this way every room gets a diffuser,whole house nice and uniform temp,if he wants rooms diff temp adjust the dampers to your taste.Keep in mind with ductless systems you are going to have a unit hanging on the wall somewhere approx. 48''x24'',give or take on the size req.
Ductless is best suited for apartments,condos, offices,and houses that just can't configure ductwork ,therefore they are great and def better than a window unit.But if you have the space,central is the the way to go.

[BrianShaughnessy]

If you've been getting by with a window-shaker, you'll probably be happy with a ductless-split.  The new D/S heat pumps are also fine at low ambient temps also.  You can still get good heat out of them when outside air is below 0 degree F.  Also you can get a system that has 3-indoor air handlers running off 1-outdoor unit.  This allows you the option to have different temps in different rooms,   fairly cheap to run.  I'm a HVAC contractor.

He has hot water baseboard, 3 bdrm ranch.So I'm geussing 1,000-1,200 sq ft. 1,500 being a larger one.Anywho,keep it simple,central air by way of airhandler in attic this way every room gets a diffuser,whole house nice and uniform temp,if he wants rooms diff temp adjust the dampers to your taste.Keep in mind with ductless systems you are going to have a unit hanging on the wall somewhere approx. 48''x24'',give or take on the size req.
Ductless is best suited for apartments,condos, offices,and houses that just can't configure ductwork ,therefore they are great and def better than a window unit.But if you have the space,central is the the way to go.

Thanx again!     I have to make some phone calls, etc.      I wouldn't be comfortable installing a central system myself.   I get by for now with a  whole house fan and a couple window units.   The whole house fan is kinda nice after the sun goes down to draw in the nighttime but it's not much good during the heat of the day.

There are places online that sell ductless systems.    Except for the major electric hookup,  I might be able to pull that off myself.  I'm thinking something upwards 27 > 36K outdoor unit with at least 3 air handlers.   Smallest air handlers I see are around 9K which are kind of big for individual bedrooms IMHO....  and there's some larger 12 > 18 > 24 K units.    Have a large unit feeding the main area and 2 in the larger bedrooms... the 3rd is my small computer room anyway.     Easiest to pull off would possibly be like a 24K unit with 2 12K handlers...   with one on each end of the house.   LG sells some air handler they call the "art" series that aren't as big and obtrusive as the normal ductless units I've seen.   

I should get some actual pro opinions & estimates before I go diving into the shallow end.   
   
Thanks again 

[crusty440]

Some residential contractors will allow you to purchase your own equipment, which will save you some money.  However, this takes them off the hook for any warranty issues.  It's great you looked on line at some equipment, you can see the D/S indoor units are approx. 12x36 in size.  Good luck with your project.

[1969chargerrtse]

I have baseboard with central A/C  I don't care if it's ductless or window or central.  No one should live without A/C. A/C rocks.