Fitted Air conditioning
Discussion
I must admit the idea of R290 (Propane) DIY installations where pipe joints have to be made is quite concerning?
Seems I'm not alone... https://www.coolingpost.com/uk-news/appliance-dire...
Seems I'm not alone... https://www.coolingpost.com/uk-news/appliance-dire...
BESA in wanting to keep ripoff engineers in stupid connection fees shocker.
The stuff is propane, so I do agree that you don't want a leak I side though. But I suspect you don't want any refrigerant gas leaking inside either.
Answers my above question about where to make the joint, mind, so thanks!
The stuff is propane, so I do agree that you don't want a leak I side though. But I suspect you don't want any refrigerant gas leaking inside either.
Answers my above question about where to make the joint, mind, so thanks!
I paid an Fgas guy to come round and pressure test my install before vacuuming down and adding the extra gas due to extended pipe runs. Mine runs on R32 gas.
Couple of points to add...
On the 3 way split system in the manual it says you are supplied with 3x 5m pipe kits which are never long enough unless all three splits are in the same room ! It also then says max pipe run is 15m, but it doesn’t say if that’s total or per split. I found hidden in the specs yesterday that it’s per unit... so 45m pipe run max which is far more realistic for a 3/4 bed house ! Just remember you will have to add extra gas depending on how long the extra pipes are.
Also until now I thought there was no real way of telling the rooms ambient temp as unit only displays target temps. However if you select fan only mode, the temperature shown correlated with my WiFi stat. Now I can check what temp each bedroom is by selecting fan mode, and then switch on AC via app if needed.
Apart from that, I slept like the dead last night. Room was nice and cool, windows were all closed for once and blackout blind fully closed too. Best money I’ve spent in a long time !!!
Couple of points to add...
On the 3 way split system in the manual it says you are supplied with 3x 5m pipe kits which are never long enough unless all three splits are in the same room ! It also then says max pipe run is 15m, but it doesn’t say if that’s total or per split. I found hidden in the specs yesterday that it’s per unit... so 45m pipe run max which is far more realistic for a 3/4 bed house ! Just remember you will have to add extra gas depending on how long the extra pipes are.
Also until now I thought there was no real way of telling the rooms ambient temp as unit only displays target temps. However if you select fan only mode, the temperature shown correlated with my WiFi stat. Now I can check what temp each bedroom is by selecting fan mode, and then switch on AC via app if needed.
Apart from that, I slept like the dead last night. Room was nice and cool, windows were all closed for once and blackout blind fully closed too. Best money I’ve spent in a long time !!!
Harry Flashman said:
BESA in wanting to keep ripoff engineers in stupid connection fees shocker.
The stuff is propane, so I do agree that you don't want a leak I side though. But I suspect you don't want any refrigerant gas leaking inside either.
Answers my above question about where to make the joint, mind, so thanks!
Yes, hardly a surprise. The article explicitly mentions how DIY fitments will put downwards pressure on fees.The stuff is propane, so I do agree that you don't want a leak I side though. But I suspect you don't want any refrigerant gas leaking inside either.
Answers my above question about where to make the joint, mind, so thanks!
Part of me thinks going on an F-gas course would be quite a good investment. They seem to be about a grand, and a basic vac pump and gauge set is a couple of hundred on eBay. You'd probably save about that much on one installation for your own home, and could then make a few quid doing legit installs (and doing them properly, with pressure testing and vacuuming down) as a side gig for friends and family.
If we are lucky enough to have a run of summers like the one we just had, I think having AC will become much more common, even if just in one or two bedrooms.
fastbikes76 said:
Apart from that, I slept like the dead last night. Room was nice and cool, windows were all closed for once and blackout blind fully closed too. Best money I’ve spent in a long time !!!
I have had this conversation at work. Seems there are two types of people, those who blather about it being unnecessary, and those who have it. No-one who has had it installed ever regrets it, and those who had it and then moved house always get it installed in their new place too. It was certainly the best £1200 I spent as part of my loft conversion.20 years ago it was relatively uncommon in cars, now it's quite hard to buy one without it, and few would want to.
Most interestingly for me, our electricity bill barely went up for the couple of months we used it a lot this summer. About £10-£15 a month, from a bill alreadt at about £50 a month (god know how my house sucks so much power - we have LED bulbs everywhere, don't have a TV on all the time etc etc - I need a smart meter, but that's another thread!)
Admittedly, unlike many US systems, each room has its own system, so we rarely run more than two rooms at any given time. But the nursery and main bedroom had it on all night during those months, and I usually ran the kitchen and living room during the day, where we retreated to work from the non air-conditioned studies (the latter issue has now been rectified for next summer!).
The other thing, for us parents, was the sleepless night thing. All of our NCT friends reported several weeks of their two year old not sleeping, and the nights being really rough in that heat. Flashette Jr did her usual 12 hour stint from 7pm in her room, kept at a constant 20 degrees. Last night, I stuck the system on in her nursery (attic room, so very hot) at bathtime, by the time I put her down it had got down from 28 to 20, and she had another night of good sleep. Chatting to parents at nursery this morning, the main topic of conversation was how rough last night was in terms of sleep.
Not having that is worth any amount of money, in my book!
I may do that F-Gas course. My friend and neighbour is a builder, and I reckon we could make a tidy sum doing local installs - he drills the holes and fits everything up, and I turn up to connect!
Admittedly, unlike many US systems, each room has its own system, so we rarely run more than two rooms at any given time. But the nursery and main bedroom had it on all night during those months, and I usually ran the kitchen and living room during the day, where we retreated to work from the non air-conditioned studies (the latter issue has now been rectified for next summer!).
The other thing, for us parents, was the sleepless night thing. All of our NCT friends reported several weeks of their two year old not sleeping, and the nights being really rough in that heat. Flashette Jr did her usual 12 hour stint from 7pm in her room, kept at a constant 20 degrees. Last night, I stuck the system on in her nursery (attic room, so very hot) at bathtime, by the time I put her down it had got down from 28 to 20, and she had another night of good sleep. Chatting to parents at nursery this morning, the main topic of conversation was how rough last night was in terms of sleep.
Not having that is worth any amount of money, in my book!
I may do that F-Gas course. My friend and neighbour is a builder, and I reckon we could make a tidy sum doing local installs - he drills the holes and fits everything up, and I turn up to connect!
Edited by Harry Flashman on Tuesday 15th September 11:18
They really don't use that much power. At face value, a 3.5kW system would consume 3.5kW of power, which sounds (and is) a lot. However:
1) it's a heat pump, so that 3.5kW of cooling power actually only consumes roughly 1kW of electricity
2) once it's cooled the room down, consumption drops to very little. Especially at night when there is no sun or hot outside heating it up again. So a half hour blast at max 1kW consumption and that's basically it until about 10 the following day. Probably less than 15-20p per room to sleep in comfort all night.
The power consumption is nothing to be scared of. Of course if you lived in Houston or Florida where it's >40C all day and still 30C at night with 95% humidity, and you're cooling a 4000sq ft house 24h a day, it consumes a lot - but in the UK the running costs are peanuts.
1) it's a heat pump, so that 3.5kW of cooling power actually only consumes roughly 1kW of electricity
2) once it's cooled the room down, consumption drops to very little. Especially at night when there is no sun or hot outside heating it up again. So a half hour blast at max 1kW consumption and that's basically it until about 10 the following day. Probably less than 15-20p per room to sleep in comfort all night.
The power consumption is nothing to be scared of. Of course if you lived in Houston or Florida where it's >40C all day and still 30C at night with 95% humidity, and you're cooling a 4000sq ft house 24h a day, it consumes a lot - but in the UK the running costs are peanuts.
Harry Flashman said:
Most interestingly for me, our electricity bill barely went up for the couple of months we used it a lot this summer. About £10-£15 a month, from a bill alreadt at about £50 a month (god know how my house sucks so much power - we have LED bulbs everywhere, don't have a TV on all the time etc etc - I need a smart meter, but that's another thread!)
Admittedly, unlike many US systems, each room has its own system, so we rarely run more than two rooms at any given time. But the nursery and main bedroom had it on all night during those months, and I usually ran the kitchen and living room during the day, where we retreated to work from the non air-conditioned studies (the latter issue has now been rectified for next summer!).
The other thing, for us parents, was the sleepless night thing. All of our NCT friends reported several weeks of their two year old not sleeping, and the nights being really rough in that heat. Flashette Jr did her usual 12 hour stint from 7pm in her room, kept at a constant 20 degrees. Last night, I stuck the system on in her nursery (attic room, so very hot) at bathtime, by the time I put her down it had got down from 28 to 20, and she had another night of good sleep. Chatting to parents at nursery this morning, the main topic of conversation was how rough last night was in terms of sleep.
Not having that is worth any amount of money, in my book!
I may do that F-Gas course. My friend and neighbour is a builder, and I reckon we could make a tidy sum doing local installs - he drills the holes and fits everything up, and I turn up to connect!
When I fitted mine, and before I'd bought myself a vacuum pump, I phoned around a few local Air Con companies to see if any of them would be prepared to come round and commission the system, e.g. I'd do all the fitting, they just needed to turn up and pressure/vacuuum the system. reckoned I could offset the cost of the pump with having the system quickly checked over and set up.Admittedly, unlike many US systems, each room has its own system, so we rarely run more than two rooms at any given time. But the nursery and main bedroom had it on all night during those months, and I usually ran the kitchen and living room during the day, where we retreated to work from the non air-conditioned studies (the latter issue has now been rectified for next summer!).
The other thing, for us parents, was the sleepless night thing. All of our NCT friends reported several weeks of their two year old not sleeping, and the nights being really rough in that heat. Flashette Jr did her usual 12 hour stint from 7pm in her room, kept at a constant 20 degrees. Last night, I stuck the system on in her nursery (attic room, so very hot) at bathtime, by the time I put her down it had got down from 28 to 20, and she had another night of good sleep. Chatting to parents at nursery this morning, the main topic of conversation was how rough last night was in terms of sleep.
Not having that is worth any amount of money, in my book!
I may do that F-Gas course. My friend and neighbour is a builder, and I reckon we could make a tidy sum doing local installs - he drills the holes and fits everything up, and I turn up to connect!
Edited by Harry Flashman on Tuesday 15th September 11:18
Not a one was interested and most of them were basically happy to say they weren't interested because they weren't supplying the kit and that I was on my own. Told me to go back to the online seller and get them to sort it. LOL
Fair enough, I thought they might want a hundred quid or so for about 30 minutes of work, but obviously not. I bought my own pump (£130 or so) and did it myself, it's not exactly rocket science.
But it does mean I now have a pump, and the knowledge and I reckoned there could be a lucrative side line helping other DIY'ers install their systems!
Maybe something to consider for when I retire and just want a bit of pin money!
Just to reawaken this thread for a little bit, I now have quotes for a mini split in my garden office ranging from £1390 (Panasonic) to £1600 (LG)
This is vs me doing it myself with that appliances direct mini split (£429, possibly plus vacuum pump, valves etc maybe £250?)
I’m really am struggling to know whether to have a go, or get someone in, and was wondering what people’s thoughts where here?
£1000 is a lot of money in anyone’s book. I’m in the SE so I don’t think the quotes are unreasonable necessarily. I’m particularly interested in reliability of the ElectricIQ systems, and what happens if I need to get more gas (eg I screw up!). Also a friend has pointed out propane is flammable so that’s a consideration!
This is vs me doing it myself with that appliances direct mini split (£429, possibly plus vacuum pump, valves etc maybe £250?)
I’m really am struggling to know whether to have a go, or get someone in, and was wondering what people’s thoughts where here?
£1000 is a lot of money in anyone’s book. I’m in the SE so I don’t think the quotes are unreasonable necessarily. I’m particularly interested in reliability of the ElectricIQ systems, and what happens if I need to get more gas (eg I screw up!). Also a friend has pointed out propane is flammable so that’s a consideration!
I have an Electrix single split in my summer house and an Electix 3 way split in 3 of the upstairs bedrooms. It’s early days yet obviously but for now I can’t really fault them for what they do. I know a Fgas guy from Ashford who will come and pressure test, then vac down and charge system if need be. He charged me £180 to do this on my 3 way split which I think was good value.
I agree the big name brands will probably be better, but for the money I was happy to gamble on the £499 unit from Eletrix which comes with a Toshiba compressor anyways.
I agree the big name brands will probably be better, but for the money I was happy to gamble on the £499 unit from Eletrix which comes with a Toshiba compressor anyways.
fastbikes76 said:
I have an Electrix single split in my summer house and an Electix 3 way split in 3 of the upstairs bedrooms. It’s early days yet obviously but for now I can’t really fault them for what they do. I know a Fgas guy from Ashford who will come and pressure test, then vac down and charge system if need be. He charged me £180 to do this on my 3 way split which I think was good value.
I agree the big name brands will probably be better, but for the money I was happy to gamble on the £499 unit from Eletrix which comes with a Toshiba compressor anyways.
Ash ford Kent? I wonder if he would come over here (I’m in Sussex!)I agree the big name brands will probably be better, but for the money I was happy to gamble on the £499 unit from Eletrix which comes with a Toshiba compressor anyways.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Glad to hear - did you get to test them in hot weather? Turned cold as soon as I had installed mine!The dust was insane - why we did it from outside. There were literally clouds billowing up the street...
I had to do the last one (conventional split unit) from inside. When using a smaller 65mm core the dust was very manageable if one person drills and the other holds a shop vac in place, and the driller takes it nice and easy.
The 182mm core drill though? Not a chance!
Edited by Harry Flashman on Thursday 8th October 21:02
We’ve just refurbed one of the bedrooms and thought it might be nice to add air con for any guests visiting. I didn’t want it to stand out too much as it’s a Victorian house and we’ve been putting it back to period since moving in and thought a modern air con unit might stand out. I stripped the covers off and a couple of coats of plasti-kote primer and a colour matched aerosol from the local motor factors and it blends right in.
Robertos88 said:
We completely renovated our house. Decided to install a unit downstairs and in the loft conversion. Both are Daikin units. They’re virtually silent when in a “night”mode, can be controlled using an app and keep the house at a perfect temperature in the summer. Additionally they can be used to heat, which is a bonus.
What's the model number? Thankschukwe said:
Robertos88 said:
We completely renovated our house. Decided to install a unit downstairs and in the loft conversion. Both are Daikin units. They’re virtually silent when in a “night”mode, can be controlled using an app and keep the house at a perfect temperature in the summer. Additionally they can be used to heat, which is a bonus.
What's the model number? ThanksGassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff