Cooling Options

Mark N

I have a house with steam heat. I've been using windows a/c units for years. Looking to upgrade. I've done some research. There are ductless systems, unico systems, or conventional a/c systems. I looking to hear what others have done and how satisfied they are with the results.



Mark

lchmb

split's

The ductless splits are a nice quiet unit. Very easy to install and also offer a back up heat source depending on the unit. Most of it depends on the layout of the house. I would recommend getting someone in to take a look...

RDSTEAM

ductless splits

are a total eye sore. layout of the house is crucial as well as available space. do you have an attic or basement? how many floors? the best thing you can possible do would be to have a traditional split system installed, perferably in the basement or somewhere in the coditioned space. if you end up putting it in the attic (theres nothing wrong with this, alot of people HAVE TO do it this way) you will need a bigger system up to a full ton. space pak systems are pretty neat but they dont have the greatest efficiency and can be slightly loud because of the high velocity air, but this type of system can be installed by anyone. space pak would be a great way to save money on install considering you would only need an EPA certified tech to install your condensing unit and start your system. 

RDSTEAM

the unico

is basically space pak, but i think space pak is a better product.

Mark N

House Layout

I have a 2-story house with a basement and an attic. Most people I know that have added a/c the air handler is in the attic. So you are saying by putting it in the attic the system has to be bigger?



Mark

nicholas bonham-carter

eye sore?

have a look yourself at the mitsubishi/fujitsu mini-splits and see how sore your eyes can get. search for "mr slim".

in my experience, they are minimally intrusive inside and outside, and are certainly an improvement on window units!--nbc

Mark_125

High Velocity Install

Mark, I was in the exact same position as you. I have a 1500 sqft home, 1200 heated by steam and a 300 sqft addition heated by a baseboard loop. We have a 18200BTU through the wall unit on the first floor and and 3x 6000 BTU in our bedrooms upstairs.

I've just had a SpacePak High Velocity system installed in the house. It is two zone, first floor is 2 tons, second floor about 1.5tons. One air handler in the attic and another in the basement. Yes the air noise is a bit louder than a conventional system, but we turned on a window unit for comparison and it easily drowned out the noise of the central system. If you are used to window units the high velocity system should not bother you. Mechanical noise is non-existent in our house. We don't hear the drone of the air handlers or the condensors outside.

The outlets are small 2 inch holes in the floors of the first floor and the ceiling of the 2nd. There are multiple outlets in each room to provide the right balance of cooling.

I know we don't talk about prices here but I will say in my case the High Velocity system came in under the price of the conventional, and I got to keep my closets, basement, attic and they were done in 4 days. It was February when I had it installed to that might explain why I got such a good deal.

If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.

-Mark

Paul Fredricks_3

Yeah

I agree. Sure, they are bigger than a register. I have customers who worry about the look of a register cut into their perfect ceiling. I tell them that after a week they won't even notice the register. The same goes for ductless splits.