[Greenbuilding] mini split? Always?

[Reuben Deumling]

Thanks, John.

On Tue, Oct 12, 2010 at 9:37 AM, John Straube <jfstraube at gmail.com> wrote:

> Climate?
>
Ah yes. This is in Portland, OR. Around 4,000 HDD. Few hours or days below
10F. Most years I'd say none.  The condo in question is quite compact but
one complaint has been that with an open stairway in the middle all the heat
goes up quickly. The status/presence/absence of insulation in walls and
ceiling and under the floor are unknown but definitely something I'd like to
investigate a bit more.

> The huge problem with mini-splits is there lack of distribution. How to
> spread the heat and cool around without causing discomfort in far corners of
> buildings.
>

Sort of like a wood stove?


> Second issue is capacity: most are limited to 24-36K.
> Systems with air handlers and higher capacity are available but their cost
> tends to skyrocket and the performance drops a lot.
> If many cases, a standard US brand air source heat pump is not a bad
> choice: a Carrier, Goodman or Trane SEER16 heat pump with an ECM air handler
> can be a great swap out for electric furnaces in homes with modest heating
> demand in climates without many hours below around 10 F.
>

An air source heat pump is going to sit outside, yes? Given that the ducting
radiates from a closet in the center of the unit would one expect some new
ducting to, say, run in a crawlspace to said closet before tying into the
existing system?

>
>
> On 2010-10-12, at 12:32 PM, Reuben Deumling wrote:
>
> > I'm helping some folks replace their forced air electrical furnace (1970s
> condo, two level, 1,200 square feet) and from paying peripheral attention to
> electrical heating discussions here I understand that a mini-split system is
> the way to go if energy efficiency/low energy consumption per HDD is the top
> priority and wood and gas are not options.
> >
> > I normally only work with wood and natural gas heating systems, so this
> is new to me. Any introductory tips? Advanced recommendations? Obvious
> mistakes to avoid?
> >
> > Thanks so much.
> >
> > Reuben Deumling
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