Backyard Aquaponics
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So many brands and units available out there, anyone got any tips when shopping for an AC unit? Obviously price and wattage are things to look for.


Cheers

Stay away from the wall mounted style and get yourself a spit system, reverse cycle inverter type.
Small units are more efficient that large ones, if energy use is a consideration. 2 X 2.5kW units mounted in different locations is a more efficient way to cool it down than a single 6kW unit at one end of a big room.
Look for units that have EER/COP around 5 or better.
There's a good listing of models and efficiencies here: http://reg.energyrating.gov.au/comparat ... 64/search/

Are you looking for a room unit or main house unit?

Yep I got the LG model. My house with the six separate sections is at what ever temp I want it to be, day or night. Its an investment and adds value to your house. My system was just under 10grand. Not that I will ever sell my house. I built it the way I wanted it and where I wanted it. So get the best and forget the rest! I extended my home loan to pay for it as well as the patio and paving. I have to turn my system of at night or it gets to cold in summer.

I highly recommend Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. We have a single 7.1 kw system and it cools the whole house bar the master bedroom. But that's mainly because it's the furthest away and has a west facing window. I rarely even need to have it below 24-26 degrees.

Whatever you go for, make sure the external unit is shaded, it makes a huge difference to it's efficiency. I paid a bit more to put the external unit under the house and it's well worth it.

Yeh don’t buy one if you still have kids living at home! Especially female kids! 29deg and she is hot already?

Thanks peeps. Yes Gunna sorry that is what I meant to write, spilt system.

We have a small 3 bedroom house so may not need a huge unit but maybe as Gunna says 2 x smaller units would be a better investment.

Although we have had a couple of days in the 40's, I wouldn't expect it to be constant and its more so the humidity which is the killer.

So LG, Mitsubishi, Daikin and samsung seem to be good units.

Gunna, can you expand on the EER/COP as that doesn't mean much to me sorry.

Cheers

That the Aussie way of saying Mini split heat pump? I'd like to know the answer to Charlie's questions as well but I need one more for heating.

Charlie we use the Daikin in two bedrooms and a daikin with inverter in the sewing room. The large unit in the lounge is a Carrier about 16 years old. We will most likely replace this with a modern Daikin when it goes.

Normally in the bedroom we just put them on timer for a couple of hours to cool the room and get to sleep. Set at 25/26c is very comfortable. Cheers

We have a small 3 bedroom too but it's open plan hence the 7.1kw system. If your main living areas are fairly separate, then I'd opt for a smaller unit, but if it's fairly open I'd go for one bigger one. But not too big, if it's too big it can't run properly, just as if it's too small they run too hard.

I'm personally not as keen on two smaller units in the same living space instead of one bigger unit, you do end up paying more for installation (I'm not talking a multi-head system from the same external unit, but two standalone units). And in my (albeit limited) experience, I found the spaces weren't as thoroughly cooled. But that was only in two houses so it may well work well if done better or something.

Just a note about the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries recommendation. There is also Mitsubishi Electric but what I researched they weren't as reliable as the MHI.

When I was researching and deciding which brand to go for Daikin was also at the top of the list, the main thing that excluded it was the price, they worked out to be a lot more expensive than the MHI. I think you are paying for the brand name a bit there.

IMO Daikin are the best and are the majority of our splitty installs due to reliability spares and performance. Next up Panasonic, considerably cheaper and reliable. Fujitsu are using a new (to Oz) refrigerant (R32) which is flammable and although safe I would steer clear of them for the moment. Having said that most of the brands are looking at using it in the near future.
Whatever you choose ensure it is an inverter model.

Oh come on people. We all know what is best, ducted reverse cycle. Every room is cool or warm 24/7, none of this should I open a door so its cool in there later? You just turn it on and select what rooms you want cooled or heated. I spoke to my bank and got a 20grand loan and 0.5% discount on my mortgage. So easy it pays for itself. I have solar panels too! Forget the wall mounted system that does the one room. I cool a whole house down for the same cost. As you would for trying to cool down the one room plus with all the doors open? Now apart from having a teenager living with me, my daughter. My bills are far less than most peoples, my electricity bill this last two months is, $138.80.

Scotty, yes, heat pump is used in some places to describe a split system AC.




Energy Efficiency Ratio and Coefficient of Performance are often used interchangeably as measures of the performance of a reverse cyce air conditioner or heat pump.
They refer to the effective rate of cooling or heating in kW, compared with energy used to operate the compressor and fan, ie the electrical demand. So if an air conditioner cools at a rate of 5kW, but only draws 1kW of electrical power, it has an EER of 5. The heating if often a little better, so maybe it heats at 5.5kW for 1kW of demand, so its COP would be 5.5.

There are only a few of the air conditioners in the under 3kW range that have COPs of around 5 or above, and I favour the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries units, as they are generally more reliable, or at least have less warrantly claims made against them than some other brands.
I've got a couple of their 2.5kW units here that I hope to install in the near future.

Zoned ducted reverse cycle heating and cooling is suitable in a lot of instances, but in a small 3 bedroom house it's more than likely overkill.

You may well just be over-capitalizing on the house installing a system that is unnecessarily big or complicated, particularly when it may be more appropriate and suitable to install a single unit/two small units. Of course it depends on the home you are installing it in, but if spending $2-2.5k gives you exactly what you need, then there is no need to spend more.

A split system inverter system is often more than enough to cool a small house, as is the case with my house. I have a wood heater that well and truly heats the house also, aside from zero running costs for me it also comes down to personal preference (I love wood heating).



*edit, Just to clarify, the 'you' I refer to is in the general/collective sense.

was it hot over there today Charlie?

+1 for Dailkin and Panasonic

just spoke to friends near Brisy it was 40 C over there today!