Old House Air Conditioning

Project updates and progress reports
Daniel Meyer
Stalwart
Posts: 362
Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2015 6:24 pm

Re: Old House Air Conditioning

Post by Daniel Meyer »

We have the mini-splits at the Old Vic...although we went with the "hideous wall mounted air handlers" :) because of efficiency and cost.

We are highly pleased. Easily 1/3 the utilities (heating AND cooling), dead silent, takes the humidity out so much better than the windows-shakers...and our windows are windows again!

User avatar
Jeepnstein
Been here a good while
Posts: 228
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:01 pm
Location: Sciotoville, OH

Re: Old House Air Conditioning

Post by Jeepnstein »

It's been a few days and my initial thoughts are extremely positive. The ducted ones are a good option for old houses needed a retrofit. I won't post on this thread again until I have about four months of utility bills to compare to last year. I expect the change to be dramatic.

The units run the fan continuously on AC mode. The heat pump spools up and down as needed to keep the air temperature constant. And it does. The thermostats never vary a bit. More importantly our upstairs unit is not running nearly as much it seems. Heat from the downstairs would pack upwards until it hit the insulation in the attic. Now the whole house feels much more comfortable and we've managed to adjust the thermostats up a couple degrees.

Image
This is one of the two units.

You can see the plenum on the front and the single return on the rear. That's it. We don't have a duct run over ten feet off that plenum. The specifications state they are for use in ceilings but LG gave us the green light to mount them under the floor. Their only caveat was that efficiency would take a small hit doing that. We mounted filters in the return ducts so we can change them easily.

User avatar
Jeepnstein
Been here a good while
Posts: 228
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:01 pm
Location: Sciotoville, OH

Re: Old House Air Conditioning

Post by Jeepnstein »

Latest update. Came home a few days ago to a very wet basement. The external pumps were dry. Water was shooting out of what appeared to be an auxilary drain hole if you were going to use internal condensate pumps. At least that's how the installer's manual read when my HVAC guy handed it to me to double check if he was crazy or illiterate.

A call to LG confirmed that the units did have internal pumps as well as a catch pan that will drain with gravity. Apparently there's a way to switch off the pumps but the LG rep really didn't know how to do that. So after a few bits of pipe were added we're draining normally now.

This should be a warning to anyone wanting to install one of these beauties in a ceiling. It would have ruined plaster or drywall. Make sure both your drain lies are properly connected even though LGs manual only calls for one.

User avatar
Lily left the valley
Inventor of Knob and Tube
Posts: 2170
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2016 2:07 pm
Location: Gardner, MA, USA
Contact:

Re: Old House Air Conditioning

Post by Lily left the valley »

Thanks for this update. I'm hoping we don't ever install whole house A/C, but I also know it's what Sean prefers, and it might be inevitable. So I've still been researching possibilities, which is why it's good to know what to look out for if we went with a system like this.
--Proud member of the Industrious Cheapskate Club
--Currently pondering ways to encourage thoughtful restovation and discourage mindless renovation.

phil
Has many leather bound books
Posts: 4616
Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2015 6:11 pm
Location: Near Vancouver BC

Re: Old House Air Conditioning

Post by phil »

with my home made setup I made a pan with tin and ran a small tube outside so it can drain. I used a big blower to vent the attic air over the section that normally sits outside the window. It evaporates almost all of the water on its way out of the house. it just drips from the hose very occasionally. maybe the evaporation adds cooling - hard to really measure. I think normally they are made to take advantage of the evaporation even with the internal fans it comes with. normally the excess drips outside.

maxhall1023
Knows the back streets
Posts: 88
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:31 am
Location: Western MA

Re: Old House Air Conditioning

Post by maxhall1023 »

Awesome! My wife and I are planning this as we speak. We don't have any conventional AC and have been making due with 4 window units that I have to haul out of the attic every year with the help of a friend for the two bigger ones. So loud, horribly inefficient, and just an overall PITA? Getting a quote next month. I'll likely just buy all of the equipment and do the install myself with the exception of charging the line and connecting all of the copper tubing. Hopefully you enjoy this as much as I hope to enjoy mine. What is the SEER rating on the units you got?

User avatar
Jeepnstein
Been here a good while
Posts: 228
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:01 pm
Location: Sciotoville, OH

Re: Old House Air Conditioning

Post by Jeepnstein »

maxhall1023 wrote:Awesome! My wife and I are planning this as we speak. We don't have any conventional AC and have been making due with 4 window units that I have to haul out of the attic every year with the help of a friend for the two bigger ones. So loud, horribly inefficient, and just an overall PITA? Getting a quote next month. I'll likely just buy all of the equipment and do the install myself with the exception of charging the line and connecting all of the copper tubing. Hopefully you enjoy this as much as I hope to enjoy mine. What is the SEER rating on the units you got?


The ducted units are only 17 SEER. That's still pretty respectable even though some of the other units are considerably more efficient. And installation will also play more heavily depending on the duct work. Since I'm not a sheet metal guy I didn't do any of the installation. I think some of the wall mounted ones are pushing 30+ SEER.

User avatar
Jeepnstein
Been here a good while
Posts: 228
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:01 pm
Location: Sciotoville, OH

Re: Old House Air Conditioning

Post by Jeepnstein »

Got some preliminary results to report. Overall my level of satisfaction with the project is very high. My guitars stay in tune now which means the humidity is being controlled. And the house has far less dust. There are no more hot and cold spots.

Electric usage for the latest three billing periods, which reflect when the system was put into use, are as follows. The weather overall has been very similar between this year and last year.

Month 2016 2017

June 1554 1331
July 3241 2030
August 4450 2803

So it looks like our utility bills will see a nice savings. Probably enough to justify the money we spent over the projected life of the units. Unless I'm looking at this all wrong and then I don't care because the house is comfortable.

Post Reply