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Thread: Domestic A/C installation query

  1. #1

    Domestic A/C installation query

    Just thought I’d tap into the collective knowledge on the forum to see whether anyone has had a basic a/c install within their home and how easy/ expensive it is to do.

    I’m currently turning an outbuilding in my garden into an office/ sanctuary from the kids and was thinking of getting a wall mounted split unit to provide heating and cooling as a round the year solution.

    I’ve seen the below: -

    https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p...ir-conditioner

    Which looks remarkably cheap and also straightforward to install. Am I mad for thinking that it would be as easy as drilling a core hole, siting the compressor externally and mounting the unit on the wall?

    Power etc is all in place. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

  2. #2
    Craftsman
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    We had AC in the old house. It really is that simple. Then have the system gassed up and you're all set. We had a Mitsubishi unit and it was faultless in the 10 years we had it. We miss it massively in the new house at the moment.

  3. #3
    Master Spencer Lee's Avatar
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    The advert doesn't mention which refrigerant it uses and I'm sceptical about 'quick connector' high pressure systems. The physicality of fitting a system could be as simple as you say but ensuring the system is working correctly and efficiently takes process knowledge and specialist tools and equipment. I'm pretty sure you must be F-Gas qualified to fit a unit and buy refrigerant in the first place. If you change the evaporator and install the condenser you could get an aircon engineer in to pressure test, gas it up and commission the system though.

    Sent from my SM-J510FN using TZ-UK mobile app

  4. #4
    Craftsman
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    The detailed spec sheet indicate R410a, which I believe is in a phase down period due to relatively high global warming potential.

    Whilst the phase down indicates an 80% reduction in the gas by 2030, which isn’t a large concern, my main concern would currently be the volatility of prices and availability (not sure if this is a supplier caused situation due to above, or if there’s a genuine shortage) - a subcontractor I use will no longer honour their quote prices for work involving R410a for longer than 24hrs! They used to be able to obtain the gas for very low prices (£6-10/kg) but now the price is well in excess of £100/kg when you’re leak testing and regarding chiller circuits in excess of 50kg, it becomes quite a pricey element. Availability would be the main factor for your system as it will only hold a couple of kg at most.

    If you buy the unit you indicated, I expect it would come pre-charged with correct amount of coolant for the 4m run of pipe work, however I would only buy with the expectation that if/when it leaked, you may struggle with availability of gas to recharge it.

    May be worth considering fitting of a unit with more modern and lower GWP refrigerant, if only to guarantee availability? The again, for the cost you could jut install it and run it until it fails at which point see if R410a is available and how much it costs. Compared the amount of global warming gases spewed out by power stations, I think A/C refrigerant is a drop in a very large ocean.
    Last edited by rusty; 28th June 2018 at 10:28.

  5. #5
    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    The wife just bought a small AC freestanding unit from Lidl of all places, £150 and I wasn’t expecting much, it’s actually pretty good, very basic and a bit of a faff to have the hose poking out of a window ( you could drill a hole but I don’t really want to do that) it kicks out loads of cold air, a bit noisy I guess but does a decent job if you need to drop the temperature of a room quickly.
    Cheers..
    Jase

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by johnny778 View Post
    Just thought I’d tap into the collective knowledge on the forum to see whether anyone has had a basic a/c install within their home and how easy/ expensive it is to do.

    I’m currently turning an outbuilding in my garden into an office/ sanctuary from the kids and was thinking of getting a wall mounted split unit to provide heating and cooling as a round the year solution.

    I’ve seen the below: -

    https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p...ir-conditioner

    Which looks remarkably cheap and also straightforward to install. Am I mad for thinking that it would be as easy as drilling a core hole, siting the compressor externally and mounting the unit on the wall?

    Power etc is all in place. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
    Sounds about right - we had two of these installed - the guys who installed them did all the hard work - they come with a roll of copper tubes wrapped in insulation which they cut to size and connected up
    they said they come with the gas already and didn't need gassing there and then like the old units.

    You can install it yourself if you don't mind having excess loops of copper pipe (they come with a standard length - easily hidden)

    Heats well in winter too

  7. #7
    Thanks for the input, very useful info and points raised.

    Can't believe how difficult it is to get an AC engineer to come out and quote for the work. Nobody wants to know which was what had lead me to looking at the easy connection units.

    Long shot, but does anyone have any recommendations for AC companies in the NW who are interested in domestic installs?

  8. #8
    Craftsman
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    Quote Originally Posted by johnny778 View Post
    Thanks for the input, very useful info and points raised.

    Can't believe how difficult it is to get an AC engineer to come out and quote for the work. Nobody wants to know which was what had lead me to looking at the easy connection units.

    Long shot, but does anyone have any recommendations for AC companies in the NW who are interested in domestic installs?
    2 AC units by Kool It of Manchester at my house . Highly recommended from start to finish . Heats and cools well .

    Rick ( Dearden ) Sales Director excellent , knowledgeable...likes his watches too


    Ian

  9. #9
    Here's the air source heat pump I have installed in my home office:







    It heats and cools my 4.2m by 3m garden office perfectly. It was installed by a sub-contractor of the home office builders. Unfortunately I think the sub went out of business. The system is a Mitsubishi SRK25ZMP-S.

  10. #10
    Craftsman
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Lee View Post
    Here's the air source heat pump I have installed in my home office:


    It heats and cools my 4.2m by 3m garden office perfectly. It was installed by a sub-contractor of the home office builders. Unfortunately I think the sub went out of business. The system is a Mitsubishi SRK25ZMP-S.
    Just to add to the above, we have a coupe of A/C guys within the contract for repairs & maintenance and they swear by Mitsubishi Electric; however there is also a brand called Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that make similar looking split systems, they both despise them with a vengeance so may be one to look out for.

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