Aircon insights

W@P said:
Samsung or Midea I would say. Inverter obviously.

Why not look at maybe getting a 10kw Sunsynk inverter seeing as the prices are coming down.

My neighbor has one of these VFR mofos at his house. With a split unit in each room, 5 x rooms i think. And he has solar with an inverter and batteries etc.

This things runs 24 hours a day. Every day. Loadshedding or not. Not sure what kind of battery setup he has but I assume its one of those of those huge ass Freedomwon units.

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The problem with that one is that if it packs up, your whole home is st-ffed. If you have split units in each room, even if one packs up, your other rooms are covered.

Also some functions don't work well. For example you may have mild dry cooling in one room and proper a/c in another with split units, with this one combined system that's not possible.

That's a Mitsubishi, I didn't know they sell in SA. May be a grey import.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Typo?

But anyway no need for that while there is AC passthrough or it's daylight, happily been running three non-inverters for almost 3 years now.

Inverters units will be a non-event.
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No, you get a 10kw single-phase unit now.

Mirai said:
The problem with that one is that if it packs up, your whole home is st-ffed. If you have split units in each room, even if one packs up, your other rooms are covered.

Also some functions don't work well. For example you may have mild dry cooling in one room and proper a/c in another with split units, with this one combined system that's not possible.

That's a Mitsubishi, I didn't know they sell in SA. May be a grey import.
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Not sure of the brand. Just looks like one of those. They delivered it by truck with a high-up lift.
 
Something like this for the 3 bedrooms.
Put the larger interior unit in the corner bedroom that gets the most sun (assuming its north facing)

Then a dual unit for the lounge and family room.
Put the larger unit in the family room since it probably gets the most sun.

Install will be more tricky as you need to run longer refrigerant lines, but you will be happy to not have 5 or 6 external units.

Larger compressors tend to be more efficient per unit of cooling, so it can pay for itself when you consider buying more panels, inverters and batteries.

As others have warned, the outside unit can only supply cooling or heating, not a mix to internal units.
 
Sapphiron said:
Something like this for the 3 bedrooms.
Put the larger interior unit in the corner bedroom that gets the most sun (assuming its north facing)

Then a dual unit for the lounge and family room.
Put the larger unit in the family room since it probably gets the most sun.

Install will be more tricky as you need to run longer refrigerant lines, but you will be happy to not have 5 or 6 external units.

Larger compressors tend to be more efficient per unit of cooling, so it can pay for itself when you consider buying more panels, inverters and batteries.

As others have warned, the outside unit can only supply cooling or heating, not a mix to internal units.
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Thanks everyone for your inputs.

Keep the thread going as it's helpful to others.

Think this is likely the route we would go my wife went from no aircons to if we gonna do it let's do all rooms barring kitchen, dining room, utility room and bathrooms so basically 5 units then. So less compressors would be best
 
I installed a BreezeAir Icon 210 Evaporative Cooling system last summer that provides 15Kw of cooling capacity.

It services 4 bedrooms, lounge, kitchen, office, and with some additional vents pointing outside, my patio/braai area as well which creates a pleasant breeze during hot summer braais on the patio.

The water consumption is minimal, and the power consumption is around 1700 watts at it's Maximum blower setting of 10, which I rarely use. Generally the consumption on blower level 3-4 setting is around 800 watts, which is what I generally use.

If you have a pitched roof, and a decent ceiling void, installation of the ducting, and the cooler is pretty easy and painless. Everything was done in a single day.

As someone who suffers from sinus, and seasonal allergies frequently, the improvement in air quality was also a boon, as incoming air is filtered and humidified, and the positive pressure inside the house keeps out dust and pollutants that would normally filter in.

I also got their WiFi enabled control panel and there is an integration for HomeAssistant.

You could probably get away with the smaller Icon 170 model for your space requirements.

Total cost was around 80k for a 9 duct/vent setup installed and everything.

I would highly recommend an Evap setup from a energy perspective, it's really amazing. Maintenance is basically cleaning of the filters by washing them anually, and perhaps a replacement after a couple of years. If there's one thing I'd add to my system, is some electric vent flaps to control specific areas, as the missus sometimes complains it's too cold, but for now, I just pinched the duct leading to her office a bit to reduce the flow.

The company that did my install was https://www.liftair.co.za/breezair/ -- Brad is the contact.
 
TheRoDent said:
I installed a BreezeAir Icon 210 Evaporative Cooling system last summer that provides 15Kw of cooling capacity.

It services 4 bedrooms, lounge, kitchen, office, and with some additional vents pointing outside, my patio/braai area as well which creates a pleasant breeze during hot summer braais on the patio.

The water consumption is minimal, and the power consumption is around 1700 watts at it's Maximum blower setting of 10, which I rarely use. Generally the consumption on blower level 3-4 setting is around 800 watts, which is what I generally use.

If you have a pitched roof, and a decent ceiling void, installation of the ducting, and the cooler is pretty easy and painless. Everything was done in a single day.

As someone who suffers from sinus, and seasonal allergies frequently, the improvement in air quality was also a boon, as incoming air is filtered and humidified, and the positive pressure inside the house keeps out dust and pollutants that would normally filter in.

I also got their WiFi enabled control panel and there is an integration for HomeAssistant.

You could probably get away with the smaller Icon 170 model for your space requirements.

Total cost was around 80k for a 9 duct/vent setup installed and everything.

I would highly recommend an Evap setup from a energy perspective, it's really amazing. Maintenance is basically cleaning of the filters by washing them anually, and perhaps a replacement after a couple of years. If there's one thing I'd add to my system, is some electric vent flaps to control specific areas, as the missus sometimes complains it's too cold, but for now, I just pinched the duct leading to her office a bit to reduce the flow.

The company that did my install was https://www.liftair.co.za/breezair/ -- Brad is the contact.
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That's cooling only though?
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
That's cooling only though?
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Indeed, that is a downside vs an inverter aircon. I have some traditional Aircons around the house too from around 10 years ago, but not inverter based. They chow a huge amount of energy. When it came round to doing things differently, I felt that the aircon investment back in the day was a bit of a waste from a maintenance and energy perspective, so decided to go the Evap route. Back then I spent well over R60k for 4 rooms in traditional AC and rarely used them for heating/cooling due to the power consumption.

I did install one more modern LG inverter in a single bedroom and that's quite nice, but rarely use it.

The evap system runs basically 24x7 during the hot summer months, and keeps the house at a very comfortable 24 degrees all round.
 
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Mirai said:
That one would be my choice once my current inverter Japanese ones die.

They refuse to though.

Abroad there is a wider selection though, eg Mitsubishi, Hitachi and Panasonic, which are arguably superior to Daikin.
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Correct. When it comes AC the options are Japanese or compromise. It will be with you for a long time, Don't skimp, Get the Daiken. While the other Japanese brands are good, they are not as easily accessible for home installs.
 
calypso said:
Correct. When it comes AC the options are Japanese or compromise. It will be with you for a long time, Don't skimp, Get the Daiken. While the other Japanese brands are good, they are not as easily accessible for home installs.
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Daikin. But I think Korean are just as good, at least. All these devices are assembled in Malaysia or Vietnam.

Why do I say Korean are probably just as good, I've had good experience with the longetivity of LG appliances.

For sea side regions, corrosion is the main enemy. It eats the heat exchanger, blue fin or not, it will flake that metal away.
 
Mirai said:
Daikin. But I think Korean are just as good, at least. All these devices are assembled in Malaysia or Vietnam.

Why do I say Korean are probably just as good, I've had good experience with the longetivity of LG appliances.

For sea side regions, corrosion is the main enemy. It eats the heat exchanger, blue fin or not, it will flake that metal away.
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I've had LG Artcools, were good but in the same league as Daiken. Reliable but much louder. Not sure about power consumption, that was a long time ago.
 
Went_For_Beer said:
Have you looked at the Deye Solar AC
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nope but I am not isolating any item from my home array - I would rather pop a few more panels on than have this sitting by itself.

Biggest regret putting in retrofitted evac tubes - money should have gone straight to solar.
 
Budza said:
Do you mind briefly describing how this works?

Do you get the same options the remote offers via an app?

Does it offer any smart operating/timing functions based on PV production or battery SOC?
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Connects to home wifi like most smart devices/switches etc. - it's just a remote in this instance, that broadcasts IR signal to AC depending on the input from the user from the app/scene.

Most mainstream ACs have their remotes already pre-programmed in the platform. If not, you can 'teach' it functions from the unit's original remote.

The RM4 also has an optional temp/humidity sensor cable which adds temp/humidity triggers in addition to time/schedule to smart scenes. I.e. turn on AC only to certain set temp, but only when ambient room temp > x'C, between certain times/days etc.

There's some Tuya and (or) Ewelink-compatible cheapies out there as well which I haven't tried - they don't come with integrated temp/humidity sensors, so that would require yet another set of additional 3rd party devices which I prefer to avoid.

I don't run Home Assistant or something similar (yet) so not sure about the higher-grade PV production/battery SOC triggers and scenes. I'm pretty sure that without life/family/work commitments anything is possible if you have enough time to spare/waste/sacrifice/dedicate.

For us, for now, either the native cloud-platforms and(or) Google Home suffices to bring the whole lot together with some smart scenes triggering various devices depending on various parameters across the upstream platforms.

RM4 Smart Remote:
www.geewiz.co.za

Broadlink RM4 Mini Universal IR Audio Video Remote Control - Smart Home Wi-Fi Remote Hub Compatible with Alexa

Supports 50,000+ IR controlled appliances, including TV, STB, DVD, Air Conditioner, Audio, PVR, etc. (IR only, no RF, compared with RM pro+ and RM4 pro). Large IR database: cover 98% IR remote function, update automatically on the cloud. Learning function: learn your remote controller if the...
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za

Temp/humidity cable:

Smart Home Accessories

Buy Smart Home Accessories online at the Best Prices! Door to Door and Overnight Delivery. Voted the best online store in SA. View Here
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za
 
Snyper564 said:
nope but I am not isolating any item from my home array - I would rather pop a few more panels on than have this sitting by itself.

Biggest regret putting in retrofitted evac tubes - money should have gone straight to solar.
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So Daiken also makes heat pumps and some that can use the same compressor to heat water and heat/cool air. But not sure if they are available here.
 
calypso said:
So Daiken also makes heat pumps and some that can use the same compressor to heat water and heat/cool air. But not sure if they are available here.
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In Europe you can get Mitsubishi with that. But the other type of heat pumps are geothermal ones where water is pumped a few meters below ground where the temperatures are quite warm and you can warm up that way and then supplement with gas, solar and in some places coal.
 

Techmoan was impressed by this personal air conditioner:
RANVOO AICE LITE

It comes at about R4800 shipped/taxed from the UK or US, same price, UK one gets here faster.

It utilises a Peltier cooler effect and blows the warm air sideways. Apparently he was quite impressed and the temp at the output side dropped to 17 degrees Celsius while the ambient temp of the unit was 24 degrees C. The warm expelled air is about 34 degrees C. And the device can be used in pass through mode so the 6 hours of cooling or so he got can be extended indefinitely with a powerbank. It cools your neck and face and is obviously portable.

Techmoan is the guy I visualise when I think of bwana as he's English/US. Maybe Techmoan with a bit of a John Wayne accent. :)
 
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I am in the process of replacing my old Samsung, and the installer recommends the brand called Infinity with 5 year warranty compared to the Samsung's 2 year. There is not a lot of info, but they apparently been around for many years.

I don't know the brand so not sure. Anyone can vouch for the brand? it will be a 24 or 32btu

1724406235706.png
 
Deanoblado said:
I am in the process of replacing my old Samsung, and the installer recommends the brand called Infinity with 5 year warranty compared to the Samsung's 2 year. There is not a lot of info, but they apparently been around for many years.

I don't know the brand so not sure. Anyone can vouch for the brand? it will be a 24 or 32btu

View attachment 1752663
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What's the pricing like..? I have never come across this brand on a vast number of searches I have done over the years, getting Aircons for my old and current property..
 
WAslayer said:
What's the pricing like..? I have never come across this brand on a vast number of searches I have done over the years, getting Aircons for my old and current property..
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HAD to search for them also never heard anything about them

1724407779484.png
 
Deanoblado said:
I am in the process of replacing my old Samsung, and the installer recommends the brand called Infinity with 5 year warranty compared to the Samsung's 2 year. There is not a lot of info, but they apparently been around for many years.

I don't know the brand so not sure. Anyone can vouch for the brand? it will be a 24 or 32btu

View attachment 1752663
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Saying that you have a long warranty is great, until it's time to claim. If you can't even find the thing on Google, how are you going to claim?

The benefit of going with a well known brand is that parts are easily available and everyone knows how to service them. If your installer goes out of business, then you're not stuck with a brick...
 
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