Ductless A/C

April 12, 2005 5:11 AM

Anyone have experience with ductless A/C? We're thinking about installing some in our house.

We saw some examples at a recent home show and were convinced we need it for our home office and family room (both on S-SW corner of house). They are right above each other, which should make things easier.

There are a two designs I've found while researching. The Mitsubishi Mr. Slim kind that goes in your wall, and the SpacePak design that uses little ducts to be more inconspicuous.

There are few reviews out there on these kind of systems, so I was hoping people here could give us some feedback on them.

Are they really that quiet? Are they real expensive to run? (I know they are expensive to buy/install.) Tips on placement? Thoughts on one over the other? Anything else we should know?

Thanks!

posted by evening to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

We have a Sanyo unit that is similar to the Mitsubishi one you linked. It's cooling our server room. It's more quiet than a window unit, does a great job, and was cheap to install.

There is one hitch with these that the manufacturers like to hide. They, like all A/C's, need a drain for the condensation that forms on the evaporator. To handle this, we have a small tank mounted to the wall. When the water rises to a certain level, a pump turns on and moves the water a few rooms over. It works well, but is ugly.

Given that ducts are not required, if you don't have them, running a drain hose is easy work to cool a couple of rooms.
posted by kc0dxh at 6:55 AM on April 12, 2005

If you can locate the condenser directly outside the room where the evaporator is located a split unit like the Mitsu is a good choice. Requiring only a couple holes to be drilled in the wall; one for the refigeration piping and one for the drain; They are cheap to install. Myself and a helper could do a simple install on small unit like linked in under two hours. They are quieter than a window unit and most wall units because you are isolated rom the condensor fan noise. They'll be no more expensive than most a/c and probably better than many. Apparently identical units can vary significantly so check your SEER.
posted by Mitheral at 7:36 AM on April 12, 2005

No direct experience, but a co-worker can't stop raving about the wonders of his

Hitachi Mr. Slim .
posted by de void at 9:59 AM on April 12, 2005

Umm, I meant Mitsubishi. Duh.
posted by de void at 10:00 AM on April 12, 2005