Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

XRinger wrote: »

I've ordered a bunch of small items from DX and mostly they've been good stuff..

It got pretty cold here this AM.. Like a fool, I opened up the den curtains
a little too early and added a bit too much load to my den Sanyo.

Not sure, but I don't think it likes working so hard when it's 5 degrees..

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothermal/1815-2-sanyo-24khs72-ac-hp-install-project-oct-2011-a-4.html#post19121

Almost lunch time and it's already back up to 12.1°F !
Humm, no more morning bike rides??

Got to 4F last night here. Right now it's 7 and falling. No trouble to report with the splits. Plenty of heat so far.

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

It got danged cold here last night. I stayed up to watch the power use as it got colder.
Fell asleep in the den and woke up to the TED's 4kw alarm beep.
The 10A current limiter had tripped on Sanyo #1, meaning it was using 2.4 kW.
I turned it off and left Sanyo#2 on (den) for another hour,
until it was consistently using over 2kW, before shutting it off and going to bed.
It was around 3AM when I turned on some back up and crashed.
Coming back up is slowwwww this morning..

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

Yeah, it was expected. Get down to 5-10deg F and it's time to fire up the back-up..
I hope we don't have too many more long spells like we just had.
This milder (snowy?) weather doesn't seem so bad, after being in the mini-deep freeze.

I suspect the max amperage is listed in you spec sheets. The BTUh rating of the system kinda sets the power draw.
The snow is getting a bit heavier now. Looks like we might have some defrost cycles tonight.

I put away our space heaters for now. Tonight, I'll sleep like a baby..

Cheers,
Rich

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the links .. Looks like Pex offers a large selection. Will try calling them next week. Thanks, Vic

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

SteveK wrote: »

H2i's are still working well. But with a winter like this who needs heat? HA!

This months cost for heat using the Mitsu's is ~$95.... Waaay under budget for electric heat in the Northeast.

We have another week left in this billing cycle and the TED projects it's going to cost $94.70 this time..
We've had a lot of days when the Sanyos were using 1kW.. 24 kWh (or more) per day!
So a total for the month, of 581 kWh doesn't come as a surprise.

The sun was out a for a while this morning, and right now our power use is very low..
The weather outlook for the rest of the month is lookin fine!
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/woburn-ma/01801/february-weather/338702

These mini-splits have been set to 20-21 C 24-7 during the last couple of months,
we've been staying toasty this year, like we've never been before..

The best part, we no longer cringe, when we hear those big oil trucks rolling down our street..

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

We were out for a nice walk today.. We were carrying our jackets during the last mile of the return trip..

I saw a big puddle of water on the concrete pad under Sanyo #1 this morning. ( don't think it was rain water).
I wonder if we had some defrost operations going on early this AM..?.
The temp and dewpoint were tracking close together, but it wasn't very cold, most of the time.

Did you get any defrosting?

Hey, my TED is now showing a projected cost of $94.00

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

I can't see any drip on my #2 unit, since I have a sheet of CoroPlas under it.
This spring, my plan is to cover all the soil around that unit with crushed stone.
Maybe with some anti-weed plastic under it..?.

I've been thinking about some kind of netting over the air intake,
to keep the leaves from getting sucked into the HX..
In the fall, the wind blows them from trees 100s feet away..

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

Its been a while since I posted here, but I have been following this thread. I'm ready to take the plunge and purchase my first mini-split system, but am a novice and need some advice if you don't mind. The space I want to try out this system in is a mostly open space of about 800-900 square feet. In researching what size system I need some sites say to opt for a 24000 BTU system, but others say to down-size. I'm currently leaning toward a 12000 BTU system. I'm also leaning toward a smaller system because the smaller ones seem to have better energy efficiency. From those who have these units installed, does this sound like a good size for this space?

I'm torn between three different units - the Mitsubishi 23 SEER (12000 BTUs), the Klimaire 20 SEER (12000 BTUs), and the AmericAire DIY 20 SEER (12000 BTUs). I've seen a lot on the Mitsubishi and the Sanyo units, but not so much on any others. I'm torn. The AmericAire DIY comes with a complete DIY kit that sounds like it would be a super easy install job, which is a big consideration for someone that hasn't installed one of these before. The Mitsubishi has the awesome reputation and a little better SEER. The Kilmaire has the low price tag. Any thoughts on these differences?

BTW, I live in Georgia and we have temps generally in the upper 90s much of the summer and generally down into the lower 20s and 30s in the coldest part of winter. I am not afraid of most any DIY project except electrical, and my husband is afraid of any DIY project except electrical. lol.

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

XRinger wrote: »

I would go larger, but that's just me.

A lot of my BTU requirement is due to poor insulation.. (1950s house)..

BTU requirements depend heavily on how well insulated the area to be heated/cooled and how much direct solar radiation the area receives. Really hard to say if 12 or 24 k BTUs, but either way that's a huge jump in capacity from one to the other.

It also depends on how warm/cool you want to be able to keep the area and if being able to quickly warm/cool the area is a concern.

Tons of variables to be sure.

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

I put a 24,000 BTU in a room that's only 288 sq feet ( 16x18 ).. But, it does have almost 100 sq ft of windows.
My guess is the insulation could be a lot better.. And the 64 sq ft of Anderson Thermo pane sliding (4)windows
should be replaced with some modern windows that have more than 1/8" of space between the panes..

Anyways, over-sizing isn't a problem. Since the unit will run from 4,000 to 24,200 BTUh cooling or 4,400 to 29,000 BTUh of heating..



I have another 24,000 BTUh Sanyo for the rest of our little house..
Overflow from the den comes back into the main house. When set to the same setpoint, the two units use about
the same power. It seems like a balanced setup..

I've found the normal running power of each unit in mild weather is 450 to 500 watts and 900 to 1000 during extreme weather.

This winter, we've been using about 500w per each unit, giving us around 1kw per hour on average.
So a cold month runs up about 600 KWh or $100 in heating cost, per month.
Which is about 1/4 the cost of heating with oil heat.. :cool:

I could have used a smaller unit in the den, a 12,000 BTUh would have worked nicely.
But would not have helped the other Sanyo in the main house, as much as a larger unit.

But, I didn't have a 12,000 unit.. I had a repaired 24,000 outdoor unit
and it wasn't too costly to buy the indoor unit for it..
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothermal/1815-2-sanyo-24khs72-ac-hp-install-project-oct-2011-a.html

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

You really need to do a "Manual J heat loss calculation" to select the proper unit. This enters in all the variables for your climate, windows, insulation, orientation etc. I would not purchase a unit with out knowing exactly what my heat loss is. Select a unit that outputs the btu's at the lowest temperature that you will encounter according to the heat loss calculation.
Here's a list of quality units, Daikin, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Sanyo if you ever need parts they will be available( and you will with the newer inverter models) not so with the others.

http://www.hvac-calc.com/main.asp $49 one time use
http://www.mrhvac.com/free-hvac-stuff/free-heat-gain-and-loss-calculator/

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

XRinger wrote: »

If I was going to do solar assist for my heating and cooling, I would just do it while the grid was up,
using some Enphase 240 micro-inverters, with my PV..

My feelings exactly. Unless it was desert country and I was after A/C only. It's pretty tough to get icy air from coal/wood as I understand it. I don't see these 240V systems as an off-grid solar solution either.

Makes me respect the grid a bit more now that we are using it to it's full potential. Takes alot of resources to come even remotely close to simulating it...

Re: Sanyo mini split AC (inverter/variable speed)

LucMan wrote: »

You really need to do a "Manual J heat loss calculation" to select the proper unit. This enters in all the variables for your climate, windows, insulation, orientation etc. I would not purchase a unit with out knowing exactly what my heat loss is. Select a unit that outputs the btu's at the lowest temperature that you will encounter according to the heat loss calculation.
Here's a list of quality units, Daikin, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Sanyo if you ever need parts they will be available( and you will with the newer inverter models) not so with the others.

http://www.hvac-calc.com/main.asp $49 one time use
http://www.mrhvac.com/free-hvac-stuff/free-heat-gain-and-loss-calculator/

Thanks for these links! I didn't know such a calculation was available on the internet. How cool!!

One thought... Since I live in Georgia I'm a bit more concerned with summer than winter. I've been comparing SEERs more than EERs, though I am interested in getting good efficiency with both. Also, I've looked around a bit on some southeastern HVAC sites and many of them say to down-size rather than up-size HVAC units in the southeast. We have a lot of humidity here, and apparently if we up-size we run the risk of the unit not running enough to get out all the humidity, leaving us just as uncomfortable as we were with a higher temperature. Running a slightly smaller unit, the unit will have to work harder, but it will remove more humidity since it will be running more often. Anyone here from the southeast have experience with this?

Kelly