OK, very obvious but.......Air Con for the home!

[Mallard60022]

Having listened to quite a lot of the more serious chat about the heatwave we are experiencing and being an old fart that doesn't cope that well  in said weather, does anyone have experience of having Air Con in their dwelling? I am not convinced because newer houses are not really that airtight.

I'm talking a proper job fitted unit not the stupidly expensive portable things that need a codenser pipe outlet .

I'd really appreciate any advice from those of you with such gear or at least someone that has experience of fitting such things.

many thanks,

I.A.M. Melting

Edited July 26, 2018 by Mallard60022

[dhjgreen]

The biggest problem I have in the heat is sleeping. We have a floor rattler and hose AC that we run during the evening to get the bedroom to 20C. Closing the curtains is good enough to keep the cold in.

[chris p bacon]

 I am not convinced because newer houses are not really that airtight.

 

 

It's not the same for the bigger builders* but for the smaller ones such as me we have to have 'Air Pasivity' tests done on each house.

 

This is essentially  fixing a large fan in the front door and expelling air from the house so that it identifies where air is pulled in. This is more to do with energy loss as leaky houses lose heat.

 

* they only test something like 1 in 10 of each design of house.

[BMacdermott]

Hello Phil

 

My wife has MS and - because of the added 'fatigue' that causes - I had 'pukka-fitted' air con installed in the bedroom as far back as 2003.

 

Her condition is now somewhat worse - as is to be expected - so we have gone a stage further to have a unit installed in the lounge (which will 'flow' into the dining room) - due tomorrow.

 

Of course, I get the benefit of it, too! I'm not sure about all air con types, but the ones we have can perform a heating function, too. Handy if your boiler fails in mid-winter!

 

In our experience, I have no hesitation in recommending that you at least get some companies to have a look at your situation. The company I use is in the Bedfordshire area but installs (and carries out servicing) in a wide radius. If you want contact details, happy for you to PM me.

 

Naturally, you will use more electricity - but modern units are very energy efficient.

 

All the best

 

Brian

[Enterprisingwestern]

Currently typing this in 38 degrees, having just walked into the village and back.

I naturally have pukka air con fitted, but, to be honest, I tend to use it more in winter as a heater than in summer as a cooler. Closing all the doors and windows and then making the house like the inside of a refrigerator makes it all the more noticeable and uncomfortable when you do venture outside, and I wonder if there are health/immunity issues with doing that?

Personally, I prefer a couple of tower fans blowing a nice relaxing breeze through the rooms.

 

Mike.

[PatB]

Unusually for a West Australian these days I live without AC, which can get a bit uncomfortable in summer, but there you go. I'd offer the thought that, if you go for it, considerinstalling rooftop PV at the same time. When you need the AC you are also likely to be getting maximum solar output so it should offset a decent proportion of your summer running costs.

[Horsetan]

.....not sure about all air con types, but the ones we have can perform a heating function, too.....

 

I though virtually all air-con units give off heat from the exhaust outlet.

[Yardman]

I've had had AC fitted to my living room for over twelve years. It's a ceiling mounted split unit, the condenser unit is mounted on the nearby kitchen flat roof. It's also a heat pump unit so makes a very efficient heater during the winter. I'm considering getting a small one for my den now. Wouldn't be without it now.

[MikeTrice]

You are not alone. We have the sun shining in our bedroom in the evening so it gets like a sauna at times. Yes keeping curtains pulled helps to a degree.

 

I have recently invested in one of these: https://yourhome.honeywell.com/en/products/fan/honeywell-quietset-table-oscillating-fan-black. They are in very short supply but I did find one quite reasonably in the end. At its slowest setting the noise is low enough not to disturb sleep and you get a pleasant breeze blown over you. This weather I tend to sleep on top of the covers so benefit through the night. The second speed setting is slightly noisier and we tried it for the first time last night but I think I prefer the slowest setting.

[jjb1970]

Are here ways to hide the condenser? One of the things that puts me off domestic air conditioning is that when you visit countries where domestic AC is prevalent all the houses have ugly AC condenser units bolted onto walls.

[Yardman]

I have pot plants in front of my condenser unit as it's fitted on a flat roof.

[Nick C]

We've had an oscillating fan running in our bedroom during the hottest weather, it works very well. When I've been staying in hot countries I've found the slow-rotating ceiling fans to be the best way of keeping cool, as they're virtually silent, unlike AC which always seems very noisy...

 

 This is more to do with energy loss as leaky houses lose heat.

 

Though that's only one side of the issue - well ventilated houses don't get mouldy! 

[Dunsignalling]

It has to go somewhere, so hiding it in a suitably decorative surround would seem to be the only way to avoid the aesthetic down-side of a built-in system.

 

I've got a portable unit, bought very cheap in an autumn sale at B&Q several years ago - just don't think about the juice it uses. The outlet hose fits into a board cut to fit over my (open) bedroom window. Bung it on half an hour to an hour before bed and it gets the room cool enough to get off to sleep. Unless it's a very warm night, having the windows open is enough after that. I often wake up in the wee small hours if the temperature rises so stick it on again while I go downstairs for a cuppa.

 

If this heat starts to become a regular thing, I'll be getting something more convenient that I can run all night without the need for earplugs.

 

TBH, I don't think I'll really care what it looks like.....

 

John

Edited July 26, 2018 by Dunsignalling

[Enterprisingwestern]

You are not alone. We have the sun shining in our bedroom in the evening so it gets like a sauna at times. Yes keeping curtains pulled helps to a degree.

 

I have recently invested in one of these: https://yourhome.honeywell.com/en/products/fan/honeywell-quietset-table-oscillating-fan-black. They are in very short supply but I did find one quite reasonably in the end. At its slowest setting the noise is low enough not to disturb sleep and you get a pleasant breeze blown over you. This weather I tend to sleep on top of the covers so benefit through the night. The second speed setting is slightly noisier and we tried it for the first time last night but I think I prefer the slowest setting.

 

I would recommend a ceiling fan fitted over the bed, silent and directs the breeze exactly where you want it.

They can also be reversed to redistribute heat in the winter.

I have them in all bedrooms.

 

Mike.

[Guest]

An alternative is a swamp cooler. It's a fan that blows air over water.

Much cheaper and less energy intensive than AC. Look online for 'evaporative cooler'

[tetsudofan]

Having lived and worked in Asia for 34 years I got used to sleeping in air-conditioned bedrooms whilst abroad so have always appreciated the advantages of air-conditioning. Must admit the the window fitted units were ugly and noisy but the curent split units with the fan unit in the bedroom and the condensor outside.

 

My home here is a chalet bungalow with the bedrooms built in the roof space so the temperature upstairs can be 10c higher than that downstairs. It can be very uncomfortable and difficult to sleep in such circumstances.

 

About 5 years ago I had an extension built on the back of the house and at the planning stage specified air-conditioning in the three upstairs rooms. The local builder had never received any such requests before but was able to contact an air-conditioning engineer who was able to do the installation as the building work progressed. Each room has a fan unit on the wall with the (reverse cycle) condenser sitting outside the back of the house.

 

On the super quiet setting the fan units are super quiet as is the condenser outdoors. Turned on the aircon at 11:00pm last night when the room thermometer was showing 29c with humidity of 75%. Thirty minutes later humidity was down to 65% and room temperature was starting to fall. When I woke up around 6:00am this morning the room temperature was 20c, the setting on the hand-held controller.

 

For me its fantastic and well worth the investment and been well used this year, much more than in previous years.

 

Keith

[Mallard60022]

Thanks so far. Not such a daft idea then? I shall wait until January before investigating and after all the blizzards/floods etc as prices may be more competitive then?

My two quite efficient fans are keeping my railway safe up in the loft!

P

[Joseph_Pestell]

As others have said, if going for aircon, a split system (air source heat pump) is the best option because it can give you economical heating in winter.

 

But, just like we have issues with matching wheel profiles to track, it's no good looking at aircon in isolation. You need to look at the building as a whole. If you are suffering from solar gain (south or south-west facing bedroom), some sort of external shading will be a far cheaper, and more eco option and/or reduce the running costs of the aircon.

[Enterprisingwestern]

Thanks so far. Not such a daft idea then? I shall wait until January before investigating and after all the blizzards/floods etc as prices may be more competitive then?

My two quite efficient fans are keeping my railway safe up in the loft!

P

 

At least you've got your priorities right Phil!

 

Mike.

[jjb1970]

A few years ago I was on a ship where the air-con system went tango uniform when we were working in Trinidad (terrific job it was, move a gas rig once a month then 4 days alongside in Chaguaramus outside Port of Spain and a couple of days out at sea doing supply runs to the same rig) and it was very noticeable that although the first few days were almost intolerable the body adapts quite quickly and then you can exist quite comfortably without AC. I spend a fair bit of time in hot countries, because I generally am only there for a few days at a time I do like AC but again when I used to be in Asia for much longer periods I found I was quite happy without AC (mosquitos are a much bigger annoyance).

 

There are certain obvious and easy things you can do to help, the most obvious of which is making sure you close blinds and draw curtains to stop rooms being heated. Another obvious thing is clothing, light, natural fibres, it amazes me that so many men in particular don’t adjust their clothing according to the seasons, this is something women are much better at that men.

[BMacdermott]

Hello again Phil

 

Just in case you are not aware - and this is where speaking with two or three 'decent firms' will pay dividends - some outdoor units (ie the big box with the big fan) will 'power' a number of indoor units (ie the bit that directs the air and from where you control temperature etc).

 

It might be worth asking them to quote for air-conning any or all of the rooms you require in one go.

 

Brian

[MikeTrice]

I would recommend a ceiling fan fitted over the bed, silent and directs the breeze exactly where you want it.

They can also be reversed to redistribute heat in the winter.

I have them in all bedrooms.

 

Mike.

Used to have one of those but took it down. From memory it was still too noisy. The one we had was made by Fantasia.

[Horsetan]

…. The one we had was made by Fantasia.

Fantasia? Or Vent-Axia?

[Enterprisingwestern]

Used to have one of those but took it down. From memory it was still too noisy. The one we had was made by Fantasia.

 

Mine are this one from memory, silent on low, you can obviously here the propeller effect on higher settings, but that's physics for you!

In practice, low is all you'll probably need.

 

https://www.tuandco.com/ventilador-de-techo-blanco-con-luz-easy?gclid=CjwKCAjw4uXaBRAcEiwAuAUz8FOGzsF8dfYtPQKiRSPBWjrM7K3IMLSCKd5NCpTjrapCm4jhlCcdaRoCyxAQAvD_BwE

 

Apolgies for the language, but you might find one in the UK.

 

Mike.

[Karhedron]

My parents have a portable AC unit and simply stick the hot air outlet hose up the chimney. Seems to work well although they do have a solar PV array to offset the cost.

 

I don't have one as we have 3 kids who are constantly wandering between rooms so nothing stays closed for very long. Also my wife likes the heat and does not like "wasting" electricity so I will have to put up with sweltering at nights.

 

During the day I am lucky that my office has aircon so that is my cool-down time.