I can't sleep in the summer heat, so thinking about getting an air conditioner. Never used one, so totally ignorant but prepared to learn fast. Room I sleep in is 3.5 x 4.5 metres. Smallish 2 bed flat in Kensington.
Fans are noisy and don't cool the room enough. So I want something as quiet as possible. Nothing fancy, just a unit that works well and cools the room down.
Recommendations please?
I've got Fujitsu units in my bedroom, lounge and kitchen plus a Mitsubishi on the landing. The Mitsubishi is slightly more audible than the Fujitsu ones but they have modulation options and can be set to run in quiet mode. I have been running the bedroom unit with a target temperature of 22 degrees C during the current hot spell and enjoyed restful nights. At switch on time the fan runs fast then slows to an almost inaudible trickle speed. Aircon is great and provides heat in cold periods if required.
Could you give me some model numbers please?
My bedroom has a balcony and I'm wondering about some kind of split system
To save me getting the steps out to read the data plates here's an example of a higher power unit than i have.
They change depending on room size. I have Mitsubishi in the UK, Fujitsu and Daiken in Spain. All are very quiet on slow fan.
If you want cooling you really need a split unit. You need to move the heat as it can't be destroyed, so something outside.
The in room units with a vent to the outside are noisy and inefficient. Lets face it yes you dump hot air outside, but you replace it with hot from the rest of the house.
Dave
I'm wondering if any of these kind of units can be self-installed? That would save a lot of cash. Do regulations demand that licensed fitters install them or not?
If you want to buy a unit* that is subsidised by the government, probably yes.
Pretty sure John Rumm fitted his own. You need to buy a pre-charged system.
Just as an example…
As it says there:
"All split type air conditioning systems require installation (or at least commissioning) by an F-GAS registered engineer. We can offer an F-Gas commissioning service for these units FROM £249.00 plus vat (depending on your location) Call us on 0800 458 0101 for details.
**UK F-GAS laws state you must provide us with details of the F-GAS registered engineer you will be using BEFORE we can dispatch any split systems**"The 'easy install' units may be precharged, but you need an F-gas ticket to do so. This is a change from prior regulations.
Units using isobutane/propane (R600a/R290) or CO2 (R744) don't require F-gas, because there are no fluorinated gases. However the first two are flammable, and there are certain minimum room size limits (they're concerned about leaking gas building up in a small space).
I'm not sure what the cheapest route to getting F-gas certified might be, but it might be worth doing if you have a number of units to install.
Theo
I thought some units come precharged with refrigerant and use connectors that are self-sealing to allow self installation? BICBW
There are systems that use n-butane and propane but these must cope with leaks according to the size room, but there is also a minimum mass of butane where this isn't an issue. If you have 2 unit you only have to consider room size for a single unit on the basis that both won't leak at the same time.
Just found this for a self-install using R290 propane:
Yup split unit - particularly to keep it quiet. Monoblocks are noisy and less efficent.
Yup - they come pre-gassed and have self sealing connectors to join the bits up.
Indeed. Try this example:
Not for pre-gassed ones. More so for ones you gas yourself - although you can hire the pumps, or you can hire the services of a mobile air con contractor to do a test and service on one you have already installed - even if you installed it yourself a week before :-)
It was not actually me, but a friend of mine. We posted details on the wiki:
Thats not what all the ones I found say. e.g.
. The unit must be installed by a F-Gas qualified AC engineer.
Dave
That's the 'easy install' type. I think it's OK if they're using propane/butane, but not if using fluorinated gases.
One thing that a DIY install would need to do is pull the system to vacuum to ensure there's no leaks and to purge any air. So you'd need the vacuum pump, fittings and know what to do with them. It's not quite as simple as plug and play. I presume that's why the training is required, so that it's done right.
(Vacuum pumps start at about £40+VAT on Aliexpress but the single stage ones don't really pull good enough vacuum for HVAC use. I've just received a fancy two stage one so will see how that goes...)
It's mainly in small rooms where it's a risk - where the concentration could build up. I think it can be avoided if you size the unit appropriately.
Theo
Most still use typically R32 which is still covered by F-Gas regulations.
I think you are not quite reading between my lines :-)
The main issue with aircon units is avoiding release of refrigerants into the atmosphere (due to their high greenhouse gas equivalence, and/or ozone depleting properties).
A proper aircon service would involve pumping down and recovering any gas contained, while also purging the system (recovering water vapour, lubricants etc). In the process they would also check that the system will hold a vacuum (i.e. there are no leaks). Then finally they would pump back the right quantity of lubricant and correct mass of gas. You don't proceed to the re-gas phase if the system is not sound. So the service process will make a fairly good assessment of whether a system's installation quality is adequate.
as a side note, I would not trust that bunch of chancers to mow a lawn!
(had very poor experiences with the <something>direct group of companies)
Define "installed"?
You will be telling me I can't change my own CU or install my new boiler next ;-)
I feel that way too....
Other sites say "commissioned" but after a bit of research I see appliances direct have a couple of R290 charged units which they say can be DIY installed. e.g.
Assuming you live in England you can do this things as long as they are "regularised" in the correct way.
Dave
If your bedroom faces south and it has a balcony then you have the possibility of rigging up some passive solar protection to stop direct sunlight hitting your bedroom windows.
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