They’re the problems we face with a split system as well as having to mount the external unit 2-3 metres off the ground due to the way the house is cut into the limestone slope and built up.
I also suspect that we’d have to put a dedicated breaker in one of our consumer units and feed cable 20 metres across the attic and out through a separate hole to the refrigerant pipe work.
As it is, our portable will be moved upstairs to cool the guest bedroom and Herself’s crafting room beyond once we have a permanent split system installed.
When I re roofed put in the reflective multifoil to keep the summer heat off and backed it up with a min of 200mm of rockwool. The rooms now stay around 22c in summer but the one section not yet done is often 10c hotter so insulation insulation…
Isn’t that the point I was making, how is it portable if that has to be done, unless multiple holes are drilled in several rooms. Even if only one room is used but the cooler has to be moved around (again, the whole point of it) you will have an unsightly and inconvenient tube to trip over.
I don’t understand all these comments about weight? Our Thomson units are on wheels and don’t get lugged around anywhere.
Fine on tiles Sue, but do they roll nicely on carpets and up and down stairs?
I think we are talking about two different things David. My portable aircon just is vented through a window (hole in a perspex sheet that is wedged in the frame) and so can be moved to more than one room if needs be. In fact we have two bedrooms and two portable units, so they stay put through the hot months.
I was talking about the costs of installing a permanent air to air unit. I think someone was implying they cost not much more than a portable unit. The two units may be comparable in price, but the cost of installation of the air to air (for us at least, because we couldn’t do it ourselves) would be not inconsiderable. If next year’s gite season is normal, hopefully we’ll have the funds to get permanent air to air units or something similar installed in the two bedrooms. Not needed in the rest of the house - our guests live outside on the terrace during the day - it’s only sleeping that’s the issue.
I can say the 2 units I bought via Toolstation were much lighter than the old unit I have and the lecture theatre is carpeted. Far outperformed the old unit and quieter.
I presume you mean your walls are 50cm thick as the hole required is only 50mm. This can be cut using a core drill & does not take long.
I have 2 fixed units from a french company (Airton) but best to buy in the winter when prices are cheaper.
I use them for heating but over the past few days I have really appreciated a cool house!
Going off on a slight tangent, the heat extracted from the building could also be utilised to preheat the hot water tank or add some to a swimming pool if another heat exchanger was used. Quite why manufacturers of these units havent added that feature but aftermarket companies do is a question.
Oh, I see what you mean. Of course the fixed ones are more expensive for the reasons you mention, but we prefer them to the fiddling about in a comparatively small house with moving portables about and drilling holes wherever they are needed
Our air to air ones cost in the region of €4 000 fully installed and the 2nd one at least will be offset somewhat by a grant since there has been a change from before. There used to be no grant because they can be used as aircon as well as heaters, and aircons were officially discouraged.
DC inverter drives mean efficient variable speed so soft start and fully modulated saving a lot of energy and wear and tear on components, also quieter, all good.
Very true. When we had the first air to air installed, we had the roof insulation of the older part of the building re-done.
As to running costs, our electricity bill went down when calculated in conjunction with the cost of wood for the one wood burner which used to heat the whole house.
Although, due to the recent hot weather, it is difficult to accurately assess, there is a strong indication that the recent installation of a 2nd air to air in another room has reduced the overall usage because one unit is not at constant full blast trying to heat more than it was designed to.
