Mini Split for a sunroom

[Fitter30]

Then since you know a ac pro and wants to use a mini to a elevated building ask him what temp the floor will be at 0* verses 70*. And why in a commercial building they offset the heat load in either a parking garage or overhang with heat.

 

[Jasonir129]

Well think about it. If you oversize the system you will spend a little more money, possibly short cycle it which puts extra wear and tear on it and might leave you with more humid air in summer, and perhaps use up more space somewhere. It may also use a bit more energy, and require a bigger electrical circuit.

If you undersize a little, you will not notice a difference except on days where it is very hot or very cold. The machine will have to run more hours to keep up which could also mean more wear and tear.

If you size the system to perform best when it's zero degrees outside, it's probably larger than it needs to be most of the time. You can also put on a sweater, or use a space heater or open the door and let your space heating system try to pick up the slack. Also if possible, consider improving the insulation and window quality to reduce the needed heating and cooling load.

Another thought, will you have any passive solar gain and did your friend look at that?

Of course, agreed on properly sizing, which is why I'm really diving into the numbers. When we relaxed things and let it be a little warmer when cooling on a really hot day it dropped to ~12k BTU/hr, more so curious if that means I should still do the 9k unit since it can still put out 12-13k BTU's in some situations.

What do you mean on passive solar gain? He put in the air leakage and radiation heat gain numbers. I'm guessing that's what's hurting the hot day numbers -- it's a lot of windows, big skylights, and it's a west facing room.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Howard M Emerson]

Hello,
We are located in Huntington Station, NY on Long Island, so we're in a similar weather zone as you being in Maryland.

For what it's worth we have a west facing sun room built in 1989 or so. The walls are 6", insulated and the entire west wall is 4 large insulated glass casement units and a 5' sliding glass door. The room is basically 24' x 16' with a cathedral/sloped ceiling coming from the existing house.

I guess it's called a 'shed', but whatever.........When we bought the house in 1995 it had a wood burning stove and an LP gas heater. I ditched the LP, but kept the wood stove, for better or worse.....

I decided a couple of years ago to put in a Mitsubishi mini split, and it was the best thing I ever did. I did the entire install in terms of the compressor outside, the indoor wall unit and running the electrical feed to the box.

I had an electrician do the actual box connection, and an HVAC guy we've used for many years came and did the hookup of the wall unit to compressor (or whatever the outdoor unit is called). I've given the guy so much work over the years he refused to charge me anything, but I tried......

Anyway.......it's so nice to be able to set it and forget it. I find that even in the winter I'll have to turn it off with all the solar gain in the afternoon. I have many very nice guitars, so there are times where I'll use the dehumidification setting, but more often than not I have a humidifier going to keep the room around 45-55%.

Our sinuses like that, too!

Here's some pictures to give you an idea of the installation:

The outdoor unit is directly below the wall unit, and it's mounted into the concrete foundation with wall brackets, and I attached a honey combed plastic shed roof above it for snow protection.

We rarely use the wood stove anymore, but it's there in a pinch or power outage.

Best of luck with the install!

Howard Emerson

 

[Jasonir129]

Hello,
We are located in Huntington Station, NY on Long Island, so we're in a similar weather zone as you being in Maryland.

For what it's worth we have a west facing sun room built in 1989 or so. The walls are 6", insulated and the entire west wall is 4 large insulated glass casement units and a 5' sliding glass door. The room is basically 24' x 16' with a cathedral/sloped ceiling coming from the existing house.

I guess it's called a 'shed', but whatever.........When we bought the house in 1995 it had a wood burning stove and an LP gas heater. I ditched the LP, but kept the wood stove, for better or worse.....

I decided a couple of years ago to put in a Mitsubishi mini split, and it was the best thing I ever did. I did the entire install in terms of the compressor outside, the indoor wall unit and running the electrical feed to the box.

I had an electrician do the actual box connection, and an HVAC guy we've used for many years came and did the hookup of the wall unit to compressor (or whatever the outdoor unit is called). I've given the guy so much work over the years he refused to charge me anything, but I tried......

Anyway.......it's so nice to be able to set it and forget it. I find that even in the winter I'll have to turn it off with all the solar gain in the afternoon. I have many very nice guitars, so there are times where I'll use the dehumidification setting, but more often than not I have a humidifier going to keep the room around 45-55%.

Our sinuses like that, too!

Here's some pictures to give you an idea of the installation:

View attachment 78599

View attachment 78600

The outdoor unit is directly below the wall unit, and it's mounted into the concrete foundation with wall brackets, and I attached a honey combed plastic shed roof above it for snow protection.

We rarely use the wood stove anymore, but it's there in a pinch or power outage.

Best of luck with the install!

Howard Emerson

Thanks for telling me about your setup and experience with your sunroom/shed (maybe shunroom?) and mitsubishi mini split! Looks like a great setup. Can't wait to get our project rolling... permitting has been taking forever but should be cleared to build in the next couple weeks (just as the ground is freezing up of course!).

 

[jonahjeremiah]

Your setup sounds pretty cozy, despite the "shed" vibes! I've been dealing with a mishmash of heating solutions myself until I finally decided to go the mini split route. I have to say, it's been a game-changer. Like you mentioned, being able to set it and forget it is such a relief. And the dehumidification feature? Absolute lifesaver, especially if you've got delicate instruments or just want to keep things comfortable. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for sharing your experience. It's always cool to connect with folks who've been through similar home improvement adventures. And hey, if you ever find yourself delving into the world of contemporary outdoor garden Summerhouses, let me know how it goes! That's something I've been eyeing for a while now.

 

[Howard M Emerson]

Your setup sounds pretty cozy, despite the "shed" vibes! I've been dealing with a mishmash of heating solutions myself until I finally decided to go the mini split route. I have to say, it's been a game-changer. Like you mentioned, being able to set it and forget it is such a relief. And the dehumidification feature?

Jonah,
I've used the dehumidification setting a couple of times, but frankly it just gets the room really cold. Just setting the unit on Cooling and adjusting the temperature works out just fine.

I'm currently working on what used to be a ground floor apartment built in the garage area of the house, where my late sister in law used to live with 24/7 care (she had advanced MS, etc.) My wife and I decided to renovate this ground floor apartment for ourselves in the event we get sick, or I get put in the dog house, or the kids come to visit, yada, etc.......anyway......you get the picture.

I installed a Mr.Cool 12k unit that runs on 110 voltage, and it's even easier to understand than the Mitsubishi. Again I had my AC pro bend and hook up the pre-charged line set (that's right: The lineset is shipped with freon in it) and my electrician did the line from the box. I like the Mr.Cool unit very much, and because it runs on 110, I can easily run it with my 6500 watt Ryobi generator, for which I had a sub panel installed as well.

Mini splits really are a great thing.

Regards,
Howard Emerson