One wall unit per floor feasible?

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Penn

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Hello. New here. I am currently trying to learn as much about mini splits as possible before picking one out. My cape is 34 x 30 (9' ceilings) on the first floor with an open floor plan. The second floor is 34 x 24(8'ceilings) with 3 bdrms and 2 baths. Only the master bdrm/bath is being used as all the kids have flew the coop. The basement is 12" block wall with 2x4 framing and fiberglass insulation. No floor insulation. The basement only needs dehumidifying in the summer.
The exterior walls are 2 x 6 with fiberglass insulation. 1/2 cdx sheathing with 1 " R7 foam board and vinyl siding. Attic insulation is 8" fiberglass and 1" foam. Windows are Andersen low e double pane casements (57x26) facing east, south, west. Only one north facing window and door. Moderate shade. A central stairs runs from the basement to the 2nd floor. Only about ~15 90s a year in north east Pa. I'm guessing I would use the heating more than the cooling from a mini split. Right now I heat from the basement with a coal stove and electric baseboard spring and fall.

I am looking at a Pioneer 3 zone (https://www.highseer.com/products/m...ir-conditioner-heat-pump-outdoor-section-230v). It can put out 32k cooling and 35k heating. Various size wall unit combos can be ordered such as 9,9,18 etc.

I see a lot of talk about oversizing and low efficiency. I would like to put the largest wall unit on the first floor and a smaller unit on the basement and 2nd floor. I would put the 2nd floor unit in the master bdrm (~15x15) and keep all the doors open upstairs.

What size units should each floor get and are Pioneer mini splits an ok brand. I would be self-installing and they claim to warranty self-installed systems, at least for parts. Another option would be to get single zone units as opposed to a multizone system to get lower minimum operation. I am not sure of the low end for this unit.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you.
 
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Fitter30

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Have ceiling fans on main level? Two smaller bedrooms could be served by a ducted air handler. Parts for minis usally aren't as available as standard units especially if this house is rural. House i have 1900' 3 bed 2 bath , space crawl. 2 - 2 ton - 3 head units, 5 wall and ducted. Normally run one unit if one breaks still have the other unit because were very rural. Two wall in living /kitchen and master bed. The other unit two beds and ducted bath and laundry. Lp fireplace for emergency and added heat below 10°. All 9k indoor units. Do not use armiflex covered line sets. Use a white insulated with nubs they pull easier don't tear. Something like these.

 

Penn

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Thanks for your input fitter30. I originally started out looking for some means to add some ac with casement windows. I would have to use a portable or change out one window to double hung or use a through wall unit. Thats when I started to lean towards mini splits and soon supplemental heat entered the picture. I only need ac maybe 50 days a year I'm guessing and coal does the brunt of my heating so I don't really want to spend a lot on a new system. I am hoping to get away with as few heads as possible, maybe just one on the main floor even. I am hoping to get some firsthand experience with a similar situation. I have a friend with a small ranch that gets away with one undersized window unit and claims he is satisfied with the results so I was hopeful a properly sized mini split on the main floor would be enough. Next I started to think one per floor would be better. The main floor I'm pretty confident can work out since it is an open floor plan but the 2nd floor is partitioned off. I'm afraid the master bdrm would get too cold in order to do any good in the other rooms. The smallest wall unit available is 9k which is way too big for a single bdrm, right? Perhaps fans could help move some air around upstairs?
 
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