Mini split or central air! Recommendations of which to install please.

[tvguy]

My dad owned his own HVAC company and he would have disagreed with that. If you have poor insulation or big leaks in the home's envelope, your new system won't work well, and may have problems from being overworked.

I will have it done when the system is replaced. That inspection is required by law here. I don't have a choice.
I don't see a reason to pay to have it done twice because it will have to be redone when the system is replaced. I have the system inspected twice a year and while the service tech doesn't crawl under the house to inspect the ductwork, he does check the airflow, and temperature of the air coming out of all 9 floor vents in the house and both are within what you would expect.

 

[tcufrog]

That makes sense. I thought you meant that wouldn't look at it at all.

 

[Colleen27]

If you've already got ducts, a new unit using them is usually the way to go.

We've gotten quotes for both and are going with the mini-split, but we're in a century-old home that was built with boiler heat. Not only do we not have ducts, we have plaster walls which complicates opening things up to install new ductwork. We also aren't all that concerned about the look of mini-splits because they are still less intrusive than the radiators we have now - at least they're installed in the wall, rather than taking up floor space and interfering with furniture placement (and giving me seemingly endless opportunities for stubbed toes).

 

[Tigger1]

DS has 2 mini-splits in his 3 room, 580 sq.ft central FL apartment. The layout is two larger rooms, plus an interior bathroom leading off the bedroom.

Be aware that without ducts, closed doors will prevent the air from circulating into other rooms; his has no duct into the bathroom, and it takes only minutes for the bathroom to begin to heat up when the door is closed. In your situation, using one unit would probably only suffice if you routinely left all the doors in that area of the house wide open in summer.

Good information! Thanks

 

[Tigger1]

Just looked for PSO (Our ELectric Co.) There is rebates up to $1000 for Mini Splits. Still need to read the fine print.

 

[mjkacmom]

If you've already got ducts, a new unit using them is usually the way to go.

We've gotten quotes for both and are going with the mini-split, but we're in a century-old home that was built with boiler heat. Not only do we not have ducts, we have plaster walls which complicates opening things up to install new ductwork. We also aren't all that concerned about the look of mini-splits because they are still less intrusive than the radiators we have now - at least they're installed in the wall, rather than taking up floor space and interfering with furniture placement (and giving me seemingly endless opportunities for stubbed toes).

So you are replacing the radiators with them? I know they heat, but care you taking out some of the radiators or all of them? What about bathrooms? I wonder if we got rid of the radiators downstairs anc relied on them for heat if some of the rest of the rooms at the end of the radiator lines would get more heat with the others not in use.

 

[kuhltiffany]

One thing to consider is resale of your home. I would never buy something without central air...

 

[Colleen27]

So you are replacing the radiators with them? I know they heat, but care you taking out some of the radiators or all of them? What about bathrooms? I wonder if we got rid of the radiators downstairs anc relied on them for heat if some of the rest of the rooms at the end of the radiator lines would get more heat with the others not in use.

The plan is to take out all of the radiators. Our bathrooms don't have their own radiators anyway - this house was built before indoor plumbing and the bathrooms absolutely feel like the afterthought that they were - so I feel like not having mini-split units in there is basically a lateral move compared to the existing situation. We have a HE gas fireplace on the main floor and took out the living room radiators when we installed that (upgraded from a drafty natural fireplace) but I didn't really notice any improvement in the performance of the remaining radiators when we did.