Split Air con

Close the bloody door! Were you born in a barn?

As my dad used to say. In relation to heating rather than cooling but same principle.
 
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R.C.Anderson said:
Anyone got experience of ducted AC?

We're considering AC over the next year or so, and we like the idea of ducted AC, as it means you don't have a bulky unit mounted on the wall. Anyone had them installed & can give their thoughts? Worth it over standard units (I'm assuming it'll be more expensive)? Any particular thoughts to consider?
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(Assuming you have a 2 story house) I’d say if you only want it on your top floor it’s not too bad as you can have the ducting running around your loft. But getting the ducting to your ground floor neatly/hidden will require ceilings down (or boards up from above). As well the runs of the duct are tricky; as it’s often 4-6 inch ducts if it needs to go perpendicular to your joists you’re stuffed.

As well don’t forget that unlike the mini split systems you’ll also need to put return ducts in. For an upstairs bedroom only install you’ll usually have supply vents to every bedroom then one big return on the landing. Usually a big square grille. You might need custom plenums installed. I looked into all this and decided multi split is easier. As well for residential in the UK it’s not very common so finding an installer with experience will be rare.

Another downside as well is you typically can’t have zones off every supply. So if you had a 3 bedroom house with supply vents to all 3, you can only set the target temperature for all of them. And if they’re varying sized rooms you need to fanny around with dampers to try to get the cooling rate even across all 3.


I completely agree that aesthetically it’s nicer but installing it is a pain. I think it only makes sense to do it if it’s planned all along, I.e. you’re doing an extension/building a new house and it’s planned into the fabric of the building at that point. Retrofitting it is a pain.
 
Mason- said:
(Assuming you have a 2 story house) I’d say if you only want it on your top floor it’s not too bad as you can have the ducting running around your loft. But getting the ducting to your ground floor neatly/hidden will require ceilings down (or boards up from above). As well the runs of the duct are tricky; as it’s often 4-6 inch ducts if it needs to go perpendicular to your joists you’re stuffed.

As well don’t forget that unlike the mini split systems you’ll also need to put return ducts in. For an upstairs bedroom only install you’ll usually have supply vents to every bedroom then one big return on the landing. Usually a big square grille. You might need custom plenums installed. I looked into all this and decided multi split is easier. As well for residential in the UK it’s not very common so finding an installer with experience will be rare.

Another downside as well is you typically can’t have zones off every supply. So if you had a 3 bedroom house with supply vents to all 3, you can only set the target temperature for all of them. And if they’re varying sized rooms you need to fanny around with dampers to try to get the cooling rate even across all 3.


I completely agree that aesthetically it’s nicer but installing it is a pain. I think it only makes sense to do it if it’s planned all along, I.e. you’re doing an extension/building a new house and it’s planned into the fabric of the building at that point. Retrofitting it is a pain.
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Yea, I was thinking upstairs at least shouldn't be too bad, as it can duct through the loft etc. The ground floor would be more of a problem, but I'd be tempted to do a mix, so ducted upstairs for the bedrooms & wall mounted units downstairs if needed.

I thought from the very quick look I've done, that it's possible to zone the vented systems (or at least some of them), but if that's rare/becomes another level of expensive, then maybe I'll have to rethink!
 
R.C.Anderson said:
Yea, I was thinking upstairs at least shouldn't be too bad, as it can duct through the loft etc. The ground floor would be more of a problem, but I'd be tempted to do a mix, so ducted upstairs for the bedrooms & wall mounted units downstairs if needed.

I thought from the very quick look I've done, that it's possible to zone the vented systems (or at least some of them), but if that's rare/becomes another level of expensive, then maybe I'll have to rethink!
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My friend has been discussing with an installer a ducted system vs wall units for 4 upstairs bedrooms and the difference in cost is substantial.

It’s basically doubles in price for the reason the poster above you mentioned.
More costly materials, more labour.
 
R.C.Anderson said:
Yea, I was thinking upstairs at least shouldn't be too bad, as it can duct through the loft etc. The ground floor would be more of a problem, but I'd be tempted to do a mix, so ducted upstairs for the bedrooms & wall mounted units downstairs if needed.

I thought from the very quick look I've done, that it's possible to zone the vented systems (or at least some of them), but if that's rare/becomes another level of expensive, then maybe I'll have to rethink!
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It is possible to zone ducted but it’s not common in UK. There is a system I can’t remember the name but it’s only really used in places where a/c is common like Australia and NA. You’ll be lucky to find an installer with experience in the UK.

IIRC it comes with extra complications. If you have a big unit that can support let’s say 3 bedrooms. If only 1 room is calling for cooling. You can’t get that big boy unit to try to dump it all in one duct. So it needs an outlet to effectively dump the excess outside. Which isn’t very efficient.
 
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Mason- said:
It is possible to zone ducted but it’s not common in UK. There is a system I can’t remember the name but it’s only really used in places where a/c is common like Australia and NA. You’ll be lucky to find an installer with experience in the UK.

IIRC it comes with extra complications. If you have a big unit that can support let’s say 3 bedrooms. If only 1 room is calling for cooling. You can’t get that big boy unit to try to dump it all in one duct. So it needs an outlet to effectively dump the excess outside. Which isn’t very efficient.
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It’s not common in the UK due to the design, materials and construction methods of traditional British homes being way different from those of the USA and Australia.

Ducted heating and cooling in US homes is usually fitted as the house is built as even retrofitting a timber framed, drywalled house would be very invasive and very expensive.
 
Terminal_Boy said:
It’s not common in the UK due to the design, materials and construction methods of traditional British homes being way different from those of the USA and Australia.

Ducted heating and cooling in US homes is usually fitted as the house is built as even retrofitting a timber framed, drywalled house would be very invasive and very expensive.
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Yes
 
tamzzy said:
How much did you guys pay for your 4-way multi split? I'm looking at getting a system myself...
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£6,500. 10kW outdoor unit. Then for indoor I have 5kW, 3.5kW, 2kW and 2kW.

Still waiting for the unit for the garage, which is another £1,300.
 
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thanks guys.

do you guys think if i should wait until later in the year/winter or just get quotes now?
seems like the vat-free grace period is ending march next year so i'll definitely do it before then
 
tamzzy said:
thanks guys.

do you guys think if i should wait until later in the year/winter or just get quotes now?
seems like the vat-free grace period is ending march next year so i'll definitely do it before then
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Personally, if I had the money to hand, I’d get a quote now as I doubt prices are going to fall anytime soon.
 
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