Hello
Has anyone retrofitted an air conditioning system in their newly built house? We wanted to include it during construction, but everyone said, "You don’t need that." Of course, that was nonsense — even with the best insulation, summer can be unbearable.
Our idea is to install an air conditioning unit on the roof, then route it into the attic (which is unfinished), and from there mount 2–3 indoor units on the upper walls of various rooms through the ceiling. Running the lines into the attic is quite simple, and you can easily access the ceiling (except for avoiding damage to the vapor barrier). The pipes won’t be visible since the units would be wall-mounted near the ceiling.
We don’t need air conditioning on the ground floor.
What kind of price should we expect including installation? Does anyone have a rough estimate? We want decent quality components, but nothing too fancy. I recall reading that there’s one main manufacturer dominating this type of system.
Is a budget of around €3000 (approximately $3200) realistic, or is that wishful thinking?
Has anyone retrofitted an air conditioning system in their newly built house? We wanted to include it during construction, but everyone said, "You don’t need that." Of course, that was nonsense — even with the best insulation, summer can be unbearable.
Our idea is to install an air conditioning unit on the roof, then route it into the attic (which is unfinished), and from there mount 2–3 indoor units on the upper walls of various rooms through the ceiling. Running the lines into the attic is quite simple, and you can easily access the ceiling (except for avoiding damage to the vapor barrier). The pipes won’t be visible since the units would be wall-mounted near the ceiling.
We don’t need air conditioning on the ground floor.
What kind of price should we expect including installation? Does anyone have a rough estimate? We want decent quality components, but nothing too fancy. I recall reading that there’s one main manufacturer dominating this type of system.
Is a budget of around €3000 (approximately $3200) realistic, or is that wishful thinking?
S
Steffen8021 Jan 2019 08:38Lumpi_LE schrieb:
Well, with automatic external blinds and proper insulation, you don't have a problem.
Regardless, you can quickly and cheaply install a split air conditioning unit. It works well and is also inexpensive to operate.Strange... why were we really envied by everyone last summer? They all have modern houses here too, including shading. If it is hot for a longer time and it doesn’t cool down at night... how exactly is the indoor air supposed to stay cool? Oh... wait, let me guess... you open the refrigerator?
S
Steffen8021 Jan 2019 08:39Bookstar schrieb:
Wouldn't it be easier to drain the condensate water outside?That is possible, but only by using a pump inside the unit, and these are potential weak points that regularly cause water where you don't want it. They are also audible, which can be disturbing in bedrooms. We have direct drainage everywhere without pumps. I'm very glad about that.
Steffen80 schrieb:
Strange... why were we really envied by everyone last summer? They all have modern houses with shading here, too. If it stays hot for a longer time and doesn’t cool down at night... how exactly is the air inside the house supposed to stay cool? Oh... wait, let me guess... you just open the refrigerator? Steffen is right. It does take longer for a shaded and well-insulated house to heat up, but once the heat has built up inside the house during a long heatwave, you simply can’t get it out anymore. Controlled ventilation or opening windows in the evening won’t help either. That’s what my neighbor reported.
Although I can’t say how tolerant my neighbor is of heat—maybe 25°C (77°F) indoors is already too hot for him.
This thread has made me consider at least having the groundwork done on the ground floor for cooling circuits, condensate drainage (inside/outside), and electrical supply. However, in my opinion, the effort to cool the bedrooms (four bedrooms) would be too great.
Maria16 schrieb:
When choosing between living rooms and bedrooms, I would always air-condition the bedrooms. You can usually manage during the day. But if you can’t sleep at night because of the heat, it gets really bad. Yes, I know! But from my point of view, the effort (and the cost) to equip 3-4 bedrooms with a multi-split system is too high.
Downstairs, we could cover 55sqm (592 sq ft) with just one unit.
I’m hoping that, thanks to the controlled residential ventilation with the earth heat exchanger, the temperature upstairs will be at least 1-3 degrees Celsius (2-5°F) lower than without it. An air conditioner downstairs might also be able to reduce the temperature upstairs by another 1-2 degrees Celsius (2-4°F).
But I’ll discuss this with my installer today. Maybe the idea of an air conditioner for the ground floor is nonsense after all.
S
Steffen8021 Jan 2019 10:07We have air conditioning in the large living area (65 m² (700 ft²)), in the bedroom, and in the attic. No air conditioning in the nursery; they have to endure the heat. The unit in the bedroom is already running quietly (very silent, no problem at night) since spring, set to 18°C (64°F) due to my wife’s pollen allergy. The windows stay closed. The mechanical ventilation system keeps the pollen outside. This makes it much easier for my wife. The mechanical ventilation system also runs continuously, of course. What I would do differently: Definitely install another indoor unit upstairs in the hallway (large south-facing windows*). That would probably cover everything. The extra cost would have been negligible.
Regards, Steffen
* shading during the day annoys me
Regards, Steffen
* shading during the day annoys me
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