Experience with Spacepak A/C?
Does anyone have experience using a SpacePak mini-duct central a/c system, and can advise re how well they work? What are the downsides? Seems much easier to install than traditional A/C and also less expensive. Am I missing something? Would love to hear from someone who uses this system. Thanks!
Does anyone have experience using a SpacePak mini-duct central a/c system, and can advise re how well they work? What are the downsides? Seems much easier to install than traditional A/C and also less expensive. Am I missing something? Would love to hear from someone who uses this system. Thanks!
I’m almost committed to a Daikin ductless split A/C system for our owner’s duplex. The ducts of a central system are replaced with the thin tubes of a Mr. Slim-type system. But the indoor unit isn’t a big ugly box on the box, its hidden in the ceiling or somewhere and opens to a flat register in the wall (so it looks like central). Condenser is outside, like a Mr. Slim.
Its seems somewhat popular outside the US but unknown here (maybe its new?). My GC rec’ed it, my architect never heard of it; both seems knowledgeable. My GC is installing one now and that is his total experience with it but has heard good things. This seems to be the first reference on this site to “Daikin”.
Its expensive.
We choose it as an upgrade over a Mr. Slim system. Never really considered a central system. Maybe we should have but our plans were done by the time we switched to the Daikin choice.
Have you considered a Daikin system? Anyone have any feedback? Perhaps in a commercial setting?
Thanks.
I don’t know about SpacePak, but our Fujitsu ductless system (which I think is similar to the Mitsubishi Mr Slim) did not involves soffits. They run the (fairly narrow) ducts/pipes in the space above the ceiling.
SpacePak costs much more, first of all.
Secondly, you have to open walls for either system, unless you’re willing to tolerate soffits all over the place, which looks like shit–especially if you have crown molding and other vintage details. Spcae pak makes for skinnier, high-pressure tubes, but they still have to be sunk into the walls one way or another. And because they’re skinnier, you need lots of them for each room–possibly four, five or more ducts in a good-size, high-ceiling room.
If you’re trying to chill a brownstone, as we are right now, I’ll warn you that it’s really tricky and not cheap. But our engineer figured out a way to run regular ducts up through closets, through the basement and up from beneath the parlor level, and through the attic and down into the top floor (we own and occupy the whole house). No soffits *anywhere* except one hidden behind the decorative plaster in the rear-parlor alcove! We’ll have air handlers in closet ceilings, and a condenser on the roof.
I am not looking forward to receiving the estimate… Good luck to ya.
I think people install the mini ducts over the traditional when they are retrofitting in an old house and not doing any other work that requires the walls to be opend up.
We went with the traditional b/c it was cheaper. While it was a pain, it wasn’t that much additional work to patch up since we had all the walls open anyway for the electrical and plumbing systems. But if you aren’t doing something that extensive, I wouldn’t recommend going with a traditional system. It would be an incredible mess and expense to put in a traditional system if you had to open the walls just for the ducting.