Split system heat pump/Ac unit
I am considering installing a split system hvac unit that provides both heat and air conditioning. I read online that the heat pump does not work well in prolonged frigid conditions. Anyone has experience with this system and how cold does it have to get before it stops working? Does it stop working, or just…
I am considering installing a split system hvac unit that provides both heat and air conditioning. I read online that the heat pump does not work well in prolonged frigid conditions.
Anyone has experience with this system and how cold does it have to get before it stops working? Does it stop working, or just doesn’t work as well? Thanks all!
Yes even I have heard good feed backs about the Mitsubishi air conditioners. Even carrier ductless air conditioning units are said to be good. But however all time heaters are said to be better than AC’s in case of extremely prolonged and severe cold regions.
I am thinking of installing the latest Mitsubishi multi-room ductless air conditioning heat pumps – Cooling and heating for each unit. I have been told that they do well under 40 deg I would like to get inputs of anybody who has tried this in the past.
biggles,most heat pump from ductless manufacturers such as fujitsu ,mitsubishi and others will have 85% of their output at 17F,with declining output as the temperature drops.NYC rarely operates below 15F for longer than 5 days in a calendar year.
hvac tech here…..the normal cooling works with a 40F coil temp to cool,so in the winter it swings to the outside with the condenser inside heating 160F 180F temps discharging.when the temps start to get near or lower then 40 outside the cooling coil loses its effect with no load..starts to ice up then the unit will (compressor) shut off..and swing to cooling mode to defrost the outside..during this mode you have elecrtic resistqnce heat to temper the inside air..not to efficent for NY.so rule of thumb anything outside below 30F outside you start to run resistance heat like a toaster element
Definitely do the research. Lots of outdated info on sites, including govt DOE ones. Mitsubishi (http://www[dot]mehvac.com/UploadedFiles/Resource/H2i_brochure.pdf) shows 100% efficiency down to 5deg which is below the minimum expected in NYC, and 75% at -10! Sanyo and Daikin also make systems which work down to 10. There are even better performing ones (Acadia?) but will be very expensive.
They are very rare in BK so you’ll be a pioneer. Make sure service is easily arranged through the installer.
If you do install one, can you post your experience later?
I had one in Canberra years ago. While Canberra is relatively cold for Australia, its winters are nothing like NYC’s. In winter in Canberra it worked well at providing heat, however, the outside temperature in Canberra rarely gets below -10C (14F) and usually in winter the night time minimum is around -5 (23F) and daytime maximum 7C (44F). Heat pumps work by exchanging heat in one place for cold in another. So systems that work only in air exchange the cold indoor heat for warmth outside (for indoor heating, vice versa for cooling). There is not much, if any, ambient heat outdoors in a NY winter, so I would do plenty of independent research before buying one of these units. Do not rely on statements made by salespersons, they are likely to stretch the truth to make a sale. They will tell you that technology has improved over they years, and it has, but no ambient heat to use as a heat source is no ambient heat. It might be worth checking the US Department of Energy’s website, or a NYS government website (not sure which one). If the heat pump has a good heat source/sink they are exceptionally efficient at heating and cooling and very cost effective.
In a lot of places in North America, these systems use ground heat as the heat source and sink rather than ambient heat in the air. If you go down about 10 feet, the ground has a pretty constant temperature and can be used as a heat source/sink all year round.