Minisplits for heat/AC rental apartments instead of steam?

Beware also contributing greatly to the problem could be uninsulated walls and cracks where tons of cold air is coming in. Until we redid our facade, we had this problem in select spots at the rear of the house, and it was frankly impossible to keep certain rooms or parts of rooms at an acceptable temperature — they would either be too cold or too hot and/or the other rooms would be too hot. Usually the main culprit is empty cavities around and under the windows. At the very least, caulk all the cracks you can find (baseboards, wood paneling, window trim, etc.) As to the minisplit question, even with the hyperheat and a system that can perform in extreme cold, radiator heat is always better than forced air in my experience because the metal holds the heat for a long time even when the heat turns off, whereas forced air is either off and cold or blasting and hot, plus it is dry and very expensive. Another option is to keep the radiator system and add minisplits and let the renters pay for the added ac/heat if they want it.

cate

in Heating and Cooling 5 years and 11 months ago

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Guest User | 5 years and 11 months ago

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The building has a steam heat system which has very uneven heat despite visits from a couple of different steam specialists as well as other plumbers trying to balance it. We’ve added main venting, tweaked radiator vents, adding vaporstat, etc.
6 apartments total and two are vacant and are long overdue for a major renovation.
Any thoughts on removing the radiators in those 2 apartments and just putting in minisplits for AC and heat? It’s costly upfront but figured AC would be a nice perk for renters and then the heat would allow them to have control (and also pay) for their own heat which might be nice in what could be an unevenly heated apartment. I just hate to have complaints about a wonky steam system when I’ve tried lots of things to get it right. And it would be the hyper heat option so should be good in cold winter.
I know renters usually don’t want to pay for their own heat, so not sure how this affects things.
It’s not the best option since we still will need to keep the steam boiler for all the other apartments, so we’re still going to be paying for tenan ts’ heat in some apartments.
Any thoughts on this as a renter or landlord? Do mini splits for heat and AC make sense in this situation?
Thanks for your thoughts.

eman134 | 5 years and 11 months ago

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I’m a heating tech specializing in steam and hydronic gas fired systems, but contrary to a lot of my previous posts has recently started installing mitsubishi with hyperheat systems due to natgrid’s antics … you need a dedicated 30 to 50 amp circuit from the apartment panel to the condensing unit….. if your service can support that then it is a possible solution. If the units are sandwiched between steam heated apartments you should have no problem meeting heat requirements. However eliminating the radiators will also change the dynamics of the system requiring tweaking the vents yet again.You can email me at errol832000@hotmail.com if you want me to take a look

hkapstein | 5 years and 11 months ago

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Minisplits don’t have a great reputation for primary heat. In cold weather the outdoor unit will have to go through defrost cycles and air condition the house, which might generate complaints. I’d consider getting the system designed by an engineer who can size it properly and make sure your expectations are met. I’d guess that costs around 1500 bucks. Also, it’s probably a safe bet that the tenants will not run the system at all when they go out of town for the holidays, so make sure that it won’t get cold enough in the apt to do any damage. The electric cost of the minisplit will probably not please the tenant who is used to having a fixed monthly rent and might now get hit with a big electric bill in the winter even though you adjusted the rent for this. The cost of running the minisplit heat will probably be greater than the cost of operating the radiators, and you’ll have to adjust the rent accordingly. But if you really can’t make the steam system work, maybe this would work better for you.

resident2 | 5 years and 11 months ago

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A six family: Rent Stabilized? If not were they properly registered as not stabilized? And accepted by DHCR?
If they are rent stabilized you will need to apply for a change of services, the base rent will go DOWN because you are no longer providing heat .
You will open yourself up to future tenants challenging the rent, the service etc.
I would continue to get the radiator sizing & balancing straight, if I was you. Especially as now you cannot even get your MCI increases easily.
Wait until the Courts have got the MCI issue straight and work on planning to change the whole system as a building wide Capital Improvement. It might take a few years, but that is better than opening a can worms now that may well cause other problems.

Guest User | 5 years and 11 months ago

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Actually both are top floor apartments.

eman134 | 5 years and 11 months ago

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tee in another vent at the top of each riser…that should get the steam to the top floor

Master Plvmber | 5 years and 11 months ago

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Burnttoast,
Was I at your place for an Evaluation of your system? I haven’t heard back from anyone this year saying they needed a follow-up visit. My clients know I tend to take a phased approach to bringing noises, balance, and efficiency issues to resolution. At some point, acceptable functionality is reached and the spending can stop. I’m around. www.72Fmechanical.com