Mitsubishi system.

[DRH]

Originally Posted by Winni-Retired

I have them coming over on Tuesday to do a site walk around.

We have 1040 sq foot, single level with attic access.

I think we will need a unit in each bedroom (2) approx. 200 sq feet each and one in the living area approx. 500 sq feet.

I currently have one 22000 BTU thru the wall A/C in the living area and only ceiling fans in the bedrooms. ..... this unit is loud and consumes a lot of energy...

The heating is an oil fired monitor and electric base board

My question to you is how many BTU's did you buy for what size home and why two units and not one or three ?

Also how far from the ceiling do they install them ?

My wife is concerned about them being the new center of attention when one enters the room.

Thanks,

Winni-Retired - sorry I didn't see your post sooner.

The larger of the two units we had installed is 18K BTUs and it heats/cools an area of about 1,400 sq. ft. The smaller unit is 12K BTUs and it heats/cools an area about 900 sq. ft. The units are mounted about 4" down from the ceilings. The reason we bought two units is that the larger one is for the first floor and the other one is for the second floor. On the first floor we are only heating/cooling the main living areas. The second floor is one mostly-open room.

What color are your walls? If they are painted a light color the units, being an off-white, probably won't be too noticeable. We have knotty-pine walls on the first floor so that unit is a bit conspicuous, but we've gotten used to it quickly and it isn't objectionable.

Speaking of ceilings, the height of your ceilings will affect not only how the units look in your house, but the size in BTUs you will need, since the cooling/heating requirement is based on the volume of your rooms, not just the area.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like any further info, although by now the HEP guy(s) will probably have answered all your questions. How did their visit go yesterday?

[KDL]

I installed an 18,000 BTU unit last year to heat a new 2 car garage. The ability to cool was a bonus. Can't say enough good things about them. Worked well even down below zero. I only wish I had them installed in our house. Maybe next year.

[First Mate]

Thanks for all the info in this thread, it helped me make the decision to install a 12K unit a few weeks ago. Our old existing propane heater hangs below the floor and is not to code, but I knew that when I bought the place a year ago. I was headed for replacement with a Rinnai but I know its drawbacks, I've had one in my bedroom at home for 10+ years.

Since it's our first year in this camp I don't have a fuel usage history, but NHEC still allowed the rebate--very happy about that. Because of the rebate the price was comparable to the Rinnai and I gained an AC unit in the process!

I have been using it for heat only thus far, it's very quiet and does a good job. I think it could have been sited better for heating (it was not Steve) but I need to play with the controls. Visually it is in the best spot--which was my concern when we planned it--but I wasn't aware that when it is set for heat the vanes automatically point straight down. There is shelving on the wall that's 8" below the unit that gets plenty warm. I know I can aim them differently but there's a compromise with the "auto" function.

I kept the electric baseboards in the bedroom for budget reasons, maybe I can add one there next year as well.

Anyway, thanks for (unknowingly) guiding me in this direction, otherwise I would never have thought of it!

[Slickcraft]

FM, now that it is used only for heat in the fall, manually set the vanes higher rather than set on auto. You can leave it that way until next July.
We were going to get the 12,000 but the higher rebate for the 15,000 paid for the difference.

[tummyman]

Home Energy finished my Mitsubishi Mini Split installation Wednesday, as part of installing systems for three homes on our street this week. We couldn't be more pleased with the quality of work from Home Energy and their people. In our home, we have one 36K outside unit supplying four indoor units.....one 18K BTU floor unit on the first floor and there 6K wall units in bedrooms on the second floor. We are amazed at how quiet these things are. The installation was not easy...through a crawl space, into closet walls, and through the attic for the second floor units. The installation team was neat, very professional, and a pleasure to have in our home. People cannot go wrong with hiring the team of Home Energy !!! Excellent work and a great product !!!

[Fargo]

Any winter results on the performance of the heat pumps mentioned above? Just signed a contract with Home Energy today due to yesterday's heat wave.

[pjard]

They did GREAT. I would guess they worked all the way down to the teens, maybe lower. I couldn't be more please with the winter benefits of the systems.

[DRH]

Originally Posted by Fargo

Any winter results on the performance of the heat pumps mentioned above? Just signed a contract with Home Energy today due to yesterday's heat wave.

We just experienced our first winter using two Mitsubishi Mini-Split heat pump units that we had installed last August. The two units perform exceptionally well, and as advertised they produced abundant heat even when the outdoor temps. were in the single digits.

It's hard to state precisely how much our monthly electric bills rose due just to the heat pumps (primarily since we also have two dock ice-eaters running during the winter months as well), but I would estimate the two Mini-Split units increased our monthly electric bill somewhere between $125 - $150 during January and February, and slightly less than that in March.

We do have several smaller areas of our home that continue to require heat from our oil-fired boiler, but this past winter we used about 60% less heating oil than we did the previous winter (which was not nearly as cold or long). So the Mitsubishi units definitely saved us quite a bit of money compared to when we heated solely with oil.

All in all, we are completely satisfied with the Mitsubishi heat pumps.

[tummyman]

I have had almost zero oil usage all winter from my prior system. Mitsubishi's performed flawlessly. I set my oil system to 50 and the Mitsubishi's to 60. Only on a very few very cold nights below zero did I see my oil system run. The following data might be useful.....

Below is the daily KWH consumption...this year vs. last.
Nov 5, 2012 6.933 Nov 5, 2013 8.286
Dec 5, 2012 3.364 Dec 9, 2013 33.118
Jan 5, 2013 3.567 Jan 9, 2014 53.968
Feb 5, 2013 4.333 Feb 10, 2014 49.219
Mar 5, 2013 3.750 Mar 10, 2014 51.036
Apr 5, 2013 3.452 Apr 8, 2014 47.034

Electricity cost increases......based on daily KWH demand & days n billing cycle
Nov. '13 $5.05 (low...system installed Oct. 30)
Dec. '13 $134.80
Jan. '14 $208.19
Feb. "14 $191.39
Mar. '14 $176.42
Apr. '14 $168.42
Total = $884.27 cost increase for electricity. If I divide this by the average cost of oil of about $3.79/gallon, I get 233 gallons of oil equivalent for the increased cost of electricity. Last year, I bought 328 gallons of oil during the same period for a WARMER winter. So I guesstimate my savings are in a range of about 25-30% less EQUIVALENT oil usage.....not bad in a very cold winter. My house is over 2000 sq. ft with excellent insulation, great windows, and a fairly new three pass heating system (8 years old and it sipped oil). Saving about 100 gallons of oil per season isn't bad, but the payback does take a while. Remember, my prior system was very efficient. But the benefits are hard to refute. Our system was installed for the AC benefits and the heat pump benefits were a lucky strike extra. Top notch system installed by top notch team from Home Energy.

[RLW]

I think you will find that all the systems like Panasonic, Samsung, Mitsubishi's and all the many other brands perform the exact same. I know my Panasonic works just as good as everyone here is saying about the Mitsubishi. I think that the inverter systems work great. I have 2 units one upstairs and one down that produce 24K BTU each enough to do both floors and boy do they keep the humidity down during the muggy season.

[dt5150]

we could use one in our current house.. had one in my old house years ago, a/c only, no heat pump. loved it during the summer. i want to get some for our current house but can't cough up the $ out of pocket, and apparenly home energy products doesn't offer financing anymore. bummer..

[kauriel]

If anyone in MA is interested in mini-splits/heat pumps there is a rebate program that will be available this summer through August 31, 2014 or when funding runs out, whichever comes first. Rebates of up to $6250 are available for the air source heat pumps (ductless mini-splits) or up to $10,000 for ground source heat pumps. Mitsubishi is one of 3 participating dealers for the air source heat pump program. http://www.masscec.com/programs/comm...ng-and-cooling

[SteveO123]

We just had 5 (yup 5) of the Mr. Slim Hyper Heat Pump units installed at the Lake. One vendor recommended a single condenser with 5 zones, but we went with Home Energy Products' recommendation for individual condenser/inside pairs. Efficiency is off the charts for these (SEER of 26!) and they will heat at 100% capacity all the way down to 5 degrees F, then at 70% down to -13F.

The multi-zone unit was far less efficient, and we also qualified for 5 of the $500 NH Saves rebates! The systems were installed very professionally, and the HEP crew worked with me to find the most unobtrusive places to run the lines up the house and site the condensers.

I couldn't be happier. HEP's price was far cheaper (read THOUSANDS) than the others, and their system even included remote thermostats and the internet gateways so I can control them from my phone. (Did I mention an additional $200 rebate for the internet thermostats?)

We should be saving big bucks from here. I wholeheartedly recommend you talk to Josh and Steve at Home Energy Products in Belmont if you are interested in these ultra-efficient units!

-SteveO

[Fargo]

Home Energy just installed two units for us. The three man crew did a fantastic job installing them. Couldn't ask for more pleasant people to be working in our home. The place is cleaner now then when they arrived. Very impressed.

[Fargo]

Just received our electric bill. I'm estimating that it will cost just under $20 a month to run two heat pumps that keep 1600 sq ft very cool and comfortable. Just an FYI update.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Fargo

Just received our electric bill. I'm estimating that it will cost just under $20 a month to run two heat pumps that keep 1600 sq ft very cool and comfortable. Just an FYI update.

Yup, that sounds about in the ballpark of what I figured...

Dan

[SteveO123]

Like hotcakes in this heat!

Hope this link works. (Scroll to the bottom of the page for graph of funds remaining)

http://www.nhsaves.com/save-home/sav...ating-systems/

We just got our PSNH rebates last week (about a month wait) and it looks like the funds are almost depleted! Act fast!

Stay cool..
Steve