[wolfgang953]

Well i guess before i can know how likely screwed i am cost wise.. i should probably see what the cost of the right kind of mini split ac system is. I dont really know much about them as iv never had one. Only what i read about them from a few guides just a little bit ago. So figured id ask for some help in narrowing down the best units/models for this situation.


Im looking to cool a room in the basement. The room is for my animals that must be kept cool. temps at 75f+ can be fatal for some. They are fine in the winter so i dont really need/care about heat from the unit. The basement rooms wall are insulated, but not the ceiling. The floor is jsut the normal concrete floor or the basement.



The room is currently 20'x15'x 7'8"H

Do to other circumstances, the room was built in a bit from the cinder block foundation wall on two sides. So if those issues were ever taken care of and the walls moved against the cinder blocks, id be looking at room dimensions of 22.5' x 17' x 7'8"


Its jsut one room im concerned about with now. (my bedroom is usually around 90... but ill manage -_-) Just need to take care of the animals now. So im guessing the system would be a 1-zone. Probably Wall Mounted.


Its a basement room so its not getting a lot of direct sunlight in there.





This is the overall current layout of the room with the portable AC unit iv been using that is connected to vents that go outside. And that section where those intake/extake vents are is the only part of this room that be accessed from outside to run lines or ducts. So there is a bit of distance there.

I will also have two dehumidifiers running in the room as well. And they can put out a little bit of heat.


So to sum up what im guessing at

1 zone, probably wall mounted, cooling, dont care about heat.

22.5' x 17' x 7'8"
basement room walls insulated. Ceiling is not. Room does not get much direct sunlight since its in the basement. Will have two dehumidifiers running.




Two features that would be nice to have if possible..

An auto turn on. Should the power go out and then come back on, it would be nice to have the unit start back up automatically.



And second some kind of wifi or mobile app thing so i can check the rooms temp while im away from the house and make sure the system is on and running.



(Power outages are a constant worry with animals that must be kept cool. Makes having to go out anywhere feel like a possible death sentence at times. Or cooling systems that fail or arnt cooling well enough. Its a constant state of worry.) - Not sure if mini splits come with these two features normally or not. Back when i last bought my ac units this type of stuff didnt exist for the most part.



So any suggestions or insight would be welcomed as iv never dealt with mini splits before.

Thank you!

 

[beenthere]

Well, what kind of animals?
How many animals?
Any fresh air concerns for these animals?

 

[beenthere]

Some of the higher end mini's can have a hard wired thermostat and be connected to the wifi.

 

[wolfgang953]

Well, what kind of animals?
How many animals?
Any fresh air concerns for these animals?

At the moment, 7 chinchillas. Most of which are owner surrenders to me. While im not looking for more, they seem to find me now and then. So the number is subject to change.



Atm there hasnt been fresh air concerns because the one portable ac unit i currently uses brings in air from the outside to use. If that were shut off then there wouldnt really be a source of new air. - But the chins must be kept cool at all times. So its not like i could really just open a window for them in the summer anyway.

 

[beenthere]

The 2 port portables use the outside air of the condenser only. Not for a fresh air source for the room.


Chin heat output is very low. So the A/C can be sized more to the room, than to the number of them. The 2 dehumidifiers will produce a good amount of heat though.


An inverter 12,000 BTU mini should be plenty though for your basement and 2 dehumidifiers.

 

[wolfgang953]

are there any types or brands or companies or anythign else that are better or worse? Iv never used a mini split before and considering the implications of getting a crappy one, id rather try and make sure its a quality unit/company.

 

[Porsche986S]

are there any types or brands or companies or anythign else that are better or worse? Iv never used a mini split before and considering the implications of getting a crappy one, id rather try and make sure its a quality unit/company.

Generally speaking Mitsubishi and Fujitsu are considered among the best . I have had two Mitsubishi's and they have been fantastic . But they are also $$$ .

 

[wolfgang953]

other then the wireless/app feature, im not sure what the difference is between a lot of these models when i do a search. Some are $600-700, other $1200~, and some closer to 2k. Its a hell of a difference price wise.


Im also noticing that most of the sites/stores dont offer an instillation of these units.

 

[wolfgang953]

the portable ac was at its limit yesterday it would seem. Granted it was hot and humid. But the ac unit was just able to keep up with keeping the basement room cool on its own. But if i turned the dehumidifier on, the ac wasnt able to keep up with the heat form the weather and the heat form the dehumidifier. Thats the first time in a year that that has happened.



Guess i really need to figure this mini split ac system stuff out soon.

 

[wolfgang953]

damn.. got my first two estimates for a system in a single room. First guy was estimating 4k, second guy estimating 3k. Still have a third one coming out. Both the first two use Mitsubishi. Im still waiting on the emails with the details. But the second guy was saying a 9k btu system would be more then enough for that room. Which would be an odd concept to get used to since in the past iv had 12k window units that couldnt keep up (different house/different conditions) and the 12k portable ac is having issues keeping up with the dehumidifier on now. So if hes telling the truth, thats quite an efficiency difference.