Mini splits in 4600 sqft house?

Submitted by MsSaladJar t3_11ut2eb in Connecticut

Hi! My husband and I are closing a 4600 sqft house in CT. (Include basement and attic living area) It’s a pretty old house (1980s) and has no AC. I’m researching mini splits systems since there is no duct work in the house. I would love to hear any information regarding AC. Does anyone know an affordable installer in CT? Does anyone have experience with installing mini splits in a big house? I have no idea how much it would cost us 😫 Thank you so much!

Thanks to everyone who kindly commented! I really appreciate it 😍

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Comments

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drct2022 t1_jcptuij wrote

One of the bigger issues you’re going to face with an old house is having enough power (available room in breaker panel) for multiple units.

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HeyaShinyObject t1_jcpvamb wrote

Replying to drct2022 (#2,264,016)

You need one power feed for each condenser; the heads get their power from the condenser. A condenser can support multiple indoor heads. In our house, we have 6 heads on 2 condensers, one at each end of the house, using one 240v pairs in the panel for each.

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Devonai t1_jcpwcq4 wrote

We used Harp two summers ago, cost us $12,000 for three wall units with the option of adding a fourth. Our place is only 1500 sqft though. And as mentioned, we had to upgrade our panel first, that was another $1000 or so.

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houle333 t1_jcpxeii wrote

Bravo to whatever real estate agent convinced you that a 2300 square foot house is 4600 square feet.

I can't imagine the level of self control it took to tell you that with a straight face.

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Illustrious-Chip-245 t1_jcpzykm wrote

From what we learned it kind of depends on your floor plan. We have one 12,000 BTU unit in our downstairs (800 sq feet) and then we have 8,000 and a 6,000 BTU units in two bedrooms. One could have done the whole upstairs but we wanted the flexibility of being able to close doors if needed.

This ran us about $8-9000 last year. Ductworks was our installer and the equipment is all Carrier.

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SueBeee t1_jcq0j7u wrote

We had someone from Home Depot come in and give us an estimate for a ~3000 SF house. It was 15k, more or less.

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Bathroomtrader t1_jcqapll wrote

Get central air and have the HVAC techs run ducts down from attic to rooms on second level and run your ductwork down through upstairs closets to get to the lower level. Very simple process that can be financed and will add immediate comfort and long term value.

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agelaius9416 t1_jcqdpwr wrote

Since when is 1980s an old house in New England…

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MsSaladJar OP t1_jcqegwa wrote

Replying to houle333 (#2,264,204)

I agree with you about craziness of real estate industry! Thank you for your concern. However, we particulary choose the house because of the covered basement and liveable attic and both space have full bathrooms (we got a super good deal as well). I want to install AC in every space and that’s why I started it as 4600 sqft 😉

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silasmoeckel t1_jcqlqn9 wrote

4700 across 2 floors and 2 1.5 ton units doing rather well. Need another 1 ton for the far end of a room to keep it cool not just ok (heat gain from windows). Cost me 3k to self install so far allready had a 200a panel and a decently big solar install. Running costs for heat have been sub 300 a month.

I do have oil baseboard for the OMG cold days used maybe 100g all winter.

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Unlikely-Ad978 t1_jcqx4zj wrote

Replying to Devonai (#2,264,150)

We had HARP install 5 heads in a 3,000 square foot house with a third floor) the kitchen already had one) and it was about $25,000. We financed through the state’s Green Bank. Eversource now has really large heat pump discounts that are worth looking into. Geothermal might be your best bet if you’re willing to invest more up front.

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