[RickeyD]

Originally Posted by jimbo2012

Correct
Who cares about the warranty, I can buy 4 of them and still be ahead, those units are bullet proof, and only one end goes bad if ever and that's $600.



If you knew of what I did as a DIY, you wouldn't ask



.

I would agree with that. Although if there is a problem an error code will pop up indicating an air handler or condensing unit issue, typically a bad sensor or whatever. Parts aren't that expensive. The tech support line can also help out and give you the P/N of the failed device. Lot cheaper then replacing the entire unit.

[VillagerNut]

Originally Posted by jnieman

We had our 15x20 lanai enclosed 6 months ago. It added 230 sq ft of living space. I wanted to add air right away but we waited. I'm glad we did. Although the heating company told us our house AC couldn't handle the new space, they wanted to sell us the Mitsubicci unit for $2800. So far we have no issues heating or cooling the space and all we did is open the slider. We might put in some ducts from our current unit but you might want to wait and see if you really need the unit before spending the money. Once the heat turns up to 94 every day we might change our minds but so far, so good. We do have the low-E tinted windows.

You may figure out why you needed to separate air conditioner unit when you kill your existing air conditioner unit. Opening the door after adding that much square footage is overworking your unit and will decrease its life. That's why it is highly advised to have a split system or a stand on the ground air-conditioner unit instead of opening the door and letting your existing air handler and air conditioner handle the extra square footage. When you replace your air conditioner then you can size it larger to handle the additional square footage and drop the extra ductwork in to the room. But it is your choice!

[RickeyD]

Originally Posted by VillagerNut

You may figure out why you needed to separate air conditioner unit when you kill your existing air conditioner unit. Opening the door after adding that much square footage is overworking your unit and will decrease its life. That's why it is highly advised to have a split system or a stand on the ground air-conditioner unit instead of opening the door and letting your existing air handler and air conditioner handle the extra square footage. When you replace your air conditioner then you can size it larger to handle the additional square footage and drop the extra ductwork in to the room. But it is your choice!

A mechanical device is not human or animal. It has no sense of self or knowledge of being overworked. It will either bring the space temperature down or up or not. It will not die prematurely, it will simply do work.

[jimbo2012]

perfect answer

[tuccillo]

All square footage is not the same. The heat load on the additional space is a function of the orientation of the space (east, west, north, south), the amount of window area, the types of windows, whether you have shade from trees, insulation values of the walls and celiing, etc. Also, if the net effect of opening the sliders is longer runtimes for the AC this is not necessarily a bad thing. ACs work more efficiently when they have longer runtimes during the hottest part of the day instead of cycling on and off multiple times per hour. It is possible that your system is oversized enough to handle the additional space despite that the fact that is was sized by the required heat load calculation (aka Manual J).

If you only see longer runtimes during the hottest part of the summer then you might be OK. If the new space faces to the northeast this is more likely than if it faces to the southwest. If you see continuous running and the AC can not maintain the temperature you have set on the thermostat (say it is several degrees warmer than you want), then you may want to consider adding a minisplit system as you don't have enough capacity to handle the new space.

Originally Posted by VillagerNut

You may figure out why you needed to separate air conditioner unit when you kill your existing air conditioner unit. Opening the door after adding that much square footage is overworking your unit and will decrease its life. That's why it is highly advised to have a split system or a stand on the ground air-conditioner unit instead of opening the door and letting your existing air handler and air conditioner handle the extra square footage. When you replace your air conditioner then you can size it larger to handle the additional square footage and drop the extra ductwork in to the room. But it is your choice!

[RickeyD]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

All square footage is not the same. The heat load on the additional space is a function of the orientation of the space (east, west, north, south), the amount of window area, the types of windows, whether you have shade from trees, insulation values of the walls and celiing, etc. Also, if the net effect of opening the sliders is longer runtimes for the AC this is not necessarily a bad thing. ACs work more efficiently when they have longer runtimes during the hottest part of the day instead of cycling on and off multiple times per hour. It is possible that your system is oversized enough to handle the additional space despite that the fact that is was sized by the required heat load calculation (aka Manual J).

If you only see longer runtimes during the hottest part of the summer then you might be OK. If the new space faces to the northeast this is more likely than if it faces to the southwest. If you see continuous running and the AC can not maintain the temperature you have set on the thermostat (say it is several degrees warmer than you want), then you may want to consider adding a minisplit system as you don't have enough capacity to handle the new space.

We all get it. Point is this. Lanai gets inclosed, sliders get opened. If it works, great, you beat the system, money saved. If not, add a ton or so of Mitsubishi, won't disturb the new work, all is now good.

[tuccillo]

Actually I don't think everyone does, which is why some explanation is usually worthwhile. If you understood it previously then good for you. In that case, the post wasn't targeted for you.

Originally Posted by RickeyD

We all get it. Point is this. Lanai gets inclosed, sliders get opened. If it works, great, you beat the system, money saved. If not, add a ton or so of Mitsubishi, won't disturb the new work, all is now good.

[RickeyD]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

Actually I don't think everyone does, which is why some explanation is usually worthwhile. If you understood it previously then good for you. In that case, the post wasn't targeted for you.

Brevity is the soul of wit.

[tuccillo]

Silence is golden.

Originally Posted by RickeyD

Brevity is the soul of wit.

[RickeyD]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

Silence is golden.

[emoji851]