Mini-split install
 

I need to have a mini-split installed on my lanai, any recommendations are appreciated.

I had one installed in my garage and priced out many but went with Munns as they did our home AC. Great job, runs and looks great!

Munns did our lanai and garage. Pleased with their work and the results.

M&S Air Conditioning (352) 314-5004

Kalos did our lanai and garage. Excellent price and superb installation. 352-243-7099

Kalos did mine as well, 24,000 BTU split price was less than $4,700 (2021) .Cheapest around. At that time Munns was $5,500. Sun Kool was $6,000.

Did a great job

Kalos Services did a great job for us two months ago.

Split Lanai A/C
 

Used Kalos two years ago for our lanai, very satisfied & best price at the time. Put a ceiling mount in, a few dollars more but looks/works great.

Sun kool installed mine and was almost $1000 cheaper than others mentioned here. I also put the nicer unit in which goes in the ceiling so you don’t see that huge box on the wall, all you see is a grate in the ceiling. Also, you can get these so they aren’t recorded on you property taxes.

If you do get a mini split system, get rid of that junk remote that controls it. Get a smart thermostat for $100 that comes with a 5” screen and you can program cool/heat cycles, schedules, humidity cycles, etc. Acts just like your ecobee or nest. You can also control it from your phone/tablet.

We use Munn's for installation of our mini-split and maintenance of both systems. They are honest and trustworthy.

Two year ago we used Kalos and they were great. We installed Carrier unit in ceiling.

Went with Kalos because they gave me the best price for a ceiling mount Mitsubishi. Love it. Their people were terrific.

We had our Mitsubishi Mini-Split installed by Kalos earlier this year. We were satisfied with the work. Would also consider M&S. Kalos was a little cheaper. We had a ceiling cassette installed instead of the traditional wall mounted unit. Highly recommend the ceiling cassette, it blends into the ceiling and most people don't even know it is there. Would also recommend looking into Sensibo. It is a small app driven device which allows you to control the unit remotely and via Alexa. It can be self-installed anytime after the unit is installed. Lastly, we purchased our mini-split as we were enclosing our Lanai. Have only used it several times since the beginning of the year. Not sure how necessary it is, but the worst of summer heat isn't here yet.

Be fore warned if you choose a Mitsubishi system and your sold the Kumo Cloud Wi-Fi remote, the Kumo Cloud has been on a national back order. The good news is there is another option to add a Wi-Fi to your mini split system and it’s called Sensibo. Super easy to install and seems to work perfectly. It’s also compatible with many systems that use a remote.

Update: the Kumo Cloud is now back in stock as of July 2023. I’ve had mine up and running for a few weeks now and like it better than Sensibo.

Whoever you go with to install it, make sure you get the Mitsubishi brand … it’s the best!

Before you go the split route, have you checked to see if your house unit has the capacity to cool the lanai? Sun Kool tried selling us a split, but I asked about tapping into the duct work from the house. They tried talking me out of it, but eventually admitted it could be done. Split would’ve been $5000+. Tapping in, adding vent in lanai, and insulating above was $850. We enjoy our lanai every day of the year. This was pre-Covid, so I’m sure prices are up, but it’s worth asking the question.

For the owner who tied your lanai into your existing heating/cooling system, the company that did this is supposed to report this to the county so they can raise your taxes. I looked into this myself and found 2 issues: they report this to the county so taxes will go up and 2) most systems installed in the villages are under powered. If you look at any of the sizing charts for hvac units for the sq foot size of your house, your hvac unit undersized by a minimum of 1/2 - 1 ton. Then you try to add another few hundred of sq feet to the hvac’s coverage, you will be over running the hvac system. I had multiple vendors come out to look at doing this to my system and they each told me this and did some searching on the web and we are undersized. The main reason builders/hvac installers do this is to let the hvac system run a little longer to get rid of the humidity in the house.

Now for the facts of using my enclosed lanai 1 summer without a mini split and now months of hot weather with a mini split: my lanai is much cooler with the mini split and since my house doesn’t over work to cool an additional 350 sq ft, my overall electric bill is lower.

We love our ceiling mount units from Kalos. 👍🏻

We’ve had our mini-splits running since installation 2 months ago when our lanai was glassed in. We set them at 75, and our home at 72-73. If hubs thinks it’s too cold in the house he just goes out to the lanai to warm up. I’m never cold, lol. We have one in the garage too, also set at 75.

Because of our room/ceiling configuration, Kalos installed a wall unit and it works as well today as it did two years ago. We had originally wanted to tie the whole house air system into our sunroom via a duct but we're told the home system would work on overdrive and it wasn't legal. We're happy with the mini split and it does not add a lot to the electric bill.

Mini splits
 

Hey all ...renting there in aug until we buy/build there..when the chat here goes to "doing your garage" does that mean putting a mini split inside your garage to keep it cool ? Forgive my northern thought process...should be losing that soon.thanks

Yes a split in the garage will help if you plan on using for workout equipment, or hobbies. If your garage door gets full sun, it’s worth it.

Mini split
 

Thank you

We used Sunshine, not SunKool - they were competitive and great to work with. Plus, they responded previously same day versus two days out for a no cool breakdown - so some loyalty on our part. Very clean installation. Went with the Mitsubishi ceiling cassette. A little more pricey but unobtrusive.