Timeline for Can I use an overpowered mini split to rapidly cool a space?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
11 events
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| Dec 22, 2023 at 6:54 | comment | added | KMJ | Weird. I was using the H2i MSZ units and got different results. But then, I was using it when it was fairly hot, so Dry was certainly cooling the room less overall than auto cool would have been. | |
| Dec 22, 2023 at 2:09 | comment | added | Ecnerwal | Mitsubishi Hi2 (Hyperheat) (cooling is rarely much of an issue. They are all about heat, for my location, and the A/C and Dry are rarely used at all, other than I do try to make sure the compressors run at least once a month in the off-season, and for the very occasional really hot weather it's nice to have that available. Letting it autospeed on cool was 2-3 times less power than running it on dry, as best I recall the experiment. | |
| Dec 21, 2023 at 22:15 | comment | added | KMJ | @Ecnerwal which brand? The Mitsubishi MSZ units I've used had pretty low power draw once they settled down in Dry mode. The overall sensible efficiency isn't optimized of course, because it's favoring latent efficiency. | |
| Dec 21, 2023 at 22:10 | history | edited | KMJ | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Pulling in another comment.
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| Dec 21, 2023 at 22:09 | comment | added | KMJ | I don't love my answer either. I was focusing on the core of 'will this work?' and sticking with 'yes but maybe it isn't smart' and expanding that. The nuance of human comfort could be a hundred questions here. I did fold some of my comments in to the answer as well, to expand it. | |
| Dec 21, 2023 at 19:26 | comment | added | Makyen | Thanks for making the edit. I've deleted my comment, as you've effectively covered the issue. Unfortunately, I can't help with the downvote, as it's not mine and don't know what the objection is. I haven't upvoted, because I'm unsure about all parts of your answer. In general, human comfort in a space will be complex and depend on multiple factors (at least temperature, humidity, and air flow over the human(s)). For example, just a fan blowing air might result in the human feeling adequately cool through sweat evaporation, even though running the fan increases the heat-energy in the room. | |
| Dec 21, 2023 at 19:04 | history | edited | KMJ | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Nuance
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| Dec 21, 2023 at 13:59 | comment | added | Ecnerwal | Dry mode is actually a bit of an energy hog, as it runs the AC at full power (most minisplits are variable-speed compressors that are more efficient at less than maximum load) and the fan slower. I ran a test run on my building with mini-splits in dry mode and in cool mode and the power consumption was considerably more in dry mode. | |
| Dec 21, 2023 at 6:55 | comment | added | zed | I will definitely look more into dehumidification. I’m curious if I get the small 9k unit, the math says it would get to temp in 6 minutes, is that enough time to dehumidify? Maybe I should be looking for the units that dehumidify fastest instead of caring so much about BTU. | |
| Dec 21, 2023 at 6:48 | comment | added | zed | Thanks for the thoughtful answer. One thing I wanted to clarify. My motivation to get a larger unit is not to save energy by reducing how long the unit takes to reach the set point. It’s to get more convenient on-demand usage of the gym. My schedule is unpredictable, and what I’m optimizing for is a quick response time between when I decide to work out and when the gym is at temp. Energy saving is part of my overall goal (not keeping the gym air conditioned 24/7), but I am not super concerned about the difference in energy use between the large and small unit. | |
| Dec 21, 2023 at 6:12 | history | answered | KMJ | CC BY-SA 4.0 |