Air conditioning for the workshop?

[MusicMan]

Amid the discussion of heating the workshop, nobody has mentioned using an air conditioner, either a portable type or a wall/window mounted type. They are costly new but not at all bad secondhand on ebay. The correct type will deliver both heating and cooling, and they are much cheaper to run than straight heaters. They are air-source heat pumps so are 2 - 4x more efficient (i.e. 200W power in gives 600-800 W out, because of the heat pump effect, using outside air as the source). And they give some filtration.

Has anyone tried one of these? with what success?

Keith

 

[oakfield]

I have a large portable air conditioning, dehumidifying, fan and heater unit. Unfortunately, the heater side of it isn't great. It does a reasonable job, but gets less effective the colder it is, so when you really want it to work, it doesn't work very well! Maybe a big, split unit would work better???

 

[Jim Davis]

I'm thinking about installing a mini split system in my workshop. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions?

 

[PAC1]

There was an article about them in FWW a while back. They thought that they were efficient but things are different this side of the pond. I would be worried about the humidity in the workshop and the wood.

 

[sunnybob]

Split A/C units can be set to be dehumdifiers only.
Or , with a bit of pipework, you can re route the condensate back into the room to keep the moisture levels up.

living here your life revolves around A/C units, summer AND winter. 8)

 

[sunnybob]

One important point to note if youre going to acquire bits and pieces over a period of time. A split system MUST have the two parts matched in performance! You CANNOT mix and match power ratings.
Message ends.

 

[thegsey]

-

 

[sunnybob]

A/C units are basically dehumidifers, with either hot or cold air blown into the room depending which way the gases are routed.
Standard heat in the room removes water vapour from the outside unit via a drain tube to waste.
Standard cold in the room removes condensation from the room unit via another tube to the outside waste.
This water is essentially distilled, and can be collected and used for steam irons and batteries, but not for food use.
You can set the room unit to be a dehumidifier only for unused rooms in the winter.

if you needed a particular humidity you would have to either just toggle the heat on and off, or add water vapour in the room.
many people complain of a dry throat when sleeping in air con rooms, you can get around that by leaving a large jug or bowl of open water nearby.

 

[MusicMan]

I think the comment about humidity and USA practice must have been referring to so-called 'swamp coolers' in the USA. These are cheap systems that cool by blowing air through water and evaporating it. They do increase the humidity enormously. But a/c units, as mentioned already, are also dehumidifiers.

 

[sunnybob]

I experienced the "swamp coolers" at disney in Florida. Just a 14" high speed fan with an irrigation nozzle set to fine spray directly in front of the blade. They were set up for all the queues of people waiting for a ride.

Unworkable solution indoors, you'd flood the place in UK temps