HVAC recommendation?

[nwdiver]

We have a Mitsubishi multi-split system that we really like. Very efficient, and super quiet in operation. No issues with running in generator backup because like all scrolling inverter systems it starts slowly and doesn't need soft start capacitors etc... I think there are offers available now due to the recent infrastructure bill passage, and I don't know about others, but the Mitsubishi systems have an excellent track record for reliability.

The rest of the world has been using them for a long time and the bugs have really been worked out.

Any motor >200w should really be inverter driven. Always think it's funny how my lights flicker more when my fridge cycles than when my HVAC cycles. I installed a 2 ton LG ~10 years ago and I've had no issues. It's been great.

 

[Vines]

We are also in a fairly quiet area; for us, 64dB is a nonstarter and 20dB would be wonderful!

All the best,

BG

I wonder what portion of the cycle, is the EG4 loud and how bad is it really? I still can see this being a nice little solution for someone to lower their AC bills. I looked at a youtube video and it was louder than the Bosch, but hard to tell how much.

The Bosch seem to be among the quietest I have found.

 

[wwu123]

I wonder what portion of the cycle, is the EG4 loud and how bad is it really? I still can see this being a nice little solution for someone to lower their AC bills. I looked at a youtube video and it was louder than the Bosch, but hard to tell how much.

The Bosch seem to be among the quietest I have found.

Is the 20dB on the Bosch for the indoor unit or the outdoor unit? That sounds amazingly whisper-quiet for the outdoor compressor and fan.

I only ask as I've been casually exploring heat pump options for my own house, and knowing that Vines is a trade professional, your words carry a lot of weight! The brochure for the Climate 5000 here:

Climate 5000 Ductless System | Air-to-Air Heat Pump Systems | Heat Pump & Air Conditioning Systems | Products | Residential

says as low as 53 dB for the outdoor unit, as low as 23 dB for the indoor unit, and the Engineering sheet for the various outdoor units suggest more like 60dB for them.

I'm more interested in the inverter central-ducted BOVA/BOVB units myself, but any positives on their mini-splits can only reflect well on their ducted units....

 

[Vines]

Is the 20dB on the Bosch for the indoor unit or the outdoor unit? That sounds amazingly whisper-quiet for the outdoor compressor and fan.

I only ask as I've been casually exploring heat pump options for my own house, and knowing that Vines is a trade professional, your words carry a lot of weight! The brochure for the Climate 5000 here:

Climate 5000 Ductless System | Air-to-Air Heat Pump Systems | Heat Pump & Air Conditioning Systems | Products | Residential

says as low as 53 dB for the outdoor unit, as low as 23 dB for the indoor unit, and the Engineering sheet for the various outdoor units suggest more like 60dB for them.

I'm more interested in the inverter central-ducted BOVA/BOVB units myself, but any positives on their mini-splits can only reflect well on their ducted units....

Wow, you bring up a good point and I might have been duped by the home depot website specifications.

I just called in to Bosch tech support to figure out what is going on. Home depot website specifications looks like this:

But then when I just now dig in deeper it doesnt look great:

Unfortunately, tech support is already closed so I cannot get any direct answers. I will update tomorrow

 

[Vines]

I just found this noise level comparison which seems to claim the MRCool is actually the quietest lol.

3 Quietest Mini Split AC Units For Bedroom (Below 39.5 dB Noise)

I guess I should have done even more research lol. At least home depot returns are easy if it comes to that.

 

[zƬesla]

Not sure the specs off-hand, but I find my Mitsubishi Mr. Slim indoor (5) / outdoor (2) units to be pretty quiet most of the time. There's occasional ramp up in noise but nothing that really disturbs us and I'm fairly noise sensitive.

 

[BGbreeder]

Wow, you bring up a good point and I might have been duped by the home depot website specifications.

I just called in to Bosch tech support to figure out what is going on. Home depot website specifications looks like this:
View attachment 882869
But then when I just now dig in deeper it doesnt look great:
View attachment 882871

Unfortunately, tech support is already closed so I cannot get any direct answers. I will update tomorrow

I admit that I get misled by derivative websites like Amazon and Home Depot all the time. It is annoying that their data isn't accurate.

I'm afraid @Vines that it doesn't look good as @wwu123 points out the spec sheets point to an over 60dB outside compressor, which is quiet, but not 20dB.

All the best,

BG

 

[Vines]

I admit that I get misled by derivative websites like Amazon and Home Depot all the time. It is annoying that their data isn't accurate.

I'm afraid @Vines that it doesn't look good as @wwu123 points out the spec sheets point to an over 60dB outside compressor, which is quiet, but not 20dB.

All the best,

BG

Agreed, and as I keep looking I see this information is wrong everywhere. I am not sure where to get good information except from individual manufacturers.

 

[mswlogo]

I just found this noise level comparison which seems to claim the MRCool is actually the quietest lol.

3 Quietest Mini Split AC Units For Bedroom (Below 39.5 dB Noise)

I guess I should have done even more research lol. At least home depot returns are easy if it comes to that.

MrCool is a Chinese rebrand. I had the exact same unit but a different brand. Only thing different with MrCool is the lines are precharted quick connect. Unit ran great for AC. Struggle quit a bit at 30F out. It would do a defrost cycle like every 30 minutes.

It was reasonably quiet. But would cut into natures noise. I bought and installed it for temporary use. We just finished rebuild and new house is on GeoThermal. Now I need to get the Solar.

WaterFurnace is the best you can do for Solar. Can’t hear it inside or out and is super efficient winter and summer. But cost a fortune.

 

[Laketime]

I admit that I get misled by derivative websites like Amazon and Home Depot all the time. It is annoying that their data isn't accurate.

I'm afraid @Vines that it doesn't look good as @wwu123 points out the spec sheets point to an over 60dB outside compressor, which is quiet, but not 20dB.

All the best,

BG

My Bosch compressor is rated at 56db which I believe is good up to the 5 ton units (I have a 3 ton). I can say it is very quiet which is one of the reasons we purchased a new system. Being on a lake in a natural environment we need something quiet and peaceful and our previous goodman system was loud and obnoxious. 20db is extremely quiet, a whisper is 30db which is 300+% "louder" than 20db. A refrigerator running is around 50db.

 

[Vines]

I just ordered a Bosch Max Comfort 2.25 ton 3 headed minisplit for 3800 + tax. It's rated for 27k, and came with 25-foot lines, and (2) 12k and (1) 9k indoor units.

I had originally chosen a cheaper DIY model made by MRCool, that was about $700 less but then I realized that the MRCool outdoor unit was going to be 64 dba!!

Where I live, we hear no cars and only sounds of nature typically. I couldn't shatter that silence with a loud appliance. The 2 different bosch units I was looking at were either 34 dba for the normal Climate 5000 energy star, and I selected the slightly more expensive Climate 5000 Max Performance at 20 dba! That is like a whisper 5 feet away.

I will not hear the compressor unless I am standing right next to my Powerwalls.

This higher-quality unit will require commissioning, but when doing my research that's not a huge deal. I could buy the supplies and tools for $300 ish but I will probably pay a friendly tech to commission it for me.

Looking at the Solar direct unit above, I like it! I do not like that the outdoor unit might be 57 dba though. Maybe when my bosch unit dies, this technology will have matured and include multi headed mini split versions with direct solar inputs that are exceptionally quiet.

This post didn't age well lol.

Knowing what I know now, it looks like the solar powered EG4 at 57 dba is super quiet. As I learn more, decibel level is one of those measurements that doesn't make as much sense without context.

Are we talking about when fully loaded to the max rating and when heating or cooling? Are there louder cycles and quieter cycles? How far away are your sound measurements taken and at what angles? Is your rating in db or dba?

My wife and I talked and think we will probably keep this Bosch Max Comfort unit and install it.

 

[Charlesz]

I recently installed a Mitsubishi 42k btu heat pump. P series H2I hyper heat. It works great in the winter. Avg usage is about 3kwh while running.

 

[Laketime]

I recently installed a Mitsubishi 42k btu heat pump. P series H2I hyper heat. It works great in the winter. Avg usage is about 3kwh while running.

Are you sure about that 3kW reading? My 16 year old Amana 4 ton HP/AC uses around 1.9kW running in it's second stage.

 

[Ahh9oolu]

Are you sure about that 3kW reading? My 16 year old Amana 4 ton HP/AC uses around 1.9kW running in it's second stage.

Not OP, but my Mitsubishi heat pump (MXZ-8C48NA2, 54,000 BTU @ 47°F) peaks at 6.5 kW when I call on all 5 zones. The average peak with just the largest zone active is closer to 3.25 kW.

Highest peak since I started heating:

A more "normal" day. though outside highs have been cooler (mid 50s) around here lately:

 

[zƬesla]

I have 10+ year old Mitsubishi 18 and 36 outdoor units and see a max of ~4.5kWh HVAC when heating during freezing temps. Not that they can keep up that well below around 20F.

 

[Eugene Ash]

Trane xv20i heatpump. Quiet, heats and cools. Runs on an inverter, so no huge spikes. Internet connectivity and app work great. I highly recommend it.

 

[Scubamikey]

Here in calif.. i installed (ac mech) a 4 ton 17 seer system solar system and two powerwalls have no prob running the system pick a good dealer and installer you shouldnt have any problems..

I aslo have two ductless systems (1 ton) for two bedrooms. usually run those at night time why cool the whole house when sleeping.

 

[Vines]

I just completed the installation and commissioning of my Bosch Max Performance 27k btu 3 zone heat pump and I am so pumped! I really wanted it to be super quiet and I got my wish.

We cranked it up to maximum heat and then cool and the indoor unit is whisper quiet except the woosh of air. We have a 12k unit in the living room, and each of the 2 bedrooms has a 9k unit.

The outdoor compressor unit is louder, but it's about as loud as an old refrigerator. I cannot hear a whisper of it inside my house even with all the windows open, and outside I can barely hear it within 30' and only then if I have a direct line of sight. I would say it is extremely quiet and I am super pleased.

Right now temperatures are pretty mild but I am excited to see what some 100 degree heat wave summer days will look like. This winter, I can roughly compare our heating bill compared with last winter when we used all resistance element space heaters.

Home Depot had the kit with 25' insulated lines for $3800 plus tax, but I ended up with about $800 off because they were supposed to ship us a pair of 12k and a 9k indoor unit, but shipped just a single 12k and pair of 9k units.

I do wish I had a meter on that circuit alone to see exactly the monthly usage of the heat pump. I am out of channels on my e-Gauge so need a different solution.

 

[spsheridan]

I do wish I had a meter on that circuit alone to see exactly the monthly usage of the heat pump. I am out of channels on my e-Gauge so need a different solution.

Have you looked at the Sense system to monitor your heat pump circuit? It requires that you have easy access to the lines powering your heat pump in your main electrical panel. I use Sense Solar to monitor our solar generation and total consumed home power. They advertise they can also detect power consumed by individual appliances and devices in your home and that works for about 80% of our appliances. But the dedicated sensor for the solar circuit is spot on. The Sense Flex is similar to Sense Solar except the dedicated sensor is used to monitor a high-power device instead of solar.
Sense.com – The Sense Home Energy Monitor

 

[Vines]

Have you looked at the Sense system to monitor your heat pump circuit? It requires that you have easy access to the lines powering your heat pump in your main electrical panel. I use Sense Solar to monitor our solar generation and total consumed home power. They advertise they can also detect power consumed by individual appliances and devices in your home and that works for about 80% of our appliances. But the dedicated sensor for the solar circuit is spot on. The Sense Flex is similar to Sense Solar except the dedicated sensor is used to monitor a high-power device instead of solar.
Sense.com – The Sense Home Energy Monitor

I would use Emporia Vue rather than sense if I went that direction. I could do that or the right solution is to install the pro version of the eGauge with even more than my current 15 channels.