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These gradient comfort guys want $5000 for an 8000 btu unit with a total weight of $150 pounds. Compressor and heat exhaust hand outside. Evaporator and fan/con

These gradient comfort guys want $5000 for an 8000 btu unit with a total weight of $150 pounds. Compressor and heat exhaust hand outside. Evaporator and fan/control hang inside, It has a SEER rating of 10. There are dozens of minisplits for $1000 that have a SEER from 19-24. I can see no reason why a close coupled mini split with a 1" armored electrical/freon joint could not be made. This is what a gradient comfort is WTF $5000 https://www.gradientcomfort.com/products/gradient-window-heat-pump?variant=43917461127423 https://www.gradientcomfort.com/products/gradient-window-hea...

rapjr9 3y ago
This seems to be a much more reasonable unit, 10,000 BTU, does both heating and cooling via a heat pump, and it costs $700, although there are a lot of negative reviews: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZCZSSV8 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZCZSSV8 $5000 is ridiculous for the Gradient Comfort 8000BTU window unit. The Soleus is the only other heat pump window unit I've seen for sale. Midea makes some A/C's that are more efficient because they use an inverter, but they don't do heating. There seems to be a market failure here, given that a bidirectional heat pump shouldn't cost much more than an air conditioner you'd think everyone would prefer a heat pump, especially since it would lower cooling costs and can do lower cost heating in the winter. But nobody is selling them at reasonable cost and quality. They could include a heat exchanger also to bring in fresh air without losing energy. But nobody makes such a thing. Maybe the barriers to entry in this market are high for some reason? Window air conditioners have always kind of sucked (too noisy, encourage mold, uneven distribution of cold, crummy temperature control). I wonder why. It seems wrong.
- kelnos 3y ago
  It's that cheap because it's garbage. All the 1-star reviews (26% of all reviews) I looked at said various variations on the unit failing after some small number of months, and the return/replacement process is awful. Seems like the manufacturer just makes junk and hopes they can still keep the money by making it hard to return.
  - rapjr9 3y ago
    Have you ever looked for a product and found that ALL of the brands get poor reviews? Air conditioners are kind of like that, maybe half of them get a lot of poor reviews. Somehow air conditioners have seen a race to the bottom in terms of quality and features. The basic technology has also not changed in decades. Seems ripe for disruption. The Midea air conditioners are at least more efficient. There are a lot of commonly known problems with the basic design of window air conditioners though (uneven air distribution, creates drafts, mold, noise, temperature control). Maybe those problems are just too difficult to figure out? Maybe it's a problem of expectations, air conditioners have always had the same prices and features so no one will pay any more, even for a better product?
- Terretta 3y ago
  This unit is designed differently, blocking more of the view, but lets the window close: https://www.amazon.com/Midea-Inverter-Conditioner-Flexibility-Installation/dp/B0866Y33PL/ https://www.amazon.com/Midea-Inverter-Conditioner-Flexibilit... People are happy with this unit in NYC for tiny pre-war construction units that can't use traditional A/C for reasons. The other unit you link appears to be sold under a variety of brands, look at the comparable products and the button configurations, in all of them the blue light on right is a bit offset upwards: https://www.amazon.com/R-W-FLAME-Conditioners-U-Shaped-Conditioner-Install/dp/B0BQR8WK9Q/ https://www.amazon.com/R-W-FLAME-Conditioners-U-Shaped-Condi... This is not unusual. Almost all these compressor-based mechanical boxes, from A/Cs to refrigerators, low end to high end, are made by the same 3 mega companies and white labeled by even the "best" known brands.
  - rapjr9 3y ago
    The Midea model you linked does not supply heat, but this Midea model does seem to have a heat pump that can supply heat: https://www.amazon.com/Midea-Cooling-Inverter-Window-Conditioner/dp/B0B3NJGSKL https://www.amazon.com/Midea-Cooling-Inverter-Window-Conditi... But the page also says: "NOTE: heat pump function will not work if outside temp is 41°F or below." The R-W-FLAME unit has about as many bad reviews as the one I linked. Maybe the reason for the lack of products/competition is as you say they "are made by the same 3 mega companies".

rapjr9 3y ago

This seems to be a much more reasonable unit, 10,000 BTU, does both heating and cooling via a heat pump, and it costs $700, although there are a lot of negative reviews: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZCZSSV8 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZCZSSV8 $5000 is ridiculous for the Gradient Comfort 8000BTU window unit. The Soleus is the only other heat pump window unit I've seen for sale. Midea makes some A/C's that are more efficient because they use an inverter, but they don't do heating. There seems to be a market failure here, given that a bidirectional heat pump shouldn't cost much more than an air conditioner you'd think everyone would prefer a heat pump, especially since it would lower cooling costs and can do lower cost heating in the winter. But nobody is selling them at reasonable cost and quality. They could include a heat exchanger also to bring in fresh air without losing energy. But nobody makes such a thing. Maybe the barriers to entry in this market are high for some reason? Window air conditioners have always kind of sucked (too noisy, encourage mold, uneven distribution of cold, crummy temperature control). I wonder why. It seems wrong.

kelnos 3y ago
It's that cheap because it's garbage. All the 1-star reviews (26% of all reviews) I looked at said various variations on the unit failing after some small number of months, and the return/replacement process is awful. Seems like the manufacturer just makes junk and hopes they can still keep the money by making it hard to return.
- rapjr9 3y ago
  Have you ever looked for a product and found that ALL of the brands get poor reviews? Air conditioners are kind of like that, maybe half of them get a lot of poor reviews. Somehow air conditioners have seen a race to the bottom in terms of quality and features. The basic technology has also not changed in decades. Seems ripe for disruption. The Midea air conditioners are at least more efficient. There are a lot of commonly known problems with the basic design of window air conditioners though (uneven air distribution, creates drafts, mold, noise, temperature control). Maybe those problems are just too difficult to figure out? Maybe it's a problem of expectations, air conditioners have always had the same prices and features so no one will pay any more, even for a better product?
Terretta 3y ago
This unit is designed differently, blocking more of the view, but lets the window close: https://www.amazon.com/Midea-Inverter-Conditioner-Flexibility-Installation/dp/B0866Y33PL/ https://www.amazon.com/Midea-Inverter-Conditioner-Flexibilit... People are happy with this unit in NYC for tiny pre-war construction units that can't use traditional A/C for reasons. The other unit you link appears to be sold under a variety of brands, look at the comparable products and the button configurations, in all of them the blue light on right is a bit offset upwards: https://www.amazon.com/R-W-FLAME-Conditioners-U-Shaped-Conditioner-Install/dp/B0BQR8WK9Q/ https://www.amazon.com/R-W-FLAME-Conditioners-U-Shaped-Condi... This is not unusual. Almost all these compressor-based mechanical boxes, from A/Cs to refrigerators, low end to high end, are made by the same 3 mega companies and white labeled by even the "best" known brands.
- rapjr9 3y ago
  The Midea model you linked does not supply heat, but this Midea model does seem to have a heat pump that can supply heat: https://www.amazon.com/Midea-Cooling-Inverter-Window-Conditioner/dp/B0B3NJGSKL https://www.amazon.com/Midea-Cooling-Inverter-Window-Conditi... But the page also says: "NOTE: heat pump function will not work if outside temp is 41°F or below." The R-W-FLAME unit has about as many bad reviews as the one I linked. Maybe the reason for the lack of products/competition is as you say they "are made by the same 3 mega companies".