6 ms·

Electric Small Heat Pump

17 points by sorenKaram 2y ago

Ekaros 2y ago
What are those prices? Looking at cheapest units here in Nordics. 695€ install from 899€ unit... Which is suitable for 85 m^2... So I am not exactly sure what sort of rooms need two units...
thraway3837 2y ago
"Someone finally made a heat pump that looks good inside your home" The internal air handler unit looks exactly the same as any other manufacturer. It's still ugly, and it still sticks out and doesn't integrate as nicely as ducted HVAC systems. Wouldn't homes just benefit more from replacing their existing furnace+AC systems with a heat pump if it's necessary, rather than installing mini splits in each zone and running refrigerant pipes all over the outside of the housing structure.
- quickthrowman 2y ago
  > Wouldn't homes just benefit more from replacing their existing furnace+AC systems with a heat pump if it's necessary, rather than installing mini splits in each zone and running refrigerant pipes all over the outside of the housing structure. Yes, if you have an existing forced air system you can get a heat pump sized for your furnace instead of doing mini-splits. You could probably just replace the condenser with the heat pump, since a heat pump is just an air conditioner that can run in reverse. The coils inside the furnace may need to be replaced for the heat pump.
mikestew 2y ago
What does this system give you over regular mini-splits? The outdoor unit on the Quilt only does two rooms. Best I can tell, then, for our small 1200 sq/ft house, we'd need a minimum of two outdoor units, probably three. And our house is a shoebox, not the 4000 sq/ft monstrosities that are common in the area. Or for $5000 from Home Depot, I can get a single outdoor unit that will drive four indoor units. On top of the fact that anyone walking into that room will immediately think "oh, you got a mini-split!" because there's still a box hanging on the wall. Again, what am I buying here? And at $6500/room, great googly moogly! This is either DOA or I'm missing a fundamental piece of the value.
- thehappypm 2y ago
  indeed, it’s the Aesthetics. Regular mini split heads are huge. They are really visible. It’s a really big turn off to many buyers.
  - windexh8er 2y ago
    I own a smaller unit for a portion of my home that's not connected to the main HVAC. It isn't huge. It also isn't ugly. I don't want this. And that's because the goal of these people are to get acquired by Google / Amazon to fit into their crappy "smart home" line of products. I really don't understand how the consumer keeps getting tricked by a bit of marketing into buying products that are sold on design first and performance later. This product, functionally isn't any better than anything on the market yet comes with included obsolescence built in. For reference one of my family members still uses a mini-split system in their cabin that's over 25 years old. This thing is going to be lucky to make it 10 years based on all the additional dependencies it requires straight out of the box. I hope consumers stop buying these types of products.
    - thehappypm 2y ago
      What brand?
      - windexh8er 2y ago
        GE Endure [0]. I also own a heat pump for the main house that's part of a duel fuel system (H/P electric & natural gas). I spent less than $200 in natural gas this year based on our mild winter. That system is Carrier Infinity [1]. [0] https://www.geappliances.com/ductless/ https://www.geappliances.com/ductless/ [1] https://www.carrier.com/residential/en/us/products/heat-pumps/25vna4/ https://www.carrier.com/residential/en/us/products/heat-pump...
        thehappypm 2y ago
        That head looks quite a big larger and more obtrusive. If I really cared about interior aesthetics i’d hate it
HumblyTossed 2y ago
> For a three-bedroom house, say you were looking at installing it in six rooms (each bedroom, a kitchen, living room, and dining room — Quilt doesn’t recommend them in bathrooms) — it could cost close to $40,000. Nobody is going to do this. Not unless they're duped into it.
- abdullahkhalids 2y ago
  A split for a single room should not be more than a $1000.
- lbotos 2y ago
  In NYC to get 3 condensers and 6 internal units PRE-REBATE my top line price was close to $40k. So it doesn't seem far off of what I was quoted 2 years ago?
  - thehappypm 2y ago
    Plus, you don’t really need six units. My system (Mass) has 5 for a 3 bedroom house. $29k in 2021 prior to rebates.
- lsllc 2y ago
  You can get a DIY Mr Cool Mini-split (12K BTU) on Amazon for less than $1800. The whole no-bathroom thing likely won't work well in a cold climate because the pipes in the walls/floor would freeze.
  - toomuchtodo 2y ago
    I cannot recommend Mr Cool enough. Very easy to install if you’re handy, also reliable. I’ve installed dozens of them and they’re all still working flawlessly.
quickthrowman 2y ago
Slapping a piece of plywood with oak veneer onto the air handler doesn’t make it look any less like an air handler. $6,500 per mini-split installed is quite high, a mini-split requires mounting the air handler and condenser, drilling two holes through an exterior wall, connecting the line sets, and sealing the holes; plus electrical wiring. $3,500-4,000 is what I would expect to pay if the mini split cost around $1,000: 8 hours max each to mechanical and electrical contractors ($150/hr) plus material and profit. This company is marketing towards people with more money than sense who will be impressed by “wi-fi” and some oak veneer.
ChrisGranger 2y ago
Per the Guidelines, "Otherwise please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait; don't editorialize." Someone finally made a heat pump that looks good inside your home
- jimbobthrowawy 2y ago
  I would say that original title is clickbait. Don't know if linkbait is something different.
rekabis 2y ago
> The Quilt system uses Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz) and Bluetooth to communicate between units and the remotes, and each Dial can also control the whole system, just like a thermostat does for a central HVAC system. The Dial has temperature, motion, and proximity detection built-in. You can also use the Quilt app (iOS or Android) And I assume it also phones home to the mothership, which Hoovers your usage stats up for re-monetization? Yeah, that’ll be a “nah, dawg” from me, well before even the astronomical price tag.
adultSwim 2y ago
I hear the criticism, but it doesn't seem out of the normal price range for the cost of an installed mini-split heat pump.

17 points by sorenKaram 2y ago

What are those prices? Looking at cheapest units here in Nordics. 695€ install from 899€ unit... Which is suitable for 85 m^2... So I am not exactly sure what sort of rooms need two units...

thraway3837 2y ago

"Someone finally made a heat pump that looks good inside your home" The internal air handler unit looks exactly the same as any other manufacturer. It's still ugly, and it still sticks out and doesn't integrate as nicely as ducted HVAC systems. Wouldn't homes just benefit more from replacing their existing furnace+AC systems with a heat pump if it's necessary, rather than installing mini splits in each zone and running refrigerant pipes all over the outside of the housing structure.

quickthrowman 2y ago
> Wouldn't homes just benefit more from replacing their existing furnace+AC systems with a heat pump if it's necessary, rather than installing mini splits in each zone and running refrigerant pipes all over the outside of the housing structure. Yes, if you have an existing forced air system you can get a heat pump sized for your furnace instead of doing mini-splits. You could probably just replace the condenser with the heat pump, since a heat pump is just an air conditioner that can run in reverse. The coils inside the furnace may need to be replaced for the heat pump.

mikestew 2y ago

What does this system give you over regular mini-splits? The outdoor unit on the Quilt only does two rooms. Best I can tell, then, for our small 1200 sq/ft house, we'd need a minimum of two outdoor units, probably three. And our house is a shoebox, not the 4000 sq/ft monstrosities that are common in the area. Or for $5000 from Home Depot, I can get a single outdoor unit that will drive four indoor units. On top of the fact that anyone walking into that room will immediately think "oh, you got a mini-split!" because there's still a box hanging on the wall. Again, what am I buying here? And at $6500/room, great googly moogly! This is either DOA or I'm missing a fundamental piece of the value.

thehappypm 2y ago
indeed, it’s the Aesthetics. Regular mini split heads are huge. They are really visible. It’s a really big turn off to many buyers.
- windexh8er 2y ago
  I own a smaller unit for a portion of my home that's not connected to the main HVAC. It isn't huge. It also isn't ugly. I don't want this. And that's because the goal of these people are to get acquired by Google / Amazon to fit into their crappy "smart home" line of products. I really don't understand how the consumer keeps getting tricked by a bit of marketing into buying products that are sold on design first and performance later. This product, functionally isn't any better than anything on the market yet comes with included obsolescence built in. For reference one of my family members still uses a mini-split system in their cabin that's over 25 years old. This thing is going to be lucky to make it 10 years based on all the additional dependencies it requires straight out of the box. I hope consumers stop buying these types of products.
  - thehappypm 2y ago
    What brand?
    - windexh8er 2y ago
      GE Endure [0]. I also own a heat pump for the main house that's part of a duel fuel system (H/P electric & natural gas). I spent less than $200 in natural gas this year based on our mild winter. That system is Carrier Infinity [1]. [0] https://www.geappliances.com/ductless/ https://www.geappliances.com/ductless/ [1] https://www.carrier.com/residential/en/us/products/heat-pumps/25vna4/ https://www.carrier.com/residential/en/us/products/heat-pump...
      - thehappypm 2y ago
        That head looks quite a big larger and more obtrusive. If I really cared about interior aesthetics i’d hate it

HumblyTossed 2y ago

> For a three-bedroom house, say you were looking at installing it in six rooms (each bedroom, a kitchen, living room, and dining room — Quilt doesn’t recommend them in bathrooms) — it could cost close to $40,000. Nobody is going to do this. Not unless they're duped into it.

abdullahkhalids 2y ago
A split for a single room should not be more than a $1000.
lbotos 2y ago
In NYC to get 3 condensers and 6 internal units PRE-REBATE my top line price was close to $40k. So it doesn't seem far off of what I was quoted 2 years ago?
- thehappypm 2y ago
  Plus, you don’t really need six units. My system (Mass) has 5 for a 3 bedroom house. $29k in 2021 prior to rebates.
lsllc 2y ago
You can get a DIY Mr Cool Mini-split (12K BTU) on Amazon for less than $1800. The whole no-bathroom thing likely won't work well in a cold climate because the pipes in the walls/floor would freeze.
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  I cannot recommend Mr Cool enough. Very easy to install if you’re handy, also reliable. I’ve installed dozens of them and they’re all still working flawlessly.

quickthrowman 2y ago

Slapping a piece of plywood with oak veneer onto the air handler doesn’t make it look any less like an air handler. $6,500 per mini-split installed is quite high, a mini-split requires mounting the air handler and condenser, drilling two holes through an exterior wall, connecting the line sets, and sealing the holes; plus electrical wiring. $3,500-4,000 is what I would expect to pay if the mini split cost around $1,000: 8 hours max each to mechanical and electrical contractors ($150/hr) plus material and profit. This company is marketing towards people with more money than sense who will be impressed by “wi-fi” and some oak veneer.

ChrisGranger 2y ago

Per the Guidelines, "Otherwise please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait; don't editorialize." Someone finally made a heat pump that looks good inside your home

jimbobthrowawy 2y ago
I would say that original title is clickbait. Don't know if linkbait is something different.

rekabis 2y ago

> The Quilt system uses Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz) and Bluetooth to communicate between units and the remotes, and each Dial can also control the whole system, just like a thermostat does for a central HVAC system. The Dial has temperature, motion, and proximity detection built-in. You can also use the Quilt app (iOS or Android) And I assume it also phones home to the mothership, which Hoovers your usage stats up for re-monetization? Yeah, that’ll be a “nah, dawg” from me, well before even the astronomical price tag.

adultSwim 2y ago

I hear the criticism, but it doesn't seem out of the normal price range for the cost of an installed mini-split heat pump.