Ducted Heat Pump Recommendation in Waipa (Waikato)

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Ducted Heat Pump Recommendation in Waipa (Waikato)

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rb99

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#3079574 25-May-2023 11:56

Reading brochures (online ones) makes these systems seem so nice, till you hear about noise and filters, and this system does this and that system does that, and people say find an installer who knows what they're talking about, but how do you even do that. I mean unless they're telling you their filters are actually packed full of pixies who pluck indidviual dust particles out the air by hand I doubt its very obvious.

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tweake

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#3079606 25-May-2023 14:19

timmmay:

tweake:

however one other factor, cleaning the air. you can fit very good filtration (hepa) on ducted units, very few heat pumps have good filters.

I was thinking about that, but haven't done anything about it. Have you done this in the past? What product do you use as a filter? The input of a ducted system can be a 300 - 400m, that'd be a pretty huge filter. I guess you could put it on one of the smaller legs and filter a fraction of the air that goes through.

its easy enough done. filters are standard filters, just need to find one that has enough air flow at the filtration level you want. then build/buy the filter box for it. often they are mounted in the air return grills and there is common sizes of those.

yes the filters are big, and bigger the better.

keep in mind that in many overseas countries, this sort of thing is common. if you can't find it here, overseas has it off the shelf.

tweake

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#3079608 25-May-2023 14:28

timmmay:

I was comparing a 12 year old Daikin 7-8kw and 8 year old Fujitsu 9-10kw, with a Daikin ducted 10kw and a Panasonic ducted 10kw. The Panasonic was crazy loud, indoor and out, so probably doesn't count. The Daikin though is louder than expected. The outdoor unit sits just outside our lounge, near where we watch TV, not far from a bedroom. We pretty much never heard the Fujitsu, whereas the Daikin we regularly hear starting up and running over the TV. The ducted unit also runs overnight, my wife finds it starting and stopping fairly loud. The old Fujitsu was often on while we slept, she wasn't so bothered by that.

to hear the outside unit over the tv is insanely loud. i have had Panasonic, Mitsi, Toshibas (ranging from new to 15 year +) that you can't hear unless your standing in front of it. inside units, yes they are loud. fan noise is loud and its nearby, so crank the tv up a tad or hit quiet mode.

Handle9

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#3079618 25-May-2023 14:49

tweake:
keep in mind that in many overseas countries, this sort of thing is common. if you can't find it here, overseas has it off the shelf.

HEPA filters aren’t “common” in domestic installations anywhere as there’s no real need for them and they are expensive. If you have doors and windows open regularly it’s pointless having a HEPA filter.

HEPA filters are readily available in NZ but aren’t used a lot outside of clean environments for the same reason. I’ve mainly come across them in hospitals, mostly in Iso rooms and operating suites.

The main point of the filters is to protect the coil from fouling not purify the air.

Handle9

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#3079621 25-May-2023 14:59

rb99:
Reading brochures (online ones) makes these systems seem so nice, till you hear about noise and filters, and this system does this and that system does that, and people say find an installer who knows what they're talking about, but how do you even do that. I mean unless they're telling you their filters are actually packed full of pixies who pluck indidviual dust particles out the air by hand I doubt its very obvious.

There’s a lot of FUD in this thread and many others. These are fairly simple systems. You are trying to supply or remove energy to/from a space, not fly to the moon.

In a constant volume system you are talking about a fan, a heating/cooling coil and some ductwork. Outside m, which is where the heating or cooling is coming from you have a compressor, a coil and a fan to blow over the coil. It’s not a very complex system. If you did any sort of physics it should be relatively simple to understand providing you learn the jargon, which is a bit arcane.

If you’re talking to installers ask them how they will design and commission the system and make each room gets enough airflow. The guys who know what they are doing can generally explain this rather than fob you off or tell you don’t worry about it. Like any specialised provider if they can explain what they do in detail then they are probably pretty good. If they can’t or won’t jog on and go to the next one.

Ask lots of questions of your contractors until they can explain what you are getting. They are working for you and having a contractor you can talk to is better for you and the contractor.

tweake

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#3079622 25-May-2023 15:04

Handle9:
tweake:

keep in mind that in many overseas countries, this sort of thing is common. if you can't find it here, overseas has it off the shelf.

HEPA filters aren’t “common” in domestic installations anywhere as there’s no real need for them and they are expensive. If you have doors and windows open regularly it’s pointless having a HEPA filter.

HEPA filters are readily available in NZ but aren’t used a lot outside of clean environments for the same reason. I’ve mainly come across them in hospitals, mostly in Iso rooms and operating suites.

The main point of the filters is to protect the coil from fouling not purify the air.

as quoted i didn't mention hepa filters. i was talking about filters in general (this sort of thing), what ever level of filtration you want. main point being large filters for HVAC is common in a wide range of filtration levels.

correct stock filters are generally for protecting the gear. but you can do better. as for hepa itself, really common in the home performance sector, they certainly have no issue getting them.

of course, no one opens windows if you have a ventilation system. you don't want to let dirty unfiltered air into the house.

Handle9

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#3079624 25-May-2023 15:15

You specifically mentioned HEPA here

tweake:

however one other factor, cleaning the air. you can fit very good filtration (hepa) on ducted units, very few heat pumps have good filters.

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tweake

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#3079626 25-May-2023 15:18

Handle9: You specifically mentioned HEPA here

tweake:

however one other factor, cleaning the air. you can fit very good filtration (hepa) on ducted units, very few heat pumps have good filters.

which is true. you can fit hepa filters (or any other level of filtration) if you want.

timmmay

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#3079721 26-May-2023 07:55

tweake:

its easy enough done. filters are standard filters, just need to find one that has enough air flow at the filtration level you want. then build/buy the filter box for it. often they are mounted in the air return grills and there is common sizes of those.

yes the filters are big, and bigger the better.

keep in mind that in many overseas countries, this sort of thing is common. if you can't find it here, overseas has it off the shelf.

The return has a big filter in it, but it looks like a fairly basic filter, nothing like a HEPA filter.

I discovered recently that in NZ there doesn't seem to be standard filter boxes or filters. I called a couple of places and they could make up any box size I like, but they start at $200. I assumed there would be standard filter sizes and box sizes, but that doesn't seem to be.

I had to get my return wall vents from the USA because there was nothing similar in NZ that reduced light / noise coming through. They weren't too expensive but shipping wasn't cheap. I suspect a large filter box and stack of filters would probably be somewhat expensive, with shipping fairly expensive. I had a look on Amazon US for filter boxes but didn't find anything suitable.

tweake

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#3079854 26-May-2023 17:09

timmmay:

tweake:

its easy enough done. filters are standard filters, just need to find one that has enough air flow at the filtration level you want. then build/buy the filter box for it. often they are mounted in the air return grills and there is common sizes of those.

yes the filters are big, and bigger the better.

keep in mind that in many overseas countries, this sort of thing is common. if you can't find it here, overseas has it off the shelf.

The return has a big filter in it, but it looks like a fairly basic filter, nothing like a HEPA filter.

I discovered recently that in NZ there doesn't seem to be standard filter boxes or filters. I called a couple of places and they could make up any box size I like, but they start at $200. I assumed there would be standard filter sizes and box sizes, but that doesn't seem to be.

I had to get my return wall vents from the USA because there was nothing similar in NZ that reduced light / noise coming through. They weren't too expensive but shipping wasn't cheap. I suspect a large filter box and stack of filters would probably be somewhat expensive, with shipping fairly expensive. I had a look on Amazon US for filter boxes but didn't find anything suitable.

nz residential hvac is still pretty new. we are 40 years behind the ball game.

but as all most of the gear comes from other substantially larger markets (eg usa), its all available. shipping really sucks.

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