1 Ton Mini Split for 580 Sq Ft Enough?

[treasureman]

Living in the Arizona desert, my 580 sq ft garage reaches 120 degrees in the summer months. From basic info I read, a 12,000 BTU unit should be sufficient? I plan to insulate the attic and walls, but my doors are not insulated.

In looking at systems, there seems to be such a variety of options with price differences that do not make sense.

Option 1: Import System, as sold on Amazon or eBay, about $500.
Option 2: Packaged systems from DIY sites for about $1200.
(I can do my own install).
Option 3: Local contractor with prices exceeding $3500.

Any suggestions most appreciated. New member and enjoying the site!

 

[Jackfre]

For your location I would say you are on the edge of being to small. I rarely suggest that you oversize a mshp, but on this it depends upon how you intend to use the space and the specs on the building, windows/doors, insulation, orientation, Direct sun, etc. If the building is heat soaked in that 120* for a few days and you walk in and turn on the ms, it will take a while to bring it down. If you want a quicker recovery I'd look at a 15-18 kbtu unit. Buy the best supported brand you can get your hands on.

 

[Chevota Guy]

I'm in the So Cal desert with weather very similar to AZ. Many 115° or hotter days in the summer. I have a 12K BTU Fujitsu Halcyon mini split in 450 sq. ft. w/10' ceiling. It does pretty well at keeping the garage at or below my typical 80-82° set point. The ceiling, overhead door and about 75% of the walls are insulated.

I think 580 sq. ft. might be pushing it for a 12K BTU in your area, especially w/o an insulated door. Many of the newer minisplits run inverters for the condenser motors and can be rated as high as 30 SEER for reasonable operation cost with automatic motor speed controllers. The condenser is so quiet that our nextdoor neighbor doesn't hear it run.

We have had several days this past summer at 122° and the 12K unit took longer than I would have liked to recover from opening the overhead door.

I opted for a professional installation in spite of the cost and it ran about $4200, but the Fujitsu unit has been worth it. It can be operated remotely if desired with a remote WiFi bridge that I added later (shown below) by Intesis Home which is super handy to set timers and turn the unit on or off from a mobile device.

View media item 97654

 

[shade]

I'm in AZ as well, but I'm fully insulated and run IT equipment in my garage.
I'd go 24k if you want faster cool down along with better seer ratings.

 

[shaggyant]

I’d go bigger than 12k simply to deal with the heat load of those doors opening and hot cars with hot engines being pulled in.

 

[SALIV8]

Living in the Arizona desert, my 580 sq ft garage reaches 120 degrees in the summer months. From basic info I read, a 12,000 BTU unit should be sufficient? I plan to insulate the attic and walls, but my doors are not insulated.

In looking at systems, there seems to be such a variety of options with price differences that do not make sense.

Option 1: Import System, as sold on Amazon or eBay, about $500.
Option 2: Packaged systems from DIY sites for about $1200.
(I can do my own install).
Option 3: Local contractor with prices exceeding $3500.

Any suggestions most appreciated. New member and enjoying the site!

Check for rebates from your energy supplier in your area, you may be surprised.

If you can find a tech to just do the lineset connections and/or refrigerant you may be money ahead to have it commissioned professionally with a warranty as well.

The non DIY have much better seer ratings.

 

[shade]

Check for rebates from your energy supplier in your area, you may be surprised.

If you can find a tech to just do the lineset connections and/or refrigerant you may be money ahead to have it commissioned professionally with a warranty as well.

The non DIY have much better seer ratings.

Our power company has a rebate but specifically exclude garages.
They do reserve the right to come inspect.

 

[SALIV8]

Our power company has a rebate but specifically exclude garages.
They do reserve the right to come inspect.

I wonder why they exclude garages? You use electricity there just like the house.

I thought the whole idea of the rebates program is to lower the consumption.