Hotel heat pump - air conditioner combo

[BuickFarmer]

Considering this for my pole barn I am beginning to enclose into a shop. Can't find anywhere that describes the square footage it might handle. Talking about basically a 2 bay garage. 26 x 30 with 12 ft ceilings. Not very well insulated i.e 2 inch styrafoam insulation

http://ecomfort.com/pth123e35axxx-p...with-electric-heat-35-kw-11500-btu-26673.html

have found this same unit new on CL for $700. Otherwise I am looking at probably 2 King electric heaters at around $450 plus a 3 room AC at another $400 probably.

anybody else out there use these. thoughts would be appreciated....

edit) well, found this. http://ecomfort.com/content/15-air-conditioner-sizing-chart

so looks like this unit is a little undersized. Maybe I'll put it in my barn which is only 560 sq ft and pretty well insulated except for the doors.
Would still like to hear thoughts of these units.....

 

[tylernt]

Those are PTACs, Personal Terminal Air Conditioners. I'd have one right now if I had a bigger shop, instead I have a "baby PTAC" (window heat pump). They are a cost effective choice, especially compared to buying both a heater AND A/C.

Square footage can only ever be a rough estimate of heating needs, since ceiling heights, insulation and air sealing varies widely. But, you can usually get by with slightly undersized if you turn them on an hour or two before you use the space, i.e., they can't bring a cold space up to shirt sleeve temperature in a short time.

Ideally, you would do a heat loss calculation to see how many BTU your building envelope leaks in an hour. Then you have a better idea of how much heat you need.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Farmer, you will be very disappointed unless you have good insulation !

I'm surprised more people don't use these, especially if they can find a good, second hand source.

A mini split heat pump would be more efficient, but would cost a whole lot more !!

 

[DPelletier]

As mentioned, these are commonly referred to as PTACs and like all heating/air conditioning solutions, they have advantages and disadvantages.

The good:
- cost effective
- heat AND cooling
- no refrigeration lines required
- compact/no ductwork
- no issues with negative pressures, products of combustion, etc.

The bad;
- the heat pump has longer recovery times than many other forms of heat
- higher electrical load than a gas heater
- poorer distribution than a ducted system
- doesn't filter the air or provide any fresh air like a ducted furnace or air handler.
- does not tolerate dirt and dust well.

Generally a good solution for a clean environment where cooling is desired, temperatures are kept fairly constant and cost is a consideration. I had a PTAC in my 22' x 24' x 9' shop and was quite pleased with it.

Dave

 

[41ratrod]

I also have one in my 20x24 shop and it worked very well up to this year.
The AC quit last summer and now the heat is giving me trouble.
Would like to get another one ,but haven't found any used ones for sell .
This was a used one and I had it for about 10 years.

 

[tammi6523]

Your thermostat has a FAN setting that is set to HIGH. Press the mode button until it is in FAN mode and use the + / - buttons to change the setting to AUTO.

When FAN Mode is set to HIGH or LOW, any time the thermostat calls for heating or cooling, it'll run the A/C Fan at that speed. On AUTO, it only runs the A/C fan when the A/C unit is needed.

 

[Milton Shaw]

Most of those now have a freeze protection circuit built in them. If the room temp drops to about 40 even if the unit is turned off it will come on in heat mode to keep the pipes in motel rooms from freezing. In Athens, Ga. I would not think that would happen often but be aware the unit is operating right when it comes on in extremely cold conditions. Keep filters clean if you do woodworking other than that I think they are a good unit for a small shop to keep it comfortable most of the time.