How close to garage door for mini split?

[bbrages]

I've got a roughly 20x20 garage with 10 foot ceilings that I am putting an 18k Tosot mini split in. The indoor unit will be about 8 feet up on the side wall. The 16' garage door is on the front wall.

Does it make sense to get the indoor unit centered on that side wall? I'm thinking I will mount it a bit closer to the back of the garage, away from the door hardware.

I suppose there might be time when the door is being opened while it's running. For comfort, I guess having it near the door is ideal, for efficiency maybe not.

Sometimes you see air handling units right next to or above doors in commercial buildings...

 

[jlv03]

The real question is - can you service the indoor unit without banging your head on the door hardware? That might drive a different location, even if it isn't the best for comfort or heat transfer.

 

[fitter30]

Commercial building put air handlers,tube heaters or unit heaters in front of roll up garage door to offset the heating load when door is open and a air curtain for cooling and bugs.

 

[chinboys]

Install the evaporator unit where you need to feel the cold-conditioned air blow on you where you spend the most time.
After you are satisfied with the conditioned air, you can turn on a ceiling fan or other floor fans to circulate the air throughout the space.

 

[bbrages]

I put this in another thread, but I ended up putting it where it looked reasonable to me.

 

[65’Comet5.0]

On mine I put them where I spend the most time at and would feel the air movement so they are on the far end of the shop 40’ from the doors. I do have a 7’ fan in the center to help circulate the air throughout and keeps the temp pretty even but I also don’t open the main door frequently.

 

[BigMike62]

If it is a 95 degree day, how much cooling do you use when raising the door for 2 min?

 

[DHCrocks]

If it is a 95 degree day, how much cooling do you use when raising the door for 2 min?

When I raise my door, even if for just a few minutes, all the cold air instantly rushes out and is replaced with hot air. it takes over an hour to get back to where it was before. True all the objects and hard surfaces will remain cool but the sheer volume of air in the garage that was displaced still takes a while to cool back down. I try not to open the door if at all possible.

 

[bbrages]

If it is a 95 degree day, how much cooling do you use when raising the door for 2 min?

I asked Google AI and it calculated about 1500 BTU to chill all the air (300 lbs) in my garage by 20 degrees.

 

[jshillin]

Install it close to where you work the most so it makes you the most comfortable.