Tesla's (TSLA) Model Y and Model 3 electric cars are being investigated by Canada's transportation regulator over potentially faulty heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, according to media reports. Transport Canada has received at least 16 complaints regarding cars' heat pumps, triggering concerns that the vehicles may not be able to defog the windshield, InsideEVs reported Friday. Tesla is aware of the issue, InsideEVs reported, but it refused to respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
I bought a 74' Split-level 4 years ago in Oregon just outside of Portland.
Last year we had 115+ degree temperatures w/ humidity, this was 10 degrees above the highest ever recorded. The year before we had nearly a week straight of 105+ w/ humidity. Extreme Heat waves seem to be an every-year thing here now. When I bought the home my agent said it has the ducting in place already to add an AC unit ( gas duct heating, pipes in from floor grates ), he said adding an AC unit would only run a few thousand dollars.
I recently asked a contractor I had on site for another job about it, but he said 3k was optimistic. There is a small Slab out back where it looks like AN AC unit would go, theres an electrical conduit, too, strapped against the wall.
I'm just looking for a ballpark figure, it's a 2200 sq ft home, what would adding a whole-home AC unit cost? I'm also curious about mini-split systems, but since I already have the ducting in place I'm not sure that is the best option?
Also, very stupid question, but the slab/conduit behind my house... if that's for an Air conditioning unit, There's no duct in that area, so how does a system like that work? ELI5.
Hi there,
Apologies for the silly question - I'm a young adult with 0 knowledge of air conditioning systems as it was not available in my country of origin. I live in a relatively new building in a city in the Pacific Northwest, which is quite a humid environment. I currently have an air conditioning system in my apartment of which I do not know the name - this system is the only way to heat or cool the apartment (no baseboard heating, radiators, or anything else). I can control the temperature of my apartment with hot or cold air which comes from vents in the wall near the ceiling in each room. I can also turn this air coming from the vents on and off. Due to the temperate weather, I have had this heating/cooling system off for the last few months and have been opening the window to control the temp instead. There has been zero air blowing through the vents for all this time as it has remained switched off.
My question is - I'm reading online that this can be bad for the vents and mold can build up when they are not being used. Is this something I should be concerned about by not using the A/C for around 4 months now? I plan to vacuum the front bars of the vents before I turn them on again, as it's getting cold here and I'm needing to turn on the heat sooner or later.
Thanks in advance!
(Edited to change wording of one sentence)
Hello folks, I'm looking for some advice and or opinions from you HVAC experts and homeowners that have installed mini-split systems in your houses for heat.
My house is located in a small city in northwest Washington state and it doesn't seem to keep warm during the fall, winters and spring. I've been living in it for about a year. It was built in 1973 and doesn't have the best insulation but seems pretty air tight besides say for 1 or two areas. It's not a huge house - about 1800 square feet.
Currently I have a gas furnace that burns propane for heat. Seems like its about 10 years old. I just changed the filters on it and it works ok but I've recently looked into having a company install mini-splits in the house. I got an estimate today and it was a little more than I was expecting.
The company is certified installer for Mitsubishi minisplit systems and they estimated it would be $19,000 to install the following:
- 1 Mitsubishi Electric MXZ-5C42NA2-U1 Heat Pump (44,698 BTUs Cooling, 25,071 BTUs Heating)
- 1 wall mounted unit in the living room - model: MSZ-GL24NA-U1 (18,890 BTUs Cooling, 15,058 BTUs Heating)
- 1 - wall mounted unit in the master bedroom - model: MSZ-GL06NA-U1 (5,014 BTUs Cooling, 4,051 BTUs Heating)
- 1 - floor unit in loft - model: MFZ-KJ09NA-U1 (7,517 BTUs Cooling, 5,961 BTUs Heating)
This quote includes all the piping, labor and Mitsubishi Electric Condensate: Pump.
The reason I chose to get an estimate for the minisplits is because I've heard they are great for "zones", don't take much energy and also because the current ducting I have in my house was installed by the previous owner and it is a little janky. The lady that did the estimate said she didn't want to deal with it and it would be good to use it as a backup to a new minisplit system.
I was thinking it would be expensive for the system to be installed along with the labor, but I really wasn't expecting it to be $19,000.
Does this estimate seem high to anyone? I'd be curious to hear what you all paid for your mini-split systems + install.
