I live in a multi-level house that's around 3,500 square feet. While the central air does a decent job heating and cooling the basement and main levels, the upper level—over the garage—struggles because it only has one long duct running to it. This duct isn't very effective at distributing air to the three bedrooms and bathroom up there, so I find myself constantly blocking off ducts in the lower levels to push more air upstairs. Because of this, I need to run the central air quite a bit more than I'd like to keep that upper level comfortable.
I'm thinking about installing a mini split system on the upper level to help with this issue. I'm considering whether it would be more effective to put one bigger unit in the hallway to cool all the rooms or if I should just install a separate unit in each bedroom—especially since the total upper level space is less than 1,000 square feet. I'm concerned that with just one unit in the hallway, the AC might just flow back down the stairs since there's no door to trap it in the bedrooms. Also, I'm curious about the best brand options. I've seen a lot of MrCool ads lately, but I've heard mixed reviews about many brands being made by the same company. I know Mitsubishi is reputed to be top-notch, but I'm hoping to do the installation myself since I'm pretty handy. Any recommendations for a good setup?
2 Answers
I actually have a mini split installed in my hallway, and it cools all three bedrooms just fine, no issues at all. It really depends on the unit size you go with, though. I’m using a system that fits perfectly for my space and efficiently cools everything. If you're looking at something like a 24k BTU unit, I think that would generally cover your needs well!
Placing one unit in the hallway could work well, especially if you keep the doors open. At night, the central AC should keep things cool enough in the rooms. You might want to check out brands like MrCool since they offer units that come precharged, making DIY installation easier. Setting it to run mainly in the evenings could help prevent overworking your system. Also, you might consider closing some registers downstairs to push more cool air upstairs, especially in the winter when you can switch things up.
That’s exactly my plan! I want to run it during the night so the main air doesn't have to work as hard. We keep the doors open a lot since we have kids, but I know that could change. Right now, I have closed the basement vents to push more air up; it helps but definitely puts more strain on the central system.
That's great to hear! What size unit do you have? I’m considering that 24k BTU option.