I don't really know where to put this thread so I decided this is the best board for it.
My girlfriend bought a new apartment and now she wants to put heating in it. She has no gas or central heating available. By my estimate there are only two viable options : AC + 2 electric radiators or 2 ACs and one electric radiator. She has a 70m^2 apt with 3 rooms. Any more ideas or suggestions ?
>>961887
I dont speak communism, so i dont understand the size of the apartment, but you could try a multi head minisplit, which is actually a good solution to a 3 bd apt
>>961890
>I don't speak communism
I chuckled.
70m^2 is equivalent to approximately 750 ft2. Which is pretty damned small, so yeah, maybe it's communism after all.
Incidentally, I have one AC and one electric heater in my 1400 ft2 office, so I don't see what the choice is, unless by "AC" you don't mean "air conditioner".
![ductless8large[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/D1sepQ0.jpg "ductless8large[1].jpg")
>>961902
'Air conditioning' generally means cooling only. Some higher end systems also providing heating though. You say you want to put heating in it but then talk about AC, which is wear the confusion comes from.
A mini-split system has a heat exchanger outside the house and one inside. Not uncommon. What makes it a 'mini' is that it doesn't use ductwork, just a single blower off the inside heat exchanger. A 'multi-head mini-split' has just that; multiple heat exchanges inside the house. One in each room for example. They are generally AC units but, as I said, higher end ones do heating. They aren't as efficient as a real furnace or boiler but they get the job done.
>>961912
Okay, thank you for the clarification.
The apartment is located in a building but she does have a balcony where this system could work, even though I'm not sure it is the most cost effective. I will do some numbers later on.
I was thinking about a wall mounted unit like in my first picture with a min. of 5.0 kW heating efficiency (~40m^2) + 2 individual electric radiators. By my numbers this would be the most cost effective system. Since I am only an amateur in this this is where you guys could disapprove me.
>>961887
assuming your gf lives in a country that gets cold, how does the apartment not have some sort of heat built in? thats illegal in most civilized countries.
anyway, if you just want heat, get some electric rads. if you want ac and a bit of heat, get a heat pump
Who needs heating? If you get cold, just make love. You're welcome.
>>961923
We're both living in Croatia. She is living on the seaside so that is why there is no built in heating. It usually isn't cold but in extreme cold years she would need heating for 6 months. In warm years only 1-2 months.
Electric radiators for the full apt would cost monthly twice as much as two AC units for instance.
>>961887
∆t°×$$$
What's the climate - summer/winter, moisture?
>>961887
>3 rooms, one heater? Industrial warm air blower. Noisy.
>IR, oil or convection heaters must be in every room you use.
Get electric mattress cover/electric blanket, but not cheap.ones
>>961887
>My girlfriend bought a new apartment
I found your problem OP. your girlfriend is an idiot for not making sure the place had heat and a/c
you would think she would check this stuff so she doesnt have to be uncomfortable in the kitchen...
>>962330
See >>961929
Average winter temp (Nov.-Mar.) would be around 4-6°C. Summers can get quite hot from 27-35°C.
Her area is known for strong winds. Humidity would be ~65% average.
>>962337
That is not nearly enough I think. During winter you'd have to be under those blankets all the time.
>>962342
Well she bought it before we were even together and now I want to help her make the best of it.
>>961887
>>961912
I install fujitsu mini splits all the time and they work fantastic. that being said, she's renting the place, so there is no need to throw away 5-10k on a mini split system. that would be like dropping a V6 and alloy wheels onto a toyota corolla you rented from enterprise. why waste the money? get her a couple of electric "fireplaces" designed to heat interior livable spaces like the one pictured. you can get them relatively cheap at home depot, or whatever you have in canada. something like $60us. 2 should suffice for 750 sq feet. her electric bill will go up noticebly, but at least she'll be comfortable. as for AC, a window shaker is your only real option here unless you want to just open the windows and run fans. window ACs suck ass, so dont expect to be extremely comfortable. if i was you, i would just scrounge what i could off of craigslist or garage sales. they always suck when you have to get rid of. make sure she has a proper window for the AC. you were on the right track with your initial observations, unfortunantly there arent many new and creative ways to condition apartments.
>>962598
i use these guys when im replacing central air units in the summer and the customer needs temporary cooling. they work OK in houses, but i can imagine them working pretty well in an apartment. they are more spendy though, around $400us.
>>962598
forgot to post picture of the electric fire place. i prefer these heaters to the non fan assisted conductive radiators as they seem to heat smaller spaces faster.
>>961912
and also, mini splits are much more effecient than forced air furnaces depending on where you live. if temperatures remain above -15 degrees for a mojority of the year, you're better off using a heat pump system then a standard furnace. especially if you live out in the country and have to use propane, which is more costly than natural gas. a lot of mini split companies like diakin, fujitsu, mitsubishi are coming out with more and more heat pumps since they are easy to produce, all you need is a reversing valve.
>>962598
>>962600
>>962599
She isn't renting it, she owns it.
I was thinking about Fujitsu or Daikin mini split after the first anon suggested it. By my estimate it would cost around 2200$ for a 2 unit system in Croatia. I'm living in Croatia not Canada so my options are limited and I can't ruffle through craigslist and I'd prefer something new. I was also thinking about those electric fireplaces you mentioned but in the long run they're more expensive than the mini split when we include the bills. Monthly bills would be around 100$, only for the heating, while on the mini split system 50$ tops.
>>962604
Temperatures rarely go below 0°C in her city even in cold winters.
>>962490
>Well she bought it before we were even together and now I want to help her make the best of it.
yeah but still... common sense would tell you to make sure it has heat and ac...
>>962667
well shit then, go for a mini split! $2200 seems like a steal, although i dont know what that translates to us dollars. the heat pump on these systems work incredibly well. i know they say down to -15f, but i live in minnesota and see them working at temperatures much below that. would that price be for a professional install? if it is, check and see if they are a fujitsu elite installer, because in that cause, you could get a 10 year warrenty or even a 12 year warrenty. i believe the standard warrenty is 7 year compressor and 5 year parts. this mini split is really your only option. it was built for this exact purpose.
>>962856if you're really energy conscious, fuitsu makes a 33 SEER unit (which is currently the most effecient on the market) that has a built in sensor that can detect movement and see if anyone is home. if it doesnt detect movement in 20 minutes, it will turn the t stat 5 degrees warmer in the summer, or 8 degrees cooler in the winter, thus saving you even more on your energy bill. the only problem ive had with these units is that if yo have a pet like a dog or a cat, they will trip this sensor and it becomes sort of useless. Now i only sell fujitsu, but ive heard that diakin is a fnatastic company as well. mitsubishi is another mini split company and they seem to be pretty big in the commercial market.
>>961912
I hate to disagrre, but mini spkits are actually ver efficient, they use inverter compressors that adjust to heat load, also most of them come as heat pumps that changes the flow of refrigerant, altough after 35 degrees farenheit the heating wont run efficiently
>>961912
One last thing a/c, means the conditioning of air, regardless if its heating or cooling, although generally speaking people use a/c to refer to as cooling
>>962856
>>962860
I've already translated that to US dollars. So 2200$ US for a 2 unit system. If I include more units the price goes up but for a start I think 2 units would sufice. Yes that price would include a professional install. I'm not sure if they're an elite installer but I'm going to specifically look for such.
I'm also gonna look for that specific unit, at the moment she is gonna live alone with no pets, but that is a very good suggestion because she does have a cat so I'll have to bare that in mind.
Thank you for your assistance, you have been very helpful.
