apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I spy cute drapes left open, maybe getting more efficient window treatment would help cooling your place.

I just could not imagine having Mr. Slim hanging on my wall all year around. Perhaps fans in the rooms that you occupy would do the same and can be stored when not in use.

I am envious of a silent air conditioner that doesn't block a window.

Glad to hear such a good experience w/this; have been thinking about getting one.

I too have been considering getting a Mr. Slim a/c unit, one for each bedroom. While I do have a two story townhouse with forced air furnace, I don't want such a huge whole house a/c unit taking up room on most of my patio. Also, I have heard that Mr. Slim is very low on the energy use scale. With two stories the cool air will travel down to the first floor.

Cool. No pun intended. :) Are those felt balls or little lanterns around the window?

Wouldn't that be a cool curtain or room divider...felt balls?

These mini-split systems are VERY efficient for three reasons:

1- This isn't an AC compressor, it's a heat pump.
2 - There is a minimum of ductwork - so you're not cooling/heating a mile of empty HVAC ducts and wall cavities as with a standard whole-house system.
3 - You're only cooling/heating the room that you need instead of the entire house/apartment.

One compressor can handle anywhere from 1 to 3 rooms with separate controls and "head units" for each.

Yes, they're ugly - but not as ugly as those floor standing portable AC units w/ the flexible drier-hoses that go through the windows...

No, they can't be removed in the off-season like noisy window AC units because they must be hard-wired and the coolant/heating tubes are run through the walls to the main heat pump.

It's interesting that these units are finally popping on the U.S. market...I lived in Cambodia for two years, and these types of a/cs were the only ones available anywhere. Same went for most other places I visited in SE Asia.

I had looked into installing these just a couple weeks ago. They're very expensive! I got an installation bid from 3 contractors ranging from $1500 to $1800, and this is NOT including the equipment itself, which runs another $900 to $1500! Maybe because of the fact that they are uncommon in the US is the reason for the expense? The contractors explained that they need to install a condenser well and a dedicated electrical outlet outside, permit from the city, etc. I was very disappointed and offset by the costs.

RE: expense - compared to what? they are certainly more expensive than window units, but a fraction of the cost of retrofitting a space with ducts for conventional AC, or spacepac alternatives.

RE: aesthetics - there are some which look better. see LG. but the reality is we soon stopped noticing ours and they work so well!

and one thing to keep in mind that we found: if you want to have it automatically maintain a certain temp, it's hard because when it's mounted so high up, as is the internal thermostat, the can be several degrees warmer than below. some brands now have external thermostats which can be mounted at a more reasonable level. just something to think about.

We have an LG split-duct system feeding 3 Art Cool units. All the same characteristics as the Mr. Slim but the inside units I think are actually good-looking and with custom panels made to blend in.

My parents got this a few years ago ~ They LOVE IT ~ It used to annoy me being on the wall like it is ~ but I am now so used to it being there I hardly notice it. It works great also, totally worth the expense.

I also fogot to turn it off already this summer I forgot it was on & the energy bill barely reflected my mishap I think the bill was about $6 higher than normal. Which isn't bad compared to leaving a window unit running for 48 hours straight...

These are commonly used in Europe. My parents have them. I couldn't use them in my apartment since the unit would have to be fixed on the outside of the building and I can't imagine my landlord would approve. But they are really quiet and some function as heaters, as well.

They're really common here, especially among people in studio and small apartments who don't need a larger unit. Personally, I love mine ~ it's small, efficient, and very quiet. Yes, it's on your wall all year, but it's really just a white box. A very, very small visual price to pay for relief from the muggy Korean summer.
What I don't understand is why they're so expensive in the states! My low-end unit was about $300USD new, including installation, but even the more expensive models that work for much larger areas are still well under $1000USD - more like $500-600USD or so for a top-of-the-line model.

I live in Korea, and that's the type of air conditioner that's used here. The apartments are built to accommodate them, so there's no special installation fee. I like them because you only cool the rooms you're using.

Since everyone has them, you don't really notice them on the wall. They're like a radiator or a light switch, just something you ignore. The larger units, which stand on the floor and look more like a refrigerator, are a little harder to ignore, but even those kind of disappear once you're used to them.

AC aside, I heart your window treatment!

They had these in India also. They would just drill a hole through the wall to the outside and slap it up. House already had an outlet outside on my balcony. They work awesome. A fan will not provide the same cooling ability as one of these air conditioners. Cost like $5 for the installation.

We installed the Fujitsu Halcyon air conditioner into our ceiling for our recent loft addition with the unit outside. We love it!!

I love your dingle-berries.

I would imagine that these systems are much more efficient than regular a/c because the air is not traveling through duct work.

I'm curious that if the AC system is newbie in the states.
We used this type of system for over two decades.

I just installed one last fall, mine is a combo a/c and heat pump unit. We use it for our bedroom which, despite having central air, is steamy hot in summer and frigid in winter. The birth of our baby prompted the purchase, and we absolutely love it. I cannot think of a better way to spend money, now we rarely turn our central air on because we can sleep in cool silent comfort. We also are able to delay heating in the winter because of our warm toasty bedroom. We also turn the heat way down in the rest of the house at night. They come already charged with the freon, so we just borrowed some equipment from an ac guy we know and installed it and charged it ourselves. Love love love these!

pcg, $3,000 for installation and equipment seems like a bargain compared to the $7,000 quote I got for putting central air into a home I was considering buying (I live in Louisiana -- AC is not a luxury as much as a necessity). That quote was without equipment and took into consideration that I already had ducts from the heating system.

i had these (something close to it) in my apartment in Beijing...it did both heat and a/c....it was awesome and energy saving.

Down here in Mexico, these are the norm. We call them "minisplits," and they are a little more expensive than windowbangers, but SO much more efficient and quiet.

for a closeup on the LG art cool:

http://redneckmodern.typepad.com/redneckmodern/2009/07/art-cool-up-close.html

muuuch better looking than the mr. slim...

Lori, I'm assuming you live in San Francisco? NYC summers can be incredibly hot and humid. Before a/c was common here, folks coped with summer by either escaping the city or sleeping on their fire escapes. Your solutions - heavier windows treatments and a fan - aren't really feasible, especially for apartments that lack cross-ventilation.

I'm amazed that these are common elsewhere in the world, I'd never heard of them. We Americans have some catching up to do!