Opinions on Senville minisplits?
Trevor_Lambert
| Posted in Green Products and Materials on
I just today became aware of this product, which is a pre-charged mini-split, available in Canada. Prices seem really good, specs look good to my untrained eye. Wondering if anyone has heard any good or bad about these, or can comment on the performance specs in relation to the bigger names (Mitsu, Fujitzu, etc.)
https://www.sogoodtobuy.ca/18000-btu-dual-zone-mini-split-air-conditioner-sena-18hf-d/
Also, I know the dual zone would be less efficient than two singles, but how significant is this? I’d rather have one outdoor unit for aesthetics and space efficiency, plus it’s about $500 cheaper.
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Replies
With an HSPF of only 10.3 (zone IV) or 8.8 (zone V) it's not too impressive. I couldn't find an AHRI submittal sheet online supporting even those paltry efficiency claims, nor could I find extended temperature capacity tables to figure out just how much heat it delivers at lower temperatures.
Assuming your 99% outside design temp isn't much lower than -8C and assuming the capacity numbers show up on an AHRI sheet somewhere it'll probably work. Nothing in the installation manual indicates the presence of a pan heater for clearing defrost ice, to it's probably not a good choice for climates where it can go for weeks at a time without climbing above 0C.
https://senville.com/content/manuals/multi-zone/multi-zone-installation-manual.pdf
What kinds of numbers should I be looking for? The Mitsubishi units of similar size seem to have similar ratings for HSPF, worse for SEER:
MXZ-2C20NAHZ2
Multi-Zone Cooling and Heating
COOL (BTU/H) 20,000
Heat (BTU/H) 22,000
SEER* 17
HSPF* 9.8
MAX ZONES 2
ENERGY STAR® YES
SOUND LEVEL AS LOW AS DB(A) 54
HYPER-HEAT YES
The lack of pan heater probably makes it a no go, as well as the unknown efficiency loss at lower temps. I think our 99% design temp is -16C (near London, Ontario).