Cooling the entire apartment with one air conditioner: a brilliant solution or unreasonable savings?

Split and multisplit systems

For proper and complete cooling of several rooms, there are only two options:

• install a split system corresponding to the area in each of the rooms where a decrease in air temperature is required;
• install a multi-split system - in it, several indoor units can be connected to one powerful external unit at once.

Multisplit system allows you to connect several indoor air conditioner units to one external unit

A big plus of the multi-split system is the ability to select the number of indoor units according to the number of rooms, each based on a different area. This is the only convenient solution in situations where it is forbidden to install more than one external air conditioning unit on the facade of a building.

When buying a multi-split system, you can choose indoor units of different cooling capacity depending on the area of ​​the rooms

But there are also disadvantages, the main of which is the cost. So, for example, a multi-split system from Midea for 2 indoor units of 20 and 25 sq.m. will cost about 70 thousand rubles, while two conventional split systems from the same manufacturer will cost 19 thousand rubles. (for 20 sq.m.) and 21 thousand rubles. (for 25 sq.m.), which is only 40 thousand rubles in total, and this is much less than the installation of one multi-split complex.

Cooling several rooms with one air conditioner is a real idea, but imperfect

It is simply impossible to achieve a full and, importantly, uniform decrease in temperature in this way.

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Why you need a window duct

First, we propose to consider the question of why portable coolers are unable to work without air being vented outside the room. Let us briefly explain the device and the principle of operation of traditional monoblock air conditioners.

The home air conditioning unit is assembled in a single housing equipped with wheels. Inside are the following items:

• 2 heat exchangers - evaporator and condenser;
• two fans that drive air flows through these radiators;
• compressor unit;
• expansion valve;
• electronic control unit, sensors.

Heat exchangers, compressor and expansion valve are connected by tubes filled with a special refrigerant - freon. The latter circulates due to the pressure supplied by the compressor.

All refrigeration machines, including air conditioners and split systems, use the Carnot cycle in their work - the transfer of thermal energy by evaporation and condensation of the refrigerant. How does this happen:

1. Freon in a liquid state is fed into the first heat exchanger, blown with hot room air. The substance evaporates and takes away the lion's share of heat from the air flow - this is how the room is cooled.
2. The refrigerant “charged” with energy passes through the compressor unit, which raises the gas pressure. This will cause the freon to condense at a higher temperature.
3. Getting into another radiator (condenser), blown by a second fan, the refrigerant passes into a liquid state and returns the supply of thermal energy. Freon then flows to the expansion valve and is again fed into the evaporator, as shown in the diagram.

The flow cooled in the evaporator enters the apartment. And what to do with the air heated in the condenser? It is clear that it is impossible to throw it back into the room - the air conditioning will come out to zero. That's why you need a hot air flow to the street through a large diameter hose.

Classic portable home air conditionerequipped with a pipe is quite efficient. Spending 100 W of electricity, it releases at least 300 W of cold or heat in winter mode. There are also portable models with two air ducts brought outside and designed to cool the condenser. For more information on the topic, see the video:

Air conditioners for apartments with two or more rooms

in selection and installation of air conditioners two or three rooms there are no significant differences from previous recommendations.

Khrushchevs and their air conditioning

walk-through dvushka in Khrushchev

A standard two-room Khrushchev can get by with one split for two adjacent rooms. The indoor unit is mounted above the doorway between the rooms in the entrance hall. The air will be repelled from the opposite wall and pass into the bedroom. Usually its dimensions are from 8 to 11 m². Buying an air conditioner for such a small room is pointless. A device with a power of 3.5-4.5 kW can easily cope with the cooling and heating of two adjacent rooms.

Owners of a three-ruble apartment in Khrushchev with two adjoining rooms and one separate room can solve the problem of air conditioning without spending money on air conditioners for several rooms as follows:

• Adjacent (walk-through) rooms are designed in the same way as described in the option about a two-room apartment;
• The problem of air conditioning the kitchen and the remaining small bedroom is solved by installing a more powerful unit next to the front door in the corridor. Minus - a long freon line through the entire room or kitchen.

Rulers and their conditioning

two-room ruler

If the apartment has a layout called a "line", then there is absolutely no need to buy an air conditioner for two rooms with a limited budget, since the premises are located here in one row. It turns out that the hallway is equidistant from them. This means that you can hang an inverter in it, which will provide cold and heat to all zones. This is acceptable if the occupants are willing to endure the arctic cold in the corridor, because to lower the temperature in the rooms and the kitchen to 24°C, you will need to set 18°C ​​here.

Homeowners do not want to freeze in the hallway? Then the following recommendations regarding apartments with separate rooms will help.

Undershirts and their conditioning

three-room vest

Apartments with separate rooms are best equipped with multi-split or duct installations with air ducts between the rooms. This will save space both outside the building and inside the rooms themselves and the kitchen.

The disadvantage of such systems is the inability to set autonomous temperature parameters in different areas of the apartment. Cooling a kitchen with appliances running will require lower values ​​than cooling a bedroom or nursery.

One of the advantages of a ducted air conditioner is the possibility of mixing outside air.

ducted air conditioning system in multi-room apartments

Two separate inverter-type air conditioners can be installed in two small separate rooms. They will process the air efficiently and will not incur high electricity costs. The same can be done in a three-room apartment. But this is justified only if all the rules mentioned at the beginning of the article are observed.

If you try to place separate splits in three rooms, then this will bring little benefit to the design of the apartment itself, as well as the external appearance of the house. It is much more reasonable to buy an air conditioner for three or more rooms, that is multi-split system or canal. In most cases, they have an inverter type of compressor control, which eliminates the operation of devices in the frequent start-stop mode.

Some air conditioners for three rooms can be combined with different types of indoor modules. The most powerful wall-mounted apparatus is hung in the living room, and a wall-mounted device with lower productivity is hung in the bedroom.

multi-split in a three-room apartment

Many air conditioners for three rooms do not need to be assembled on their own. Ready-made multi-splits are on sale, perfectly matched in terms of parameters relative to each other, which can be easily and quickly hung.

Professional installers will help you choose the exact options for installing the air conditioner in the room and its suitable type.

Other Ways to Cool Your Home Without Air Conditioning

There are a lot of tips that can be adopted by anyone who wants to know how a room should be cooled without air conditioning. We list the most effective.

1. In the midst of hell, you need to keep locked up not only the windows, but also the front doors. This will block the ingress of hot air mass from the outside and cool the space around by a couple of degrees.
2. If there is no air conditioning, it is useful to keep the front doors locked in the entrances of apartment buildings.
3. When the apartment is on the first two floors, it is useful to plant climbing green plants or trees nearby on the street, which, when they grow up, will close the windows from sunlight with their crown.
4. It is useful to minimize the use of incandescent lamps and any heating devices (iron or kettle, for example). You need to cook food early in the morning, while it is cool outside. When this is not possible, you can have lunch or dinner with cold okroshka.
5. The temperature in the room will drop without air conditioning if you do wet cleaning more often and wipe the floors twice a day.It is better to roll up the carpets for the summer and give them to the dry-cleaner, and walk barefoot on the floor.
6. A bowl of cold water placed near the bed and a clean cotton napkin can help cool the room in the very heat. Before going to bed, you need to moisten it and wipe your face, neck, hands. You can cool a clean, dry sheet in the refrigerator, and then just cover yourself with it. This is exactly what our grandmothers did, who lived and did not know what air conditioners were.
7. A wet towel wrapped around the neck and wet wristbands will allow you to safely endure the hottest period.
8. Turn off the heated towel rails in the bathroom. They heat up the air a lot. Watch less TV and computer. During operation, any household appliances heat up. This causes the temperature to rise by a couple of degrees.
9. Cool the body from the inside, drink more soft drinks, treat yourself to ice cream, chilled fruits and berries. Always keep ripe watermelons in the refrigerator.
10. If you live without air conditioning, sleep on the floor in summer. By evening, hot air accumulates under the ceiling, and below it is much cooler. Therefore, it makes sense to throw a mattress, pillows on the floor and spend the night while the heat hovers outside the window. If you leave the windows open at the same time, you can easily enjoy a restful sleep. Night is the coolest time of the day. Even a small temperature difference will allow the living space to give excess heat to the street.
11. Walk around the house in loose clothes made from natural fabrics. It absorbs excess moisture well, allows the skin to breathe, and the breeze from the fan to blow through the body.
12. Learn from animals that live without air conditioners. In strong heat, they prefer to sleep more, move little, walk measuredly, slowly.If there is such an opportunity, you need to do just that: spend most of the day in a horizontal position.
13. Switch to a night work schedule: stay awake at night and rest during the day.
14. Keep yourself in good physical shape, choose foods that cook quickly and are well absorbed by the body. Eliminate from the diet hot foods and drinks that can warm up the body from the inside (pepper, alcoholic beverages, lard, garlic and ginger).

The ability to adapt plays a big role in maintaining health in the hot summer season. After all, our ancestors somehow lived without air conditioners and cooled the living quarters using improvised methods. Today, millions of people live in the equator zone, not everyone has climate control equipment (air conditioners) in their homes, but they somehow survive and lead an active lifestyle. They are helped by the ability to adapt to the circumstances. No one gets depressed about the heat, does not panic when it is more than +45 degrees outside the window. The human body is able to survive even in more extreme conditions. The main thing is to be able to adapt to them, using the usual improvised methods. The most effective are listed in this article. And they don't have air conditioning.

Indoor unit location for cooling multiple rooms

In an effort to save money or when it is impossible to install several outdoor units, some try to arrange one powerful air conditioner so that it immediately cools 2 or 3 rooms. There are several common options here:

• placement of an air conditioner in the corridor, provided that it has access to all rooms where cooling is required;

Often the air conditioner is placed in the corridor so that it cools several rooms at once.

Some install an air conditioner opposite the door to adjacent rooms so that one device cools several rooms at once.

Such an arrangement is possible, but it is worth understanding that it is simply impossible to achieve full-fledged air cooling in several rooms at once. It's all about poor air exchange - even through an open door no more than 10-15% of the cold will go out into another room, which makes it impossible to create a uniform temperature in the apartment. In addition, such an arrangement of the air conditioner entails a number of inconveniences:

• When installing a device in one room with a cooling capacity designed for the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe apartment or several rooms, too sharp a temperature drop will form - it will be very cold in the room where the air conditioner is located, since its area is less than the potential of the equipment.
• The air conditioners have a thermostat that stops the cooling process when the user-specified temperature is reached. Thus, a powerful device will quickly cool the room and stop, not allowing to fully reduce the temperature in adjacent rooms.

Properly preparing an apartment

Beautiful sunny weather makes us happy. It allows you to open the windows wide and let fresh air into the house. Anyone who has to put up with cold and inclement weather for most of the year dreams about it. Therefore, you can see how in summer the wind freely walks with a draft and fills the entire space of living rooms.

In hot weather, this approach is inappropriate. Together with the sun's rays, heat pours, so the rooms heat up quickly.To reduce the temperature without using air conditioning, you need to learn how to properly ventilate the apartment in the summer. You can effectively cool it without air conditioning, if you open the windows in the early morning from 5.00 to 8.00 and let in coolness. It will allow you to maintain a comfortable temperature inside the living quarters during the day without air conditioning. In the hot heat, one more evening airing is simply necessary. It must be done after 22.00. It is better to keep the windows closed during the working period.

The purpose of the air conditioner in the apartment

Many of the apartment owners are thinking - do you need air conditioning in the apartment if it already has a ventilation system? Air conditioning systems create comfortable conditions in the house and have a beneficial effect on the well-being of a person. This effect is provided by the main functions of the air conditioner:

• Cooling and heating of air to the desired temperature at any time of the year.
• Purification of air masses through a filter system.
• Inflow of air from the street and additional ventilation of the room.

The ability to regulate the air temperature in the apartment is very useful in the summer months, when the temperature outside reaches high levels. We are at home most of the time - therefore, it is here that we need to provide coolness for comfortable rest and sleep. Heating air conditioners also help out in the autumn months, when it gets cold in the apartment, and the heating is not yet working.

The functions of air purification and air ventilation allow you to eliminate dust and harmful impurities that can enter the apartment from the street during natural ventilation.

This option will be indispensable for allergy sufferers and people suffering from respiratory diseases.Constant air purification is necessary for apartments where small children and the elderly live. Finally, the absence of dust will save time on cleaning rooms, and fresh air will contribute to the well-being of residents.

How to choose a place for an air conditioner in a room

An incorrectly chosen place for installing the cooling system reduces its efficiency by 3-4 times

Therefore, it is important to follow the following rules:

• The air flow should not fall on the place where a person is permanently located, for example, on a sofa or a desk.
• The unit should not be located in niches, as this creates unnecessary obstacles to the air path, and also leads to freezing and breakage of the device itself.
• Do not place the unit above sockets and electrical appliances, as during its operation a small amount of moisture is released. If it gets on an electrical device, an accident will happen.
• It is forbidden to hang the equipment close to the wall, as you will block the air holes, as a result of which the work power will decrease.

Features of the functioning of air conditioners

It is technically possible to connect up to 7 internal boxes to one outer box. There are no clear links between the capacity of the outdoor unit and the number of indoor units. One external can work in a company with both two and three internal ones.

Ordinary multi-splits differ from expensive and advanced multi-zone installations by the impossibility of indoor units working in a “heat-cold” pair.

They are able to function only in one climatic direction - either all in the cold, or all in the heat. If you turn on the blocks to opposite modes, the equipment will not start.

But you can set a different temperature on each of the devices.But you need to stay within the same mode - either cooling or heating.

What characteristics of the room to pay attention to

Before you calculate the power of a split system for an apartment, you need to calculate the main parameters that affect the performance of the device. There are 5 main factors by which the power of the air conditioner is selected:

1. Square. The most important parameter to consider. For every 10 sq.m. area of ​​the room requires 1 kW of air conditioning power. Otherwise, the performance of the device will not be enough to cover the entire territory of the room.
2. Ceiling height. The amount of space in the rooms also has a significant impact on the performance of the air conditioner. If the ceiling height is more than 3 meters, then it is better to provide for a power reserve (cooling capacity).
3. The number of people permanently in the room. The human body generates 100 watts of heat at rest and 200 watts during physical activity. For example, if there are always 2 people in the living room, you will need an air conditioner 200 W more powerful. In the gym, this figure should be increased by 2 times for each person.
4. The size and number of window openings. Through the glazed surfaces, the sun's rays enter the apartment, they heat the room. Before you calculate which air conditioner is needed for a room, you need to take into account the number and area of ​​​​windows on the sunny sides.
5. What floor is the apartment on. On the upper floors, right under the roof, the temperature rises more strongly.

On our website (in the right column or at the bottom of the article) you will find a calculator that takes into account the main parameters.The functionality of this calculator is quite enough for everyday calculation - there is no need to delve into other calculated subtleties.

A competent choice of the power of the air conditioner allows you not to overpay for electricity and at the same time ensures reliable operation of the device.

normal mode

The engine of a compressor, a conventional air conditioner, can only work in two modes: it works and it doesn’t. When the air conditioner is on, it works at full capacity, and when the room temperature reaches the required temperature, the compressor turns off and only indoor unit fan blows air around the room. If the temperature has changed, the air conditioner will turn on again. And so it continues all the time. Inverter air conditioner, unlike conventional, when the set temperature is reached does not stop working, but simply reduces power while continuing to function, but only at lower rpm.

That is, the classic version either works or not (wasting the lion's share of energy to start), and the inverter works constantly, dissipating part of the energy on the inverter.

That is, here the merits are debatable. Let's do some thought experiments.

For various premises, there are pre-calculated standard capacities of air conditioners that allow you to reach and maintain the set temperatures.

The power of the air conditioner is less than or equal to the required

If we purchased an air conditioner for a room with a power "back to back" or less than required, then this means that it will have to work constantly most of the time without turning off the compressor. An inverter air conditioner, in such a situation, will work in exactly the same way, all the time at full power.It should be remembered that for an electric motor, constant operation is less painful than frequent start-stop (unless, of course, it is sharpened for this business).

At the same time, an air conditioner with a classic compressor drive will be in a more advantageous position. Having started once, it will work in a steady state. And the inverter air conditioner will show a greater consumption of electricity, since, in addition to the operation of the compressor, it will have to spend electricity on losses on the inverter.

The air conditioner power is more than required

In this case, the air conditioner will not work continuously, but only until it cools the room to the desired temperature. There will be constant on / off. In this situation, the power loss to start the compressor drive will be significant, and the inverter air conditioner will gain the advantage in savings.

But this is all theory. What will practice tell us, unfortunately, I am not so rich as to make experiments in nature, but we may well use data on electricity consumption from “store” data. For example:

No open windows

Any user who is going to purchase climate equipment for their home has a reasonable question: what about ventilation? After all, if the sink air or humidifier work, then the windows must be closed? Because if you open them, the device will humidify the air outside.But not airing for a long time is also bad, because it grows carbon dioxide concentration in room. And this is worse than flying dust and dry skin.

“Indeed, it turns out an absurd situation,” says Viktor Borisov. - We clean and humidify the air, then we start fresh from the street, with it all the dirt, dust, soot, soot that is overboard flies into the apartment. You can keep the windows ventilated so that the flow of air from the streets does not stop. Through a small window gap, the purified air will not immediately escape, and yet there is a more effective solution to the problem - forced ventilation.

Victor assures that after installing the supply air purifier, you can forget about open windows and ventilation - “smart” technology will itself supply fresh air to the house, purify it and warm it in the cold season.

“Inlet ventilation is installed quickly, it does not require dirty and dusty work - a small hole is drilled in the wall bordering the street, a breather is attached to it from the inside of the apartment - a device slightly smaller than a conventional air conditioner,” explains Viktor Borisov. - The air is drawn from the street into the hole, goes through several stages of purification by filters that trap dust, soot, unpleasant odors, and enters the room. Some manufacturers also supply the breather with an ultraviolet lamp, but there is no definitive answer on whether the UV disinfection devices in compact breathers are really effective.”

Almost all breathers sold in Russia are equipped with a heater that brings the air taken from the street to a comfortable temperature, and many are equipped with a carbon dioxide sensor: the gadget itself determines when the level of CO₂ in the room rises and turns on the ventilation.While the owners are not at home, the device turns off so as not to consume electricity.

Forced ventilation should be done in every living room, primarily where people sleep. The cost of equipment for one room is about 35 thousand rubles. Once a year, you need to change the filters in the breather, and also wash the air intake grille every couple of months, on which the largest particles of debris and dust stick.

“If we installed forced ventilation in an apartment or house, the problem of air purification and fresh air supply is solved. It remains to buy a humidifier to maintain the optimal level of humidity at home, because the presence of forced ventilation during the heating period, when it is colder outside than in the house, will a priori make the air dry,” says Viktor Borisov.

A device with a built-in humidifier has recently appeared on the market, such a breather solves three problems at once: ventilation, air purification and humidification. The disadvantage of such a device is a small water tank with a volume of only three liters, such a breather will have to be filled twice a day.

The expert notes that supply ventilation is especially relevant in houses that are located near noisy roads, highways, in environmentally polluted areas.

Karina Saltykova

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

What is a multi-split. Block layout. Features of installation work.

Installation of the system in 2 stages - before repair and after it.

If there is no possibility or desire to install two separate air conditioners, it makes sense to choose a split system for two rooms. Important parameters when choosing are power, temperature range, length of freon pipelines, height differences between blocks.

Share with readers your experience of choosing and using a split system for two rooms. Please leave comments, ask questions on the topic of the article and participate in discussions - the feedback form is located below.

source

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

What is a multi-split. Block layout. Features of installation work.

Installation of the system in 2 stages - before repair and after it.

If there is no possibility or desire to install two separate air conditioners, it makes sense to choose a split system for two rooms. Important parameters when choosing are power, temperature range, length of freon pipelines, height differences between blocks.

Share with readers your experience of choosing and using a split system for two rooms. Please leave comments, ask questions on the topic of the article and participate in discussions - the feedback form is located below.