heater/air conditioner unit

I am converting my attic into a bedroom and was wondering if there is an electric unit that you recommend that will both heat and cool the space (roughly 350 sf). I will be providing a dedicated circuit. Sort of like the units you see in hotel rooms. Thanks.

These units are very popular in Europe and Asia. The price in the states is much more expensive here. They package installs in/on the wall with the condensor located outdoors. You'll need a drain for the condensate. Might be cheaper to do a window unit. Someone else should chime in w/ more info for you.

Jason

There are many thru-the-wall units available. The hotel-type package units PTAC) are a little larger and have more features than you need. Also cost a little more. But by all means don't rule them out.


I like the GE AJ....series. These are available in both cooling only and heat-cool models.

Most units with heat will be 240 volts. Most smaller units will have strip heaters. Some Friedrich units, and other brands, plus the PTAC units by GE, Amana, Friedrich, etc. are available with heat pump as the primary heat mode. This costs a little more up front, but can reduce operating costs significantly.

We don't know your climate, how your attic is constructed, etc. so get someone local to do a heat loss calc to get the neceassary BTU size.

Reply to adding electric baseboard heat

I live in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. I envision a unit that looks like an air conditioner, has a vent or grill visible from the outside, with 2 dials, maybe one that graduates from red to blue like a car, and the other one off-heat-cool dial. I would like to permanently install it through the wall and not use a window. I tried to google it but I don't if one exists and I don't know what its called. Thanks.

It's called a through-the-wall room airconditioner. Go to GEappliances.com to see their selection of heat/cool models . Look at the AJ.....series.

jimbo said:

We don't know your climate, how your attic is constructed, etc. so get someone local to do a heat loss calc to get the neceassary BTU size.

Click to expand...

You can do that yourself. Check out this site, login w/ the student school login (make something up). I've found it to be pretty acurate if you enter good data.

http://www.heatload.com/html/heatloaddisclaimer.htm

The heat loss calculation, thanks to Lakee911, is 5180 btu. Is this the sizw of the AC/heat pump I should get?

I'm not sure if you can find that exact number. Better err on the low side than the high side. Running the unit longer and less often is more effecient and better at humidity removal than running it more often for a shorter period of time. I'm sure 5000 BTU is a pretty common size.



Jason

Be aware that a heat pump loses capacity as outdoor temperature goes down. Once it gets below about 38 to 40 degrees outside, it has to defrost the coil from time to time. At about 15 F they don't work to well at all.

You need to check the temperature at which the heat pump capacity is rated.

Most heat pump systems in colder climates use supplemental resistance heating. That can be part of the heat pump system, or it can be a separate heating unit such as electric baseboard. One kilowatt=3413 BTUs per hour.