Whole House Air conditioners in Pattaya

[PattayaMale]

I will soon start to do some remodeling. I am trying to find a whole house air conditioner system. They must have them, but I can locate a store. I currently have 6 airconditioners. 5 are very old floor mounted units. They work fine but are not very efficient. I figure it might cost close to $8000 US to replace what I have. I imagine that having one big condensor/compressor with contols to turn off the vents in unsed rooms would save on electric bills and maintenance. Maybe not??? But I have not been able to locate stores that sell them so I could ask. Anyone have information?

[Guest bkkbob]

I thought it was more efficient to have separate units. New ones will be more energy efficient. Though all those remotes are a pain. I just did up a two-bedroom apt and have 3 separate units. I think that's the way to go.

[Guest wowpow]

Try http://www.arcaircon.com/aircon/indexa.html

 

You need to remember that Thai buildings are not well insulated either walls, windows or roofs so whole house a/c can run expensive. However, electricity is cheap, so if you are not worried about being 'green'.

[PattayaMale]

Thanks to both bkkbob and wowpow for the reply and suggestion

[Guest Pearl69er]

I visited a house in Southern California 6 months ago that was especially designed to not have air-conditioners. Wowpow is right about bad insulation With the right design etc you could get away with minimal air-cons even in Thailand.

 

It's a shame no-one is designing and buliding "eco-friendly houses in Thailand. I'm sure there would be a huge market for them Sadly most architecture is looking very European and similar to Australia-completely wrong for the climate.

[Guest Hedda]

I would forget the whole house a/c concept for several reasons, not the least of which are both cost and convenience. Electricity is cheap here, but only if you compare it to western rates.

 

By itself, electricity is by far the most expensive monthly overhead cost of living here, other than food and tricks, and it's been rising steadily. I'm betting that a whole house system in a large place would cost you 8-10,000 baht monthly if you intend to usually cool the whole place.

 

Remember, when you go to bed at night, you don't want to cool the whole house while you are sleeping. It's a real nuisance if you have to go around shutting vents to unused rooms.

 

And why are you paying to have a new system big enough to cool the whole house, when you may seldom want to do that ? Using a big system to cool one living room in daylight, or one bedroom at night is not energy or cost efficient.

 

If I were you, I'd see if those floor mounted units, which are vertical and very inefficient at that height, can be disassembled, discarding the cabinets, and mounting the air exchange works horizontally into closet spaces at ceiling height, where they should function much better than now.

 

Since you are remodellling, that should be no problem if you have the ceiling space to work with. If they are still working well, as you say, you will save a small fortune in using them as ceiling units, rather than buying new ones.

[Gaybutton]

Also, there is maintenance to think about. I have three room units. Only a couple days ago I had an air conditioniong company over here to clean and maintain them. They took each one completely apart and worked on them until they seemed like new, inside and out. It took three hours for them to complete their work. Total cost, 1650 baht.

 

Back where I come from, it would cost at least US $30 more than that just to have an air conditioning service come and look at the unit, whether they do any work on it or not.

[Guest gonefishing]

With the right design etc you could get away with minimal air-cons even in Thailand.

 

Sadly most architecture is looking very European and similar to Australia-completely wrong for the climate.

 

Quite true - I have no air-cons in my house but it is purpose designed/built for fans and natural ventilation and would actually be impossible to air condition. I use fans all year round, but in the "winter" (now) I sleep under a quilt.

 

Most of the "Thai" or "Thai-Bali" style houses apparently popular around Pattaya now have no more connection with traditional Asian design, perfected over centuries, than Hadrian's Wall - although their construction is sadly not so long lasting!

 

Hedda's advice is correct about the whole house a/c concept, which is only really viable in houses designed for it, although if you do want it most of the larger a/c showrooms along Sukhumvit will be only too happy to supply and install it (after a fashion) - at a price.

[PattayaMale]

Thanks to all for the great advice. I have contacted ARC and have talked about getting a floor to ceiling unit which will be set in a cabinet in a corner of the living room/dinning room/open kitchen. Then a ceiling/wall mounted in the TV room over looking the pool. Since that ceiling is 4 meters, the sales person said that the hot air by the ceiling will act as a lyer of insallation. My current units are "Direct Cool" and look very old. But work ok but according to the salesman not efficient at all.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I realize this may not be a very helpful post for others but the responses really helped me!

[Guest gonefishing]

the sales person said that the hot air by the ceiling will act as a lyer of insallation.

 

Now that really is a new one!!! I am sure you have already thought of it, if you have not already got it, but ensure that you have got at least 4" of proper insulation between any ceilings and the roof. Most older houses here do not have any. Boring, I am afraid, but practical!

[PattayaMale]

Thanks gonefishing for the reminder about the insulation. The one room that has a 20'ceiling will have the wall board on it replaced and insulation installed before the new wall board ceiling is put up. The house is a bit old. It was built in the 1980's so I assume there is not much insulation

 

I realize others may be bored by this likd of post but I really appreciate the help of those that have lived here for awhile...or those that know so much more than me about remodeling.

 

I paid a Thai decorater for a design. He was going to do the project until he gave me the amount for his services. It was more than the remodel!! So I am trying to do the contracting work with the assistance of my Thai friend and some others that have already done some remodeling. Although no work has started, the prices are much better...soon we will see about the quality