Comfortstar mini split question

[bubbap]

Hello. I recently had three 9000 btu Comfortstar minisplit heat pumps installed in our upstairs bedrooms. Initially my understanding was that supplemental electric heat could be installed in the units, but was later told it cannot.
There is no other heat going to these rooms. Until winter arrives, I do not know if the heat pumps will be adequate (Central Kansas). Since the bedrooms are upstairs, and I am heating 2 floors below, additonal heat may not be necessary.
If I do need to add additonal heat, I would prefer to just add
the auxilary heat to the minisplits.
So far I am very happy with the cooling performance.
Can anyone confirm whether or not the auxiliary heat can be installed in them?
Thanks for any replies.

[BaldLoonie]

Better confirm the brand name. Never heard of them. Also, pretty rare for these little plastic minis to accept backup heat so plan on some baseboard electric or another way of warming the room below freezing.

[igwt777]

Originally posted by BaldLoonie
Better confirm the brand name. Never heard of them. Also, pretty rare for these little plastic minis to accept backup heat so plan on some baseboard electric or another way of warming the room below freezing.

Never seen a minisplit whith heating device.

[bubbap]

Thanks for the replies. Currently, only one of the bedrooms is occupied during the winter, but the other two rooms will be occaisionaly used.
I know nothing about baseboard electric, but would welcome any recomendations as far as 110 vs 220, how to size them, brands,etc.
2 rooms are about 110 sq. feet, and another is about 130 sq. ft. I will hire an electrician and/or HVAC guy to do it.

[johnsp]

What's heating the rest of the house now? With the heat pumps, you'll need to remember to shut them down before the temps get below freezing and switch over to whatever aux heat you choose. I run my mini-splits in heat mode durring the Fall/Spring when it gets cool in the evening for the bedrooms. Daytime temps don't require heat for the rest of the house. But when the cold comes, the boiler comes on to heat the whole house for the rest of the winter.

[bubbap]

I do not know how big the gas furnace on our central AC is, but it is a big one, with a 5 ton AC. I also have a direct vent gas fireplace with blower in our 1,000 sq. foot family room in the walk-out basement.

There is a 10" supply going to the upstairs. Before the minisplits were installed, it fed the three bedrooms and the upstairs bathroom. When the minisplits were installed, the air going to the three bedrooms was diverted to our large living room with 14' ceilings, and windows running floor to ceiling on 2 corners,(complicated floor plan)and a steep dark roof. This register is in the ceiling, and moving this air solved a big problem cooling this room, where the thermostat is. Heating was never an issue.

I do believe some additional heat will be necessary in the bedrooms.

I think the best solution would be do simply divert the air going to the living room back to the bedrooms in the winter.
Heating the upstairs (or the living room) was never an issue before the minisplits--only the cooling.
I would think this could be possible with mannually controlled dampers, or simply a thermostat upstairs that shuts of the living room duct, and opens the "bedroom" duct when the upstairs calls for heat. These ducts are easily accessible in the attic. I would probably consider adding return air in each bedroom (none has ever existed) and tie it in the the return air in the upstairs hallway.
Could this be accomplished without a fancy expensive zoning contol system? In other words, a simple thermostat that shuts one duct off and opens another?

Other solutions would be the baseboard heat, or, my contractor has suggested a blower with electic heat (something like a mini electric furnace) that uses the existing suppy ducts. Of these two options, I like baseboard idea because of the "zoning effect"- only using it where/when needed.

I apprecitate any advice and suggestions.

[johnsp]

Your current hot air system was not zoned and only had one thermostat I assume. No issues with electric baseboard but you will need 220 volt lines run up there and might get expensive if your electric costs are high. If the heating was fine before and the ductwork is still available, I would look to see if I could reuse that and get a manual damper put in. That high supply is great for AC for the living room, but for heat it's just providing hot air that will sit up at the ceiling. Send the warm back to where you need it.

[bubbap]

johnsp- you are correct. Central heat/ac was not zoned, and only one thermostat. I also think you are correct that the best route would be to send the hot air in wintertime back to the bedrooms, so I could use the cheaper already available gas heat. I would rather not crawl into the attic to change the dampers, and would need to add quite a bit more ductwork to to get a manual damper where it could be easily accessed. To do this, I would have to add another supply duct in the garage, where the existing supply goes up into the attic (from the basement).

Would it not be relatively simple to put powered dampers up in the attic (one powered open, and one powered close) to open and close the dampers? These could be operated with a simple switch (on/off), or a little more elaborate with a thermostat.
I actually like the idea of a simple on/off switch.
The contractor did install a White/Rodgers thermostat on our central system when he did the minisplits. Would it be possible to operate the dampers from this thermostat- so when the central unit operates the furnace, it also operates the dampers upstairs (close living room/open bedrooms)

I do appreciate your input. I did try to work through these alternatives when the minisplits were installed, but the contractor insisted that the mini's would provide all the heat necessary (even below zero), and told me to wait and see. I am skeptical, and just want to be ready when the problem is a problem.

[Up&Comer]

Never seen a minisplit whith heating device.


www.enviromaster.com - AmericaSeries , offers strip heat in a variety of air handler types and sizes.

ComfortStar ( eair , llc ) is the latest and CHEAPEST to enter into the North America mini split market. Sanyo, Samsung, Mitsubishi long track record - here for the long haul.