XFILES

Hi,
I have the vents in the walls but it appears, or so the survey notes said, the air conditioning is incomplete.
Does anyone knows of firms in the area who could let me know what needs to be done and give me an estimate?
Thanks everybody for your help on various subjects these past few weeks.
Regards,
XFILES

EMR

It sounds like you just have the pre installation done which ( hopefully ) are the internal vents, electrical connections and tubing within the walls.
You will need all the equipment installed for it to work your fellow forum members in the area should be able to give you contact details.

Jon-Bxl

Hi Most of the places on CE, comes with the venting in place for a central A/C. But you need to buy the actual units, (as EMR says) hence it is 'incomplete'. I doubt if the venting itself is incomplete. However beware of the pipes that carry the gasses. Make sure you do a pressure test so that there is no leakage. This could be a big problem if you need to change. All AC suppliers will be able to do that... and you may be able to make it a condition of purchase (we did).

Depending on your place, there may be an option on how you install. We have a duplex, with an upstairs and downstairs... and upstairs is the main bedroom.

We put a separate system upstairs as we don't often have all the bedrooms full and it seems a shame to heat/cool the entire place with a central system. The central unit drives downstairs. Also they use the worst vents, you have to physically remove the vents to close them off when say a bedroom is empty. Stupid and cheap system, when a little lever would have been more appropriate... but there is still 'leakage' from the closed vents, and I don't think very efficient. So we warm/cool our bedroom for about 30 mins before and it works fine... with a timer that switches it off after weve fallen asleep.

Depending on your usage, you can also get 'invertor' units (the best) from Leroy Merlin and there may be an argument to use those separately as well... and pay someone to install. This MAY be a cheaper option - but you will have more external units. Depends on what your heating cooling requirements are.... worth asking about. You may also be able to put say 2 coolers for separate rooms with 1 exterior unit from Leroy. Result more individual control and no usage of the vents/pipes.

We are glad to have AC but for the cost it isnt (for us) the main priority.. Mosquito nets were the best high cost investment we've made. If we had to choose we would first put the mozzie screens in.

Good luck


Jon

EMR

I agree 100%. the nights when we really need aircon are not that frequent but the little buzzers are around for what seems like 9 months year and we wish we had installed screens rather than face the cost and hassle of retrofiting them.
We did not have aircon for at least 3 years and a decent fan did the job of making the bedroom bearable.
Another thing to consider , if you are renting be prepared for the fact that guests have no idea how aircon works.
Doors and windows left open as they try to aircon Europe, aircon on for hours in empty apartments and guess who is paying for that !!

MikeCol

Hi, totally agree re mozzie screens but I have to say that after living here for 7 years & although we have aircon (cooling and heating) we use it mostly in the Winter for heating and have ceiling fans in all the bedrooms plus the living room for the Summer months.These hardly cost anything to run (we leave them running all night sometimes) are quiet, and keep the rooms lovely and cool. Regards Bryony.

P.S. don't be put off by anyone who tells you cannot put ceiling fans in some of the properties. All you need to do is get a Spanish workman to do it as they know the correct way they can be fitted. B

MikeJ

I DIY fitted some fans - I have bi-directional which spin one way when you want to move warm air down from the ceiling and the other when you want to move up cooler air from the floor. Taken with a small burst of aircon or warmer as appropriate they are very effective. Leroy Merlin around 60euros.

Fitting to the ceiling was straightforward as they replaced the existing ceiling lamp. However, the ceiling itself was a bit friable so in order to provide a good anchorage I used a strong resin filler to fill the hole and capture the fixings.

soyrosa

I have a contact quite reliable and decent prices if you want his number message me and I'm happy to give it to you.

Jon-Bxl

Re A/C and renters. I posted a while back about a gadget that senses people in the room and sends an ON signal to the AC unit, replicating the remote control action. If it senses no people in the room after a preset time (say 10 mins).. it sends an OFF signal. So it stops those renters that leave it on all the time.

Sorry I have lost the advert but anyone that knows how to search the forum may find it.

I have fond memories of ceiling fans from my childhood in Asia. I strongly recommend that you get proper fixings to the ceiling - from someone who knows what they are doing. A slight imbalance (which can happen after a while) makes the fan shake and can put a heavy loading on the fixings - and you don't want a heavy spinning fan falling on you! (Especially if its about at the middle of the bed - where there are sensitive 'bits' )

It seems from the discussion that AC is not so critical in every case, so worth thinking about the options. So perhaps not such a simple answer to the OP... but perhaps there is a more cost effective option to total-AC in the home... depending on your particular situation.

Good luck

Jon

MikeCol

Hi, re imbalance of ceiling fans. When we bought ours each one came with a set of tiny weights that you stick to the ceiling side of the fan to compensate for any imbalance in the set up. Also with regard to fixing to the ceiling our Spanish guy drilled into the concrete (above the ceiling) and then used 6/8 in screws to secure it. They have been up for 7 years and so far we/they are still intact, regards Bryony

Jon-Bxl

That's great, I'm sure you both would go for a proper installation, I heard that some people might not go into the solid concrete** - and its really important that the installer of the fan is competent and serious with the installation, so I think it is worth the mention. I have not had the best workmen every time in CE.

Jon

** Or is it 'breeze block'

XFILES

Thanks so much for your help and advice. We will spend a couple of vacations there, in June and August, and then have a rethink.
Mosquito screens thanks, must look into this as well.
Regards
XFILES

Fred R

John,

Ref "... a gadget that senses people in the room .." - Airconosense by any chance?

Jon-Bxl

Its been a few years - but it sounds like it (well done!). Here is some discussion

Save money - Air conditioning

The mozzie screens I bought were top quality German made ones from

M2M Blinds...in the Algarve

Perhaps a bit more pricey - but you can see the quality.

Good ones also from a local Spanish co in Ayamonte, Josade, previously recommended as well on the forum

Jon