We are expanding our office to a 40 sq/m space underneath us.
This space needs AC, so I made a couple of calls and asked for two local companies to quote on a small split AC unit for this new space. They both sent their AC "experts" out to look at the space to see what size AC unit was needed.
Local AC "experts" are notorious for oversizing AC's, plus throw in a gringo, and you get back some pretty outrageous quotes
Quote 1) 36,000 BTU's (RD$64,000)
Quote 2) 24,000 BTU's (RD$46,000)
Both gave me very poor reasons why the AC unit needed to be so large.
Expert 1) "This is the Caribbean, European AC units are always smaller, plus you don't like it as cold as us Dominicans."
Expert 2) "If you want less BTU we will install whatever you want but this is our recommendation."
Experts or idiots, this should be the question!
I'm no AC expert, but I can search the web and find info sources on AC sizing
I looked at some AC sizing websites and they all came in at around the 12,000 BTU mark for the climate, office space (40 sq/m), windows, no kitchen and amount of people working in the space.
Australian site with a AC calculator.
I choose Cairns, which is a very tropical climate with often 100% humidity.
http://panasonic.com.au/products/easy_selector.cfm?objectID=30
They recommend a 3.6KW AC. That's just over 1 ton or 12,000 BTU's.
Florida or Texas.
http://www.hvacopcost.com/equipsize.html
They also calculate around 12,000 BTU's.
Or we can use this conversion tool and go by area code.
http://www.mini-split.com/html/mini-split.htm
Once again, just over 12,000 BTU's/
So...
Can anyone with any AC experience please tell me if my calculations are right or should I take the advice of the local "experts" ?
This space needs AC, so I made a couple of calls and asked for two local companies to quote on a small split AC unit for this new space. They both sent their AC "experts" out to look at the space to see what size AC unit was needed.
Local AC "experts" are notorious for oversizing AC's, plus throw in a gringo, and you get back some pretty outrageous quotes
Quote 1) 36,000 BTU's (RD$64,000)
Quote 2) 24,000 BTU's (RD$46,000)
Both gave me very poor reasons why the AC unit needed to be so large.
Expert 1) "This is the Caribbean, European AC units are always smaller, plus you don't like it as cold as us Dominicans."
Expert 2) "If you want less BTU we will install whatever you want but this is our recommendation."
Experts or idiots, this should be the question!
I'm no AC expert, but I can search the web and find info sources on AC sizing
I looked at some AC sizing websites and they all came in at around the 12,000 BTU mark for the climate, office space (40 sq/m), windows, no kitchen and amount of people working in the space.
Australian site with a AC calculator.
I choose Cairns, which is a very tropical climate with often 100% humidity.
http://panasonic.com.au/products/easy_selector.cfm?objectID=30
They recommend a 3.6KW AC. That's just over 1 ton or 12,000 BTU's.
Florida or Texas.
http://www.hvacopcost.com/equipsize.html
They also calculate around 12,000 BTU's.
Or we can use this conversion tool and go by area code.
http://www.mini-split.com/html/mini-split.htm
Once again, just over 12,000 BTU's/
So...
Can anyone with any AC experience please tell me if my calculations are right or should I take the advice of the local "experts" ?