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Mini-Split Clearance

forbin

forbin

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I've been doing a lot of research, and recently purchased a 12K btu mini-split. I'm puzzled by the indoor clearance requirements that were listed on all the brands I checked. They all want 6-8 inches on top of the indoor unit, and 6-14 inches on each side, which makes sense to me. However, they also specify approx. 8 ft. from the bottom of the unit to the floor. That is distressing because we have a low ceiling in our bedroom, so the distance to the floor is more like 6 ft, and it is even less because the indoor unit will be positioned above the bed. The distance from the bottom of the indoor unit to the nearest object (the bed) is only like 4 feet. Is that going to be a problem?
 
I think the minimum distance from the ceiling probably matters to an extent. Since most home ceilings are 8ft, I would guess that number is a maximum not a minimum. i.e. No more than 8ft above the floor, if you have a 10ft ceiling. Nothing else really makes sense.
 
I just installed 4 in my house and I am in the same boat as you. Go off the min clearance from the ceiling. It will be most beneficial in the summer for a/c and in the heat it helps recirculate the heat when the blower runs 24/7 (i turned that off in the bed rooms)
 
I have installed 4 units, all about 4" from the ceiling, the only "issue" is the thermostat setting will be off as it is sitting in the hottest air in the room. All work fine, just typically have to add a few degrees not to freeze out the room. One can use the "follow-me" temperature on the remote if this would bother them.
 
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ksmithaz1 said:
I think the minimum distance from the ceiling probably matters to an extent. Since most home ceilings are 8ft, I would guess that number is a maximum not a minimum. i.e. No more than 8ft above the floor, if you have a 10ft ceiling. Nothing else really makes sense.
Click to expand...
The guides I checked specifically indicated a minimum. I even emailed one of the vendors (Aurus) and they suggested that I not buy their unit if I don't have at least 8' clearance below the head. The closest I have heard anyone come to an explanation is that it has something to do with increasing wear on the compressor, but that still does not quite make sense to me.
 
forbin said:
The guides I checked specifically indicated a minimum. I even emailed one of the vendors (Aurus) and they suggested that I not buy their unit if I don't have at least 8' clearance below the head. The closest I have heard anyone come to an explanation is that it has something to do with increasing wear on the compressor, but that still does not quite make sense to me.
Click to expand...
Yeah that increased wear makes no sense.
It could have something to do with the up down auto swing of the louver and not being able to push the air far enough across the room. Panasonic AC's come with a warning saying that the Air must not be blowing directly onto your bed, especially at your head.
I can tell you first hand that this warning is legit!
I cleaned my AC and forgot to reposition the left to right louver away from the head of the bed. Just one night of cold air blowing across my head caused me to wake up with an ear ache that lasted for a few days.
 
robby said:
Yeah that increased wear makes no sense.
It could have something to do with the up down auto swing of the louver and not being able to push the air far enough across the room. Panasonic AC's come with a warning saying that the Air must not be blowing directly onto your bed, especially at your head.
I can tell you first hand that this warning is legit!
I cleaned my AC and forgot to reposition the left to right louver away from the head of the bed. Just one night of cold air blowing across my head caused me to wake up with an ear ache that lasted for a few days.
Click to expand...
My wife will be in heaven. She loves cold air on her head when she's sleeping. And since she'll be in heaven, I will too, so...
 
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I'm not an hvac pro , but I have installed quite a few of these in Baja California, Mexico.
There are thousands of these things here installed below 8ft. Most of the ceilings are 8-9ft. 6" over the top clearance , the head itself is 10- 12" , and you are around 6' 6" to 7 ft 6" to the bottom.
It's stupid hot here in the summer, so everyone has one of these over their bed. Ours runs every night of the year at 62f.

I wonder if the 8ft thing is so someone doesn't mount it 2 ft from the floor and then complain because it's not working properly.
 
Oh, good night - most homes have 8' walls, even if the ceilings slope up from there. And millions of homes have 8' walls with flat ceilings!

We have an indoor unit in our bedroom that's maybe 6.8' from the floor to the bottom of the unit. Has worked fine for 2-3 years now. The top distance definitely matters as that's where the air intake is. The bottom? I think someone nailed it about head bump liability. They don't want basketball centers suing them because they walked into the unit.
 
LywWyr said:
I'm not an hvac pro , but I have installed quite a few of these in Baja California, Mexico.
There are thousands of these things here installed below 8ft. Most of the ceilings are 8-9ft. 6" over the top clearance , the head itself is 10- 12" , and you are around 6' 6" to 7 ft 6" to the bottom.
It's stupid hot here in the summer, so everyone has one of these over their bed. Ours runs every night of the year at 62f.

I wonder if the 8ft thing is so someone doesn't mount it 2 ft from the floor and then complain because it's not working properly.
Click to expand...
That's great feedback. Makes me feel a lot more comfortable with the clearances I have available.
 
Madcodger said:
Oh, good night - most homes have 8' walls, even if the ceilings slope up from there. And millions of homes have 8' walls with flat ceilings!

We have an indoor unit in our bedroom that's maybe 6.8' from the floor to the bottom of the unit. Has worked fine for 2-3 years now. The top distance definitely matters as that's where the air intake is. The bottom? I think someone nailed it about head bump liability. They don't want basketball centers suing them because they walked into the unit.
Click to expand...
I know, right? Maybe it's a liability thing, but I've seen it in the manuals for several vendors now.
 
Here's the instructions for the MrCool units I've put in. I don't know how they come up with these specific floor clearances. As long as there's enough ceiling clearance, why do they care how high the thing is off the floor.

1693711209286.png
 
I put a Senvill unit in my finished basement with barely 8” on top and only an inch or two on one side. It’s been working just fine for both cooling and heating for almost 5 years now.
 
I have a Mitsubishi Hyper-Heat mounted on a 5 foot wall. It works fine. I requested a floor unit, but it was out of stock and expensive.
 
Because somebody with a liberal arts degree was making the manual. They asked the engineer: "How far should it be mounted from the ceiling?" He replied, "It doesn't really matter, you probably want 20cm or so so you can get to it.", "How about the sides?", "Really whatever works, probably 10-15cm and you can get to what you might need to with a screwdriver or other tool." "OK then how about high up?" "Well if your cooling as high as you can within reason, say no more than 245cm or so or you can't reach it even with a stool." "Great got it!, unit MUST BE mounted . . ."
 
I also might note the Mr cool is 'recommended' floor clearance. This would be for optimal air flow. I you were to put it in A/C mode a couple feet off the ground and the max up-angle on the fan is ~15 degrees it isn't going to work well, and some idiot would complain the manual didn't say anything about that, but most of the DIY'ers here would go: "Gee, I wanted to put this thing down low, but the way those louvers move that ain't gonna work as well without some additional air flow consideration." YMMV.
 
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