Evap or Split Reverse Cycle for new small house

[Tano]

Hi All, I am building a house in Midvale (near Midland) that is a small 3x2 with only 105sqm internal living. For roughly the same price would you rather install a ducted evap system or a good panasonic 8kw reverse cycle split in an open plan living area?

The 8kw can both heat and cool and will do a decent job since the manufacturer recommends a room size of ~ 70sqm but will cost 10x in powerbills for the tenants. Which option do you think will be more attractive to tenants in this lower social economic area?

 

[westminster]

Split system.

I bet $5 a tenant never looked at the star rating of an appliance before deciding whether to apply for a place or not

Just something that is reliable and a good price that has the words on it 'air conditioner'

 

[Tano]

Split system.

I bet $5 a tenant never looked at the star rating of an appliance before deciding whether to apply for a place or not

Just something that is reliable and a good price that has the words on it 'air conditioner'

Thanks Myf, that was what i was leaning towards. Its only a cost of $2 a day if they choose to use it and they wont have to pay if they leave it off. I assume they both have roughly the same maintainance lifecycle but the split can be used in all seasons.

 

[HD_ACE]

I would (am) going split. Maybe even two smaller units per house.

 

[sanj]

Evap just has terribly negative connotations, I would never install one

 

[Ausprop]

yes evap doesn't market well, but after making use of one in the house I am in (because it was already installed) I will never go back to rev cycle. I love having the doors and windows open, leaving the thing on non stop oblivious to cost and just not feeling like stuck in an office all day.

 

[BMW]

I live in a hot dry area so an evaporation air conditioner is 10x better, but for a rental i would install a split system as it covers both heating and cooling with less maintenance.
But if you do get an evap make sure you get a dump valve installed to save having to manually drop the water over the winter months.

 

[DavidMc]

PPOR = evap
Rental = split

 

[WattleIdo]

Evap is very good!!!

 

[Corporategirl]

Another thing to consider is does it have a gas outlet (for heating)?

If not it is another reason to go for the reverse cycle.

 

[crest133]

Evaps typically add about 20% to the inside humidity of the house. In some high humidity areas it makes mould a problem, especially in wardrobes with clothes and leather. But they're cheap to run and a pleasure to live with. Ideally they need an annual service to cleanout the evap wet panels and the water reservoir, using disinfectant. In areas where the water might freeze, the pre-winter dump can be done with the annual service but needs the dump valve/tap so water refill can be done ground level at start of summer. We've got 6 of them in apartments with our motel in Wagga Wagga NSW, dry non-coastal climate so works well.
Split system aircons cost more to run but probably less hassle for tenant and landlord providing they clean the filters every month. In our first hand experience, our then managers and cleaning staff ignored cleaning filters so after about 6 months the roller fan got dirty and kinda hairy so it couldn't cut/chill air. Then the Aircon could not reduce inside summer temp below 26c. After we cleaned the filters (easy job) and the roller fan (difficult job), then the temp plummeted to 16c.
Both systems need maintenance.
Good luck
Cheers
crest133