Air to Air heat pump for garden office?

esc123

On the planning stage for buying a garden office. Its going to be about 20m^2. Most of them are simply heated via a small electric heater. I am of course concerned about heating but I am equally concerned with cooling as some of the showrooms I have visited had garden offices that were uncomfortably warm due to UV rays coming in through large windows.

We would like to have large windows and plenty of natural light but we also want a comfortable temperature during warm weather. Air to air heat pumps can do heating as well as cooling. I rang a heat pump provider and they gave me a very rough estimate of 4000euro for a single wall mounted indoor unit and external unit.

This isn't cheap so my question is "is an air to air unit for a garden office overkill"? Is there an alternative solution that would be more economical or will the initial cost of the Air to air unit be recouped over time?

TerraSolis

You could DIY a ducted (no outdoor unit) AC quite easily and pocket the 3k in the difference!

https://www.buyitdirect.ie/p/10000-btu-wall-mounted-air-conditioner-and-heat-pump-without-outdoor-unit-with-wifi-for-rooms-up-to-30-sqm-iqool-smart12hp

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122417646#Comment_122417646

Is the one with outdoor unit very hard to DIY?

conor_mc

we have a garden office and it does get very hot during the summer months, particularly if keeping the door closed for privacy on work calls. Glass sliding door faces south-east so the office heats up early in the mid-morning sun.

I would’ve loved an air-to-air heat pump, but 4k for one is nuts. Think someone on another thread here picked up a couple for €3-400 each and had them fitted for €250 a piece, albeit after doing some prep work themselves.

That said, if you have orientation options, consider how you can shade the glass face in summer. For example, ours has a glass corner, so maybe a metre or so of full height glass at right angle to the full width sliding door - you could use a feature like this facing south for natural light rather than full-width facing south. Am also considering an external shade of some description - maybe a sail or an awning. Probably several hundred euro for a good one, but cheaper to run than a heat pump!

conor_mc

having had an electriq dehumidifier, I’d steer clear tbh - their compressors are cheap and ours needed replacement in less than 18 months. Others lasted 3 or 4 years of almost constant use drying seemingly endless laundry!

conor_mc

Come to think of it, I would consider electric underfloor heating or even infrared over a cheap convector heater. Convector is heating the air above your head, you’re sitting low so your legs/feet and even hands can feel cold working at a desk in winter. Heating from the ground up will be more comfortable, and I wish I’d considered underfloor when building ours - that said, I haven’t really considered costs or practicalities. I did try a standalone IR heater at feet level and it was better than the convector. Might even mount that on the wall next autumn.

4k is just an absolute joke. These units cost less than 1k with all the associated materials. It's about half a day for two to fit excluding electrics.

If you're dublin based try this crowd

https://m.facebook.com/dublinair/

Paul Kiernan

4k? That's mad, Ted.

This guy has 99.4% feedback and is doing top brands fully delivered for €300 to €400 -

I'm thinking of buying one just to see if I can fit it myself!

Paul Kiernan

Sorry, link didn't load!

https://www.ebay.it/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=ingrotek&_sacat=69197&store_name=eshopping&_oac=1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122419779#Comment_122419779

They're very easy to install with the correct tools, you do need f-gas certification for most of them though.

esc123

Thanks everyone for very helpful feedback. In summary, 4 grand is a complete piss take and shouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. Viable options are

• AC unit that can do hot and cold (~1000 euro)
• Air to air unit and install myself (~400 euro on ebay, looks suspect tbh. Been scammed on ebay before!)

Also beware of orientation and shading. Our office will be west facing with sides and back surrounded by walls so shaded. But could still get a lot of sun in the evening. Thinking of getting an extended overhang on the front for more shade at the expense of less natural light.

Haven't a clue about installing these things myself but even paying someone to do it will be a lot less than 4 grand! Thanks again for all the input!

TerraSolis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122426926#Comment_122426926

This guy manages. 😅