Need to Find Ceiling Air Conditioner

[rcox81]

I moved into an older house and I am having trouble getting an air conditioner installed. The place gets extremely hot during the day (I have seen 38 celsius), so going without one really isn't an option.

Given the construction of the room, I was told by homepro that I could only get an air conditioner that mounts on the ceiling or a floor model. But I have only seen a few choices for ceiling A/C units and they were all very expensive (35,000 and up).

I really don't want to buy a used model, I have already had a major problem doing that. But it seems like I might have no choice.

Does anyone know where I can get a relatively inexpensive A/C (13,000 BTU) for around 15,000 baht? I would much prefer to get a new one but I would take a used one if it actually works and has a couple years life left in it.

any help is much appreciated

[Langsuan Man]

I am confused. Most units here in Thailand are referred to as split units. Meaning that the compressor is outside the room or house and mounted on the wall near the ceiling is the blower unit. Any type of "ceiling " mount is going to be terribly expensive since you will need to install duct work to vent it to the outside

Did the people at Home Pro actually see your room or are they telling this to you based upon information you supplied ?

[Naam]

Given the construction of the room, I was told by homepro that I could only get an air conditioner that mounts on the ceiling or a floor model.

i'm not surprised to hear that kind of rubbish because... This Is Thailand!

[wayned]

What is the construction of the walls?

[Pacificperson]

Ceiling mounted units are normally more expensive. Most of the ones that I have seen were used in commercial applications. Can you hang a vertical board from the ceiling, next to the wall, and mount an inexpensive standard split unit on it?

Edited February 8, 2014 by Pacificperson

[rcox81]

What is the construction of the walls?

Here are some pictures of the space.

There was obviously an air conditioner here previously, I don't see what the problem is.

At this point, it seems best to just buy a ceiling unit but I haven't found many choices and they are all much more expensive than the wall units.

[rcox81]

I am confused. Most units here in Thailand are referred to as split units. Meaning that the compressor is outside the room or house and mounted on the wall near the ceiling is the blower unit. Any type of "ceiling " mount is going to be terribly expensive since you will need to install duct work to vent it to the outside

Did the people at Home Pro actually see your room or are they telling this to you based upon information you supplied ?

The place was surveyed two different times, once by homepro and once by powerbuy. Powerbuy told me that installation itself was going to cost another 11,000.

Homepro said installation would be 1,750, but they also said they would have to install it in a different part of the room and there would be a lot of noise because that wall is made of wood.

[wayned]

What is the construction of the walls?

Here are some pictures of the space.

There was obviously an air conditioner here previously, I don't see what the problem is.

At this point, it seems best to just buy a ceiling unit but I haven't found many choices and they are all much more expensive than the wall units.

Looks to me like you could attach supporting metal framework between the two cloumns and use a standard wall mount unit. At least that's what I woul do. Just because the last ubit was a ceiling mount doesn't mean the new pne has to be. Home PRo guy is most likely on commission and was thinking of $, sorry, baht!

[kamalabob2]

You might get "real" answers if you go meet in person with the owner of a popular high volume local, not chain, air condition shop in your community. They can send out experienced trained installers to look at your specific situation and then you can go in person back to the shop and sit down with the owner. The owner of that shop can show you the brochures of the brands, and specific models he thinks will accomplish your cooling goals. The salesman at some stores might be working on commission for a hot water heater or sanitary ware fixture company next month. The brochures all have enough English for you to see electrical consumption and db noise levels. The length of the tubing, the size of your electrical breakers, the place where the water drains, all manner of considerations a real PRO in the field, who has done air conditioning for many years can help you consider. The local high volume air condition shop can generally offer lower total installed prices, since that same sort of shop will be the shop that does significant business with Government Buildings, Hospitals, etc.. In Buriram Province, two family owned air conditioning shops do the lions share of such Hospital and Government buildings contracts. I take note of what a/c shop staff are performing repairs and upkeep on the a/c units at the large Buriram Government Hospital. The owner of Buriram Supply on Thani Road set me straight on why I should blow off any fantasy of ceiling mounted a/c vents. "What could possibly go wrong" during the installation, normal use, or a repair of such piping? Not to mention the over the top pricing of such ceiling units.

[krisb]

Given the construction of the room, I was told by homepro that I could only get an air conditioner that mounts on the ceiling or a floor model.

i'm not surprised to hear that kind of rubbish because... This Is Thailand!

Hmm, possible there is not enough ceiling space. Example would be apartments where ducted systems are impossible to fit 300 or 400mm ducting cause the next level of concrete is just above ceiling height, and even if there was enough space, a new system would be a nightmare to send a tradesman up there to try and run the new ducting throughout.

Op, you should just go to Tesco or 1 of the major players that buys in bulk, and get a split system. We picked up a medium size btu output for under 20k installed. Beautiful on a hot day.

[wpcoe]

I am confused. Most units here in Thailand are referred to as split units. Meaning that the compressor is outside the room or house and mounted on the wall near the ceiling is the blower unit. Any type of "ceiling " mount is going to be terribly expensive since you will need to install duct work to vent it to the outside

Did the people at Home Pro actually see your room or are they telling this to you based upon information you supplied ?

The place was surveyed two different times, once by homepro and once by powerbuy. Powerbuy told me that installation itself was going to cost another 11,000.

Homepro said installation would be 1,750, but they also said they would have to install it in a different part of the room and there would be a lot of noise because that wall is made of wood.

When discussing "ceiling mounted" air con units, there are two options that come to mind:

The first one is a rather standard type here in Thailand: It can either be mounted vertically on the wall at floor level or mounted horizontally on the ceiling. The second one is a less common recessed ceiling mount.

The first one can be found at most places selling air cons and for a reasonable price. The second one is more expensive and requires a more elaborate installation routine.

I suspect the HomePro one with a B1750 installation charge was the first type, and the PowerBuy one with a B11,000 installation charge was the second type. Having said that, when I've shopped for air cons at HomePro and PowerBuy they included free installation...