Idea Two: the missing link in air-conditioning

The tri-fecta of the perfect HVAC system is:

1. Affordable

2. Attractive

3. easy

Right now you can't get all three. You can get a mini-split system which is expensive, not that attractive, and only easy if you pay someone else to install, making it expensive.

You can do a window, portable, or in-wall unit which is affordable and relatively easy, but ugly and generally problematic.

Traditional central AC systems are attractive but expensive and complex.

We need a system which a homeowner can install themselves, and which is affordable and attractive. Here it is:

I'm calling it the Adjacent Room System. It would be a system made up of small units, which would live in spaces adjacent to the room it serves. Typically that would mean attic or basement.

The units would be heatpumps, but not split. They would be all in one. Similar to the way a portable system is today. Portable units are notoriously inefficient. In part because they generate heat in the same room they are trying to cool. that's why they need the hose to the window. An Adjacent Room System (ARS) would sit above or below the room in an attic or basement. It would require one hole into the room and one hole outside the house. The homeowner would need a 6" hole saw. Plastic snap-together components would then fill and seal those holes.

The hole into the room would have a two part register, one for cool air supply, and one for return. These are already done in certain commercial applications. The hole out of the house would carry hot air exhaust and condensation.

Target price per unit would be about 500 - similar to a high quality window or portable unit.

Yes, it would require permitting and an electrician, but those are modest expenses compared to ductwork or large central condensors.

Control could be a remote similar to mini-splits, or a wireless in-room thermostat.