So far so good
Submitted by Happycamper286 -
1/5/2020
This review applies to the 115 volt Frigidaire window unit AC/Heatpump model FFRH0822R1E1. I purchased this in Nov 2018 to take over for an unreliable 5 year old Lennox whole home AC/Heatpump. I read many reviews and being a technical person I found the majority incomplete and some of my questions unanswered. I™™ve been using the unit for close to 2 months and I hope the info I™™ve gathered help answer some of your questions/concerns. I live in the Panhandle of Florida where winters are usually mild but overnite freezing temps are not uncommon and daytime highs don™™t get much above 60 sometimes. My experiences to date include numerous evenings below freezing, some as low as 26 degrees F, and a few days above 85 when I used the AC function. I live in a 1200 sq ft manufactured home whose insulation is poor. I keep my 2 spare bedrooms closed off and don™™t expect this unit to cover them however the areas I do use it for are about 650 sq ft which is well above what the unit is rated to cover. I utilize a ceiling fan and sometimes a floor box fan to distribute the Hot or Cold air.Remember that this unit has 3 functions; AC, Heat Pump and Supplemental Heat or as I call it ™toaster coils™™. The Heat Pump function and the Supplemental Heat never run at the same time and my experience shows that the Supplemental Heat comes on if the temp in the cabinet is below approximately 35 degrees. In my case this equates to about 32 degrees outside air temp. Once you™™ve selected heating you have no control over when the unit is in Heat Pump versus Supp Heat mode. Also note that the fan speed is locked on Low with the 115 volt unit when in either Heating mode. You have 3 fan speeds when in the Cooling mode. Once the unit has brought your space to the desired temp it will cycle the fan on for 40 seconds every 10 minutes to sample the air temp and decide whether or not to turn the Cooling or Heating back on. I had a power consumption meter on the unit for about 2 weeks and noted that when it does this it draws just under 1 amp which at 120 volts which is 120 watts. Power(in watts)= Volts X Amps.I monitored power consumption in all modes and here™™s what I found along with other operational items of interest.-with an outside air temp of 32 degrees and the inside at 67 I turned on the Heat and the unit went into the Supp Heat mode and was drawing 12.4 amps, just under 1500 watts. The Supp Heat is rated at 3500 BTU which 1026 watts of heating. My opinion is a typical space heater would be more efficient, remember the units ™toaster coils™ are in a cabinet exposed to outside air. After less than 2 minutes the Heatpump kicked on and the Supp Heat went off. Any colder outside air and the Heatpump will not kick in however with an outside temp higher than 36 the Supp heat never kicks in, it goes right to Heatpump mode. The Heatpump mode is quite efficient and was drawing just under 6 amps and this mode is rated at 7000 BTU. I™™ve tested the temp of the air discharge in this mode and it typically is 76 to 78 degrees. Based on about 8 nites of below freezing temps I™™ve found that once the outside temp reaches about 36 then the Heatpump function will kick in. In my case I use inside space heaters until this occurs. On the colder nights where I use only a space heater in my bedroom it will take about 1 hour for the unit to warm the house once the outside temp rises and the Heatpump mode kicks in. I™™m learning that warming the house more than I typically would prior to sundown helps it hold heat and the efficiency of the unit makes it worthy of doing.-I™™ve had 3 or 4 days where I™™ve used the Cooling mode with 1 or 2 days near 90 but low humidity compared to Florida summertime. The Cooling mode is rated at 8000 BTU and drew about 7 amps which I feel is fairly efficient. I was able to keep my 650 sq ft space comfortable but in the Florida summertime I will add a 4500 BTU window AC unit in my Master bedroom. It is not uncommon to have summertime temps near 100 with a heat index over 105 due to Florida humidity.-As far as power consumption the first 5 days this was in use were chilly with overnite lows down to 26 degrees and daytime highs around 55 and the unit only used 15 KWH which at my rate was equal to $1.50. I like that! After 12 days, which included 2 days of Cooling mode time and 7 days of Heatpump it had used 32 KWH or $3.20.Overall I am very pleased with the unit. It is neither quiet or noisy but pretty much what I expected. I hope it will prove reliable but I purchased a 3 year extended warranty via Amazon just in case. Hope this helps answer questions others may have.
Originally posted on frigidaire.com
Yes, I recommend this product
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