Senville Aura
Contents
Senville Aura 18000 vs 24000
- Heat Pump Calculator says 13000 BTU required for Zone 4, heavily shaded, well-insulated 1000 sf house.
- Compare to single 8000 BTU air conditioner (11A) - sufficient for 1400 sf in Missouri.
- SEER 21.5 for Aura 24000. Indoor noise 46 db. Cost: $405 and $155. Weight: 138 lb [1]. :
- Up to 22.5 for Aura 18000 cooling, but lower for heating. Senville 18000 is good for 1000 sf, 5.2 kW, $395 heating, $112 cooling bill. 46 dB indoor noise. Weight: 107 lb. 1400W and 1700W cooling and heating wattage. [2]. 1685 and 1360 heating and cooling wattage [3]
- Senville 12000 is good for 700 sf. SEER is 25.5 and HSPF 13 - and $239 and $81 heating and cooling bills. 38 dB indoor noise. Weight: 88 lb [4]. Costs $200 less per year on heating and cooling than the 18000 version. 975 and 960 heating and cooling wattage. [5]
- Aura 9000 is good for 400 sf. $200 heating bill, $60 cooling bill. 42 db. 88 lb [6]
Model Types
- SENA 12/HF - Q - wall mounted [7]
- Floor mounted also exists for 12000 BTU. Indoor unit weight of 34 lb. [8]. $1200 [9]
- Installation manual [10]
- Floor mounted also exists for 18000 BTU. 64 lb indoor unit weight. [11]. $1273 on Amazon [12]
- Sena 12/HF/IF - is floor mounted, vs 12/HF/Q is wall mounted. There is a duct version, SENA 12/HF/D.
- Sena 30/HF/D - 2 zone - $2250 [13]. 28000 BTU is sound for shaded conditions, well insulated, zone 4 and 5. See Heat Pump Calculator
- Sena 36/HF/D - $2800 [14] and $3100 [15] - good for 2000 sf, average insulation, average sun exposure (not very shady or very sunny). Essentially - 26k-29k-32k btu is the minimum range for 2000 sf - well insulated shaded; well insulated average sun; average insulation average sun - respectively.
Installation
Moved to Heat Pump Installation
Learnings
- We should actually consider Senville Leto 18000 - recommended for up to 1100 sf [16]. Cheaper. Or Senville Aura 18000 - only up to 1655 W! Easier to power.
- But, Senville Leto goes down to 5F, not -22F like Aura
- 20A wire and breaker for Aura 18000 [17]
- Senville Aura 24000 is up to 1400 sf. But power is up to 2500W for heat, 1920W for cooling. 135 lb outdoor unit weight. Senville Leto is only 80 lb outdoor unit weight.
Notes
Buy - Senville SENA-24HF-Q -[18]
- Outside power unit - uses 10/2 wire, 30A fuse [19]
Controversy - H07RN-F [20] (outdoor unit) is 4 wire - how does that agree with 10/2? at [21]. This says you can use 10/2 [22]. Question: why is supply 10/2 and cable on unit 4-wire? Solution: H07RN-F comes in 3 wire as well.- Cable to inner unit - 14 gauge 4 wire for the power to inside unit - the running amps is only 11 at 230V
- Cooling (Range) 6850~27000 Input (W) 1845 - Rated current A 8.1
- Heating (Range) 11900~31000 Input (W) 2500 Rated Current (A) 10.9
- COP W/W 3.4 - SEER 21.5. $155/$405 cooling/heating costs per year
- Compared to Lennox highest efficiency 24k btu model at about $1000 higher cost (looks like AC only) - more efficient unit does not save money in overall cost because electricity use savings are offset by the higher unit price ($1000 higher price for Lennox SL28XCV Series [23])
- Minimum Circuit Ampacity (A) 25 - to provide startup current
- Max. Fuse (A) 35
- It is not clear whether tubing can be left coiled - [24]. Install manuals say so - one of the diy systems with precharged line sets there instructions specifically state to coil the excess at the system. - but author speculates that since lubricating oil is also carried with refrigerant, there could be an issue.
- This link says coiling is ok (see comments) [25]
- Manufacturers state it is ok. Installers say 'install it properly by cutting to size'. Who do you trust? [26]
- 5-10' coiled - works 3 years running [27]. Other guys in same thread say that coiling will fail after some time. If coiled, lay them out horizontally.
- Inspectors say any oil trap is not good. If coil, do so horizontally - [28]
- Summary - shorten line set and adjust charge. Coiling may work according to manufacturer. Interpretation - if manufacturers say it's ok, it should be ok because if they misled the public, they would go out of business. Assuming manufacturers have integrity, we are ok. [29]
- First principle calculations say - Say there is 8 feet of coil left.
- Tech assist - 'Nel
we are not able to confirm this to you, i would highly suggest you reach out to Senville directly at (800) 242-4935. They will be able to provide technical assistance'
Key Videos
- Point - disconnect vacuum After filling up low pressure side with 1 PSI of refrigerant- [30]
- 1 lb? Not 1 atm? Under 1 lb, 14 psi of atmosphere would mean that air actaully leaks into the tubing.
- Note that instructions say to 'let in refrigerant for 5 seconds with quarter turn of valve' - steps 9-10 on page 30 of manual [31]. This is not correct - we should look at the actual valve, no? Video says 1 lb - also not correct. The right way should be to look at the valve, not by time - but by when valve reads a little above atmospheric pressure of 14 psi.
Manual
R-410A - Refrigerant
- https://www.rses.org/assets/r410a/R-410A.PDF
- Pressure-Temperature chart is shown at end of PDF above
Build Pictures
- Original Seed Eco-Home - [32]
Specs
Heat pump for heating and cooling that works down to -20F. 7kW of heat.
Mounting Bracket
- $70 - [33]
Troubleshooting
- Vacuum doesn't draw down - [34]
- Notes - https://youtu.be/rHkJbU1NGMg?t=497
It says that once you connect the lines, you can't disconnect them (they depressurize). You said you connected the lines to the wrong port and then disconnected them to correct. The lady on the video says you need to get a professional to recharge the lines. In our case it may be simpler to get new lines:
Or call the manufacturer to check if that's what happened :)
