Hello,
I have three MSZ-FH12NA indoor units with three corresponding MUZ-FH12NA outdoor units. My house is about 1600sq ft split level, one per floor. They heat/cool the house without problem, the house is pretty tight. I live in New England. I've noticed when it is very cold in the winter the mini-splits do not heat effectively. At first I thought they weren't powerful enough but simply increasing the temp with the remote produced more heat, so it's not that the units can't handle it, it was something else.
After a lot of research I came across an article that I can't link here.. that validates the internal temp sensors aren't always very effective. Basically when adding the external MHK1 thermostat to to the CN105 port the unit changes it's behavior and seems to work more efficiently and maintain selected temp better. The internal temp sensors don't do a good job in extreme cold or extreme heat. I may have paid for these if reviews were even moderately favorable. Overall you don't get much functionality via the MHK1 and the interface/setup seems to be pretty garbage.
My next failed attempt (my own fault) was the FLAIR puck. Since the Mitsu units use crappy IR remotes I figured why not get a FLAIR since it's basically a universal remote with WiFi. Well that's all it is. I thought for some reason it would modulate temperature and act as an external tstat but I was wrong, my fault. Returned those.
Now I've come across two (kind of three) new options I didn't find before, the PAC-US444CN-1 (CN105 connector to add any 3rd party tstat) and the PAC-USWHS002-WF-1 (a WiFi interface for Mitsu Kumo Cloud)
Option 1 - three PAC-US444CN-1, three VPL24-210 for voltage and I'll have to pull the wires to another wall and get three smart thermostats. With this I'll have full control with wifi and external tstats. (I think?) +labor to install these. I'll have probably the most future proof option since I'll have tstat wiring.
Option 2 - three PAC-USWHS002-WF-1 @ and three external temp sensors PAC-USWHS003-TH-1 and I can use their proprietary Kumo Cloud software/app that doesn't have many reviews yet but I don't have to pull any wires and it's a little cheaper. + labor but I'm limited to mitsu's proprietary software which I'm fine with if it works good. Seems a little cheaper than Option 1 and the installer wouldn't have to pull tstat wires to another wall.
Option 3 - There are some people building their own CN105 connectors and wiring them to raspberry pi's with WiFi modules and temp sensors for under $25 but there would really be no user interface and probably flake out on me a lot, I'm not very interested but thought it was cool.
Why Mitsubishi is cool with selling this unit with IR remotes is beyond me but am I on the right page? Is my info correct, did I miss anything? For the love of god if I go with option 1 or 2 are my mitsu units going to truly be controlled by an external temp sensor? That's really my biggest concern. Maybe it's because I have low ceilings and these units are so close to them that they pool heat and misread the internal sensor, I'm not sure but it's definitely clear after three years that the internal temp sensor is dead wrong.
I have three MSZ-FH12NA indoor units with three corresponding MUZ-FH12NA outdoor units. My house is about 1600sq ft split level, one per floor. They heat/cool the house without problem, the house is pretty tight. I live in New England. I've noticed when it is very cold in the winter the mini-splits do not heat effectively. At first I thought they weren't powerful enough but simply increasing the temp with the remote produced more heat, so it's not that the units can't handle it, it was something else.
After a lot of research I came across an article that I can't link here.. that validates the internal temp sensors aren't always very effective. Basically when adding the external MHK1 thermostat to to the CN105 port the unit changes it's behavior and seems to work more efficiently and maintain selected temp better. The internal temp sensors don't do a good job in extreme cold or extreme heat. I may have paid for these if reviews were even moderately favorable. Overall you don't get much functionality via the MHK1 and the interface/setup seems to be pretty garbage.
My next failed attempt (my own fault) was the FLAIR puck. Since the Mitsu units use crappy IR remotes I figured why not get a FLAIR since it's basically a universal remote with WiFi. Well that's all it is. I thought for some reason it would modulate temperature and act as an external tstat but I was wrong, my fault. Returned those.
Now I've come across two (kind of three) new options I didn't find before, the PAC-US444CN-1 (CN105 connector to add any 3rd party tstat) and the PAC-USWHS002-WF-1 (a WiFi interface for Mitsu Kumo Cloud)
Option 1 - three PAC-US444CN-1, three VPL24-210 for voltage and I'll have to pull the wires to another wall and get three smart thermostats. With this I'll have full control with wifi and external tstats. (I think?) +labor to install these. I'll have probably the most future proof option since I'll have tstat wiring.
Option 2 - three PAC-USWHS002-WF-1 @ and three external temp sensors PAC-USWHS003-TH-1 and I can use their proprietary Kumo Cloud software/app that doesn't have many reviews yet but I don't have to pull any wires and it's a little cheaper. + labor but I'm limited to mitsu's proprietary software which I'm fine with if it works good. Seems a little cheaper than Option 1 and the installer wouldn't have to pull tstat wires to another wall.
Option 3 - There are some people building their own CN105 connectors and wiring them to raspberry pi's with WiFi modules and temp sensors for under $25 but there would really be no user interface and probably flake out on me a lot, I'm not very interested but thought it was cool.
Why Mitsubishi is cool with selling this unit with IR remotes is beyond me but am I on the right page? Is my info correct, did I miss anything? For the love of god if I go with option 1 or 2 are my mitsu units going to truly be controlled by an external temp sensor? That's really my biggest concern. Maybe it's because I have low ceilings and these units are so close to them that they pool heat and misread the internal sensor, I'm not sure but it's definitely clear after three years that the internal temp sensor is dead wrong.