In article Tb0Ag.7365$jt.6019@trnddc04, says...

I live in an 82-year-old six-unit apartment building, and the heat comes
from a single furnace through steam radiators. Needless to say this creates
a problem of reaching an optimum temperature. Not only are there wide
variations in heat between apartments, but some like it hot, some like it
cold.

It seems to me our best solution would be to establish a very low
temperature level for the main furnace -- like 60 degrees -- and then have
each unit provide their own supplementary heat to bring the it up to the
desired level.

I've been looking at these "mini-split" systems which provide both air
conditioning and heat.

Does that sound like a good solution?


While I am sure an HVAC expert can offer some advice as to the possibility of
zoning the present steam system, I can at least offer some experience with the
mini split. I just installed a 12,000 btu unit in my home and am quite happy
with it. They install fairly easily as long as they can be mounted on an
exterior wall with a place to mount the outdoor unit nearby. The longest line
set I found offered on the units on eBay was 24', although the units themselves
will operate with a line length up to 50' or so. And bear in mind that most
mini splits have a single indoor unit, so it needs to be placed where the air
flow can reach the whole area.

--
Dennis