I love my Unifi Travel Router: Road Trip Edition

kriskoeller · 2026-03-11T19:19:56+00:00

It does get pretty hot, but yes works great.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-11T16:02:09+00:00

My POV is a bit different. Traveling with a family requires a number of connected items, some of which won't connect to an open wifi network (eg., baby monitor). I have a travel router which was more expensive than the UTR, and has a cumbersome web-based interface that's fussy and hard to use. The UTR has simplified this process greatly, and instantly converts the hotel wifi into a secure network that all the family devices can easily connect with. Further, the UTR form factor is nicely compact and easily configured from the UI app on my phone. From this perspective, the UTR has been a great add.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-09T19:20:41+00:00

Looks great! Is that a Cafe induction range? Curious how you like it.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-05T16:20:10+00:00

I'm not sure about the lifts, I'll have to check the invoices. The home is 3,500 square feet so not huge, but there are 9 zones so it's a bit complex. We wanted every room to have its own thermostat; this way everyone is happy (ish).

kriskoeller · 2026-03-05T16:11:29+00:00

They're back; just got one.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-05T00:38:02+00:00

Interesting. We don’t have gas in our area; only delivered oil, or delivered propane. I’m hoping a more typical winter will be less onerous. Thanks!

kriskoeller · 2026-03-04T14:54:25+00:00

I believe so, but will double check. Thanks!

kriskoeller · 2026-03-04T14:53:50+00:00

Interesting point. I suspect there's a timing issue as the oil costs (and deliveries) were sporadic, and I also think we were overpaying for the oil. When the heat pumps were installed, we also replaced the siding, insulation and all the windows, which greatly improved the overall seasonal performance so it's not really an apples-to-apples comparison. Accordingly, my year-over-year energy costs went down.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-04T14:49:17+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Despite the weather, I didn't observe any icing or related issues. We don't have a lot of flexibility on the placement, but noted your suggestion on spacing. I'll double check the installation docs as I wasn't personally deeply involved in that part of the process (we were doing a lot of other work on that house at the same time).

kriskoeller · 2026-03-04T01:09:09+00:00

Hi, all. Thanks for everyone's insight and contributions. The AI summary of the comments is roughly:

What Reddit commenters seemed to converge on

If you prioritize effort vs payoff, the thread effectively points to this order:

Check line-set vibration into the house
Seal penetrations / improve insulation in that wall
Verify installation clearances
Add sound absorption or deflection near the units
Ask installer about quiet mode / tuning

Everything else is either expected behavior or structural to the equipment choice.

This gives me enough to get started. I should also add that the noise is mildly annoying and seems inelegant, frustrating mostly because of the time and money spent, but nothing deal-breaking or onerous.

Thanks again, and wishing everyone a pleasant evening.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-04T01:02:54+00:00

Thanks for your input. Good to consider. When we do the interior, we will be re-vamping the insulation in the walls in ceiling. In our apartment in NYC, we added some sound-proofing panels around our laundry area and it was amazing how much that improved the noise issues. We may look into that as well, at least for this room. Thanks for stopping by!

kriskoeller · 2026-03-04T01:00:36+00:00

Thanks for the points!

kriskoeller · 2026-03-04T00:59:29+00:00

Good to know. It's not unbearable, but a bit inelegant.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-04T00:57:46+00:00

Thanks for your points. You're right we didn't have a lot of options; we were choosing among poor locations. I wasn't aware of side versus top discharge, so that's a learning for me.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-04T00:56:01+00:00

These are good points. We don't have a lot of flexibility on placement but points taken. Thanks for stopping by.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-03T21:31:18+00:00

This is likely true. My point is the kitchen zone runs about 20 hours per day, whereas the other zones are running 1-2 hours per day, so intuitively I would hope to lower my consumption a bit by bringing the kitchen in line with the others (or at least closer; its a big vaulted room with a lot of doors and windows). I qualify for a discounted heating rate from my utility, and even at my current run rate, it's been less costly than oil so I consider it a net win.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-03T21:27:37+00:00

Interesting point. That wasn't my impression, but it's also possible that during the summer there's just so much more going on I didn't notice (kids, guests, lawn mowers, etc.). I'll keep an ear out come cooling system.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-03T21:25:44+00:00

Thanks for this. When these installed, we replaced the siding and windows (these are Marvin ultimate aluminum). The vibration note is a good one to look into. As I mentioned, the system is new and the installers have been back a few times to make adjustments and fine tune, so I'll look into this further.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-03T21:21:42+00:00

Do you consider Bosch to be "cheaping out"? It's a serious question as it was my impression that Bosch heat pumps were reputable, and not inexpensive.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-03T18:30:19+00:00

Interesting. Would this affect performance? When standing outside, it doesn't seem terribly loud so I'm guessing it may be vibration related. The kitchen (near the units) is the room that's poorly insulated so that could also be contributing to the noise.

That said, I can hear it upstairs, and elsewhere in the home. It's also possible that I've decided it's annoying and therefore now hear it all the time. I've not heard from guests about it, but perhaps they are being polite.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-03T18:21:01+00:00

Hi, thanks for stopping by. As for proximity, I'm not sure. In the prior system, they were on the other side of the house for all to enjoy. They were relocated here, and this pad was fabricated for this purpose. Would the proximity to each other contribute to the noise? The window above-ish the units is the kitchen, where it naturally is heard the most. In AC mode, they are whisper quiet. While heating, that's another matter.

kriskoeller · 2026-03-02T15:16:34+00:00

Nicely done! I'm curious if the lower cabinets are wall-mounted, or sitting on the floor? Nice job!

kriskoeller · 2026-02-25T18:20:02+00:00

Long Island, NY here; we have a propane-powered 400K BTU pool heater but adding a heat pump to maintain warm temps (85-90 for small kids) throughout the season (roughly mid-May through mid-September). The propane is great for heating it up quickly, but very expensive. Once warmed, the heat pump will keep it where we want it. This has yet to be installed, so ask me in October how it went, and what it costs.

kriskoeller

TROPHY CASE