Quote:
Originally Posted by Beaker
...if you could tell about your experiences with mini-splits that would be great!
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Well, I've use one for about a year...
I live in a small house (aprox 700 sq ft), built about 120 years ago, and never insulated until I moved in. My insulating project has spanned a couple of decades and several code changes, so I have upgraded my insulation procedure as I have progressed. I'm now realizing I'll have to remove some of the insulation I put in, in the beginning to meet code.
I'm currently layering rigid foam in the walls, sealing at every layer. Insulation is really important, no matter what your heat source.
So about a year ago I embarked on a DIY ground source heat pump, which is still in progress, and I got a small (3/4 Ton) mini-split to keep me warm while the GSHP is still in development.
I really like my mini-split...
Previously, I was trying to reduce my heating costs by reducing the area I heated using a Nat Gas furnace with forced air (scorched air).
Closing off vents and rooms that weren't in use didn't work so well for me because my furnace only has one rate of heat output, so it short cycled and blasted me with frequent gusts of hot air. Not a pleasant situation.
The mini-split I got is an 'inverter type' Sanyo, and it is able to evenly modulate it's heat output to suit the situation. It's quiet, comfortable and cheaper to run than natural gas. Not only has my gas use gone down drastically (I still have NG cooking and NG demand hot water) but my electric use is not much higher than it was before the mini-split. In fact my gas use is so low that some months the fee to be hooked up to NG is higher than the gas I use. I'm even considering going to Propane, because at the small volume I use, it might even be cheaper.
So far the mini-split has performed as advertised, and I haven't needed to repair or replace anything.
I installed it myself. I didn't think to document my experience. Another blogger here at Ecorenovator named Xringer installed his own, and I shared with him what I had learned in doing mine. He took lots of photos of his install and did a dandy write-up.
Hopes this helps...
Regards,
-AC_Hacker