Anyone regretted installing mini splits on an old house?

[428PI]

Here's my system. Old 1000 sq. ft. main floor house (built in 1928) and aprox. 500 ft upstairs (ductwork shut off now). and a 900 sq. ft basement. I have a 40 year old Longwood propane on wood furnace (plan on using a lot of wood the next couple years). I use 1000 gallons of propane a year heating the house (without any wood). I use two window units for ac (a 5k in the bedroom and 10k in dining room) and the dining room is marginal in summer but acceptable and bedroom is good if we sometimes close door-we like it cool. Thinking of ditching the window units and going with an 18k mini split on inside wall of dining room and 9k in bedroom which will also cool bathroom, hallway, tv room. Has anyone regretted going with the minisplits to supplement the heating in winter and adding cool air in the summer? I know I need to insulate the ductwork in the basement (at the expense of colder basement).

 

[electroman187]

I installed a couple of mini splits on my 10 year old house a few years ago to eliminate ugly window units and to supplement heat for the fall and spring in NH. With current prices of oil and electricity in my area and given the efficiency of my units, it's cheaper to run the mini splits instead of my propane furnace down to -20F (yes, I did a lot of calculations). Having the extra heating option is saving me a lot of money right now. Very happy to have mini splits.

 

[Walkers]

t's cheaper to run the mini splits instead of my propane furnace down to -20F

Wow, that is a lot colder than I thought they would go!

 

[Phuckin' Jim]

Here's a good example of a mini split in Minneapolis.

 

[brianh]

I installed 2 pioneer 12k mini splits last year, our house was originally a small cabin we have added to, the addition is r19 the old parts are r11 primary heat was a wood stove with a propane space heater and electric backup. The house including upstairs is 1300 sq ft

This is the first winter every day has been comfortable regardless how much heat the wood stove was putting out we burned about 1 1/2 cords this year about half of normal. At 11 below F they were still putting out plenty of heat. Since Nov the two units have used just under 1200 KWH. without the wood stove it would be double I think, still not bad at all. The highest I have seen them pull is 900 watts each in single digit temps. In the 20's and above average is 500 a unit

 

[Jackfre]

I installed a dual and two singles in our old home. Prior to the total remodel there was zero insulation in the place. 14 yrs later the minis are doing fine and we are comfortable. With my solar system I have zeroed my electric bill, which out here is a big deal, giving me not exactly free H/C, but in about 4-5 yrs it will be. When looking at adjoining spaces check out the Tjernlund Airshare. It will be a good mod for you and the heat works well enough that you can likely reduce your LP consumption dramatically. Make sure you get the -20* capable units.

 

[428PI]

Since Nov the two units have used just under 1200 KWH

That would only be about 144 dollars at our electric rates (144 dollars). Wow! I've burned through about 800 gallons of propane from fall until now so far at a cost of 1.50 a gallon which is 1200 dollars.

 

[brianh]

That would only be about 144 dollars at our electric rates (144 dollars). Wow! I've burned through about 800 gallons of propane from fall until now so far at a cost of 1.50 a gallon which is 1200 dollars.

It is about 260 for us, rate with all fees tacked on is .22 a KWH, But we have a 9kw solar grid tie system to offset our electric bill it covers around 80 percent of our power usage. And we used $300 in firewood. Even at full rate it is still half the cost of our propane heater per btu.

 

[428PI]

I would like to get a solar setup next year. I think the mini splits would be ideal with the solar. A friend was quoted 7500 to have a new ac and heater put in his 1000 sq ft house. Heck, I can get the mini splits and 2/3rds solar setup for that.

 

[Jackfre]

I purchased my equipment from these guys:

Unbound Solar - DIY Solar, Panels & Complete Systems

Unbound Solar®, formerly Wholesale Solar, sells the best solar products & parts for off-grid, grid-tie, & custom solar solutions.

unboundsolar.com

They did the sizing, I did the install except the panel work. It was really quite simple getting all the roof work done. My install price was approx. 55% of what the pro companies charged. And, you are correct, the minis are best with your own power

 

[walrus]

I purchased my equipment from these guys:

Unbound Solar - DIY Solar, Panels & Complete Systems

Unbound Solar®, formerly Wholesale Solar, sells the best solar products & parts for off-grid, grid-tie, & custom solar solutions.

unboundsolar.com

They did the sizing, I did the install except the panel work. It was really quite simple getting all the roof work done. My install price was approx. 55% of what the pro companies charged. And, you are correct, the minis are best with your own power

Thats what I have done also, 2 12k splits and 8600 watts of solar. I haven't tried to heat my house in the dead of winter with the splits as I prefer a couple cords of wood in january, february but running the splits in March.

 

[WisJim]

Our farm house is over 100 years old and we mostly heated with a central wood furnace in the basement. We have a surplus of energy from our solar system most months, so a few years ago we installed 2 Fujitsu mini splits, I think 15k each. They can keep the house warm without burning any wood. This winter, our electric bill was under $200 for January, because of low solar, cold weather and the fact that the electric utility starts over January 1st for our solar production. Our units produce heat well to 15 below and then efficiency drops off.

 

[chrispyny]

an acquaintance i know built a large house on the Great Sacandaga Lake in upstate NY about 2 years ago. He put in electric heat as options were minimal as no propane or oil company wanted to deliver to him where the house was being built. It was costing him a fortune to heat.
he saw my mini splits and a bell went off. He had them installed to most rooms in the house. Then to supplement the cost of electricity(mainly heating in the winter with the electric heat, as upstate NY electric is EXPENSIVE) he had his entire roof covered in electric panels.
he has since told me the panels pay for all his heat year long, a/c and or heat, with the splits and the electric heat. He pays nothing in electric bills for anything, and then he back feeds to the grid and gets paid for that.

Not everyone lives in a perfect balance where you can do what he did, but it’s most optimal. His biggest expense was the installation and cost of the splits. He went full retail and paid for it all to be done. I can‘t imagine what that cost!

 

[Syberia]

No idea about heat; our issue here is keeping cool. Along with insulation (1930s house had none) and window replacement (crappy single-pane aluminum), we installed a total of 6 mini split heads (3 9k each on their own condenser for bedrooms, and 3 12k on a 36k condenser for kitchen, living room, and dining room), and they will get the house cold enough to where my wife complains that she's going to need a jacket, yet have cost us about $20 total to run since the beginning of May. Monitored with a whole-house energy monitor, so this number is accurate.

They can be scheduled to set back the temperature during peak electricity hours, and also turn on or off at certain times all through their own app, with no smart thermostat needed.

Equipment cost was $6,500, labor was DIY.