Mini Split $ Break Even Point

[notmine]

So you install a mini split in your garage instead of another form of heat. My research shows my break even point when the unit and installation cost are even with electrical or other forms of heat I’m looking at about 9years.
Now that’s getting close to the unit’s warranty period expiration and hoping there are no service tech house calls required during this 9 year break even period and with current supply an demand issues hopefully you’re not waiting for a critical circuit board.
Installing electric heat costs more in kw to your wallet but with electric heating units having so much less maintenance nor the breaking down issues nor the high upfront costs.
I may not have a/c in my garage but I probably won’t have the issues that are likely to arise with mini splits over the life of the unit.
I’ll burn up more kw per month then I would with a mini split..but when the mini split breaks down or needs to be replaced I probably can’t burn up that many kw with an electric heater in my lifetime

 

[jjrbus]

Read through past posts. Can run into some very expensive service calls. Parts are warrantyed not labor which can get very expensive. One service call can wipe out years of energy savings even worse if you get a incompetent tech.

 

[justinjoyal]

Read through past posts. Can run into some very expensive service calls. Parts are warrantyed not labor which can get very expensive. One service call can wipe out years of energy savings even worse if you get a incompetent tech.

Many brands offer a labor warranty as well.

But yeah, installing a heatpump in a garage where you do not need/want A/C is rarely cost efficient.

 

[purplezr2]

Did you look into rebates through your electric provider.

My rebates totaled almost 1000 dollars on a 1800 unit. I missed out a some of it do to being a DIY install. It would have been close to 2K if I would have had it professionally installed.

 

[mike93lx]

Don't see many people putting mini splits in just for heat. Hard to cool your space with a baseboard.

Sure, you can use window shakers, and if your top priority is cost, they win, but it you care about noise and effectiveness, they lose, solidly

 

[beemerphile]

...Hard to cool your space with a baseboard.

Can't you just run it backwards? That's all a heat pump is - an air conditioner running backwards.

 

[FlaGman]

You may get some benefit from dehumidifying even if you don’t really need cooling

 

[danski0224]

So you install a mini split in your garage instead of another form of heat. My research shows my break even point when the unit and installation cost are even with electrical or other forms of heat I’m looking at about 9years.
Now that’s getting close to the unit’s warranty period expiration and hoping there are no service tech house calls required during this 9 year break even period and with current supply an demand issues hopefully you’re not waiting for a critical circuit board.
Installing electric heat costs more in kw to your wallet but with electric heating units having so much less maintenance nor the breaking down issues nor the high upfront costs.
I may not have a/c in my garage but I probably won’t have the issues that are likely to arise with mini splits over the life of the unit.
I’ll burn up more kw per month then I would with a mini split..but when the mini split breaks down or needs to be replaced I probably can’t burn up that many kw with an electric heater in my lifetime

One would need to do a load calculation to determine how many btu's are needed.

It may not be possible to meet 100% of heating needs with a heat pump, of course this is dependent on where you live.

That said, if a heat pump is an option, using it will cost significantly less than resistance heat. Could be up to 1/4 as much, with 1/2 being an easy target.

Yes, parts failure is always a possibility.

That's what ***** about any piece of equipment with a bunch of technology in it.

 

[mike93lx]

Can't you just run it backwards? That's all a heat pump is - an air conditioner running backwards.

You may be onto something. Swap the hot and neutral and the flow reverses. It now ***** in heat...

This one trick that mini split manufacturers hate!

Redacting to keep the hvac overlords happy

 

[danski0224]

Delete that ****.

Giving away the secret.

 

[mike93lx]

Delete that ****.

Giving away the secret.

My apologies

 

[pcmeiners]

"I’ll burn up more kw per month then I would with a mini split.."
It is a gamble, but get a high efficiency unit and you burn up to 4 times less electric with resistance heating, and that is 4 times less tax and nonsense surcharges. Plus you get air conditioning. I have all the tools/cert needed to service my minisplits, it is worth the gamble.

"Many brands offer a labor warranty as well."

As a correction.... "Very few brands offer a labor warranty as well"..., even then how many do require a diagnostic service call, making you pay for it.

"Can't you just run it backwards? That's all a heat pump is - an air conditioner running backwards."

True to a degree, there is a valve in the condenser unit which reverses the refrigerant flow.

 

[428PI]

My Pioneer 27k 2 head unit cost me aprox 2600 to install last year. I got a 450 dollar rebate back from utility company. If I didn't have the mini split I would have burned perhaps 2000 dollars in propane this year. I did use 400 dollars worth of propane (I did heat my shop some with it) and wood. With the increased utility cost to run it (perhaps the electric bill ran 250 a month at peak instead of 140) so it cost me perhaps 400 dollars more in electricity. I figured I save 1000 dollars this year in heat costs (I did use wood too I mentioned earlier). The main reason I got the mini split was for the ac use in summer though. I got tired of the noise created by 2 window units. I sure wasn't going to pay someone to install an A coil setup in my central furnace. What would that cost? I would still be straddled by an inefficient propane furnace (an old Longwood wood burning unit) running at 60 percent efficiency. I could have gotten it replaced at the tune of 15k to increase efficiency but would be giving up wood burning capability. I use propane to just get wood started and turn propane off (figure it cost me a dollar or two everytime I do that). I did run into problem (probably self imposed some way) that I am loosing some freon and may require topping off if I don't find out what's going on. (tech install on heatpump or ac units suffer same fate). Have had window ac units suffer same issue. It's 52 degrees now outside where I live and can barely hear big indoor unit working and warming up the space. I will probably get one for my shop in a year or two and replace my propane furnace out there. Combine with solar for my new electric car and I'll be set.

 

[fitter30]

Can't you just run it backwards? That's all a heat pump is - an air conditioner running backwards.

No, heat pump is design with a defrost cycle to melt ice/ frost off outside coil, run in cold weather and refrigeration parts like a suction accumulator to protect the compressor from liquid refrigerate/ floodback.

 

[mike93lx]

No, heat pump is design with a defrost cycle to melt ice/ frost off outside coil, run in cold weather and refrigeration parts like a suction accumulator to protect the compressor from liquid refrigerate/ floodback.

Whoosh

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Betting on electric rates not going up for 9 years is interesting.

 

[American Locomotive]

This is entirely area dependent, but a minisplit should pay for it self WAY faster than 9 years if you have straight resistance electric heat - no matter where you live.

According the Massachusetts government, an 1800 sq ft. home would consume $988 worth of Natural gas in the 22/23 heating season. That works out to 41,600,000 btu. That would be 12,191 kwh if you had straight electric resistance heat, or roughly $3,901 at the current electric rate in New England.

Since modern mini splits offer near natural gas operating costs, that would be savings of about $2,900 per year. If you did a DIY install, your system would pay for itself in like two years tops.

 

[Aingalls]

I think it depends on if you live in town with a Natural Gas line or in the country with Propane.
I paid 950$ for my senville 18k unit received $450 check rebate from my coop and was able to get $300 back on my federal taxes. So I have $200 into the mini split heat pump. I usually use 1400 gallons of Propane this year I only used 700. So that's a savings of 700 gallons x $1.75 a gallon $1225. It could die tomorrow and I put a new one in for next year no tears cried here oh and its gonna save me during ac season your milage may vary

 

[notmine]

Betting on electric rates not going up for 9 years is interesting.

But hvac service rates will never ever go up in 9years or surpass what kw /hr rates may increase by. Interesting yes.

 

[pcmeiners]

"Betting on electric rates not going up for 9 years is interesting."

It is possible, as possible as winning the lottery for your retirement funding.

 

[jjrbus]

Yes I save money on electric with my mini splits. I have pockets full of money I have saved and life is wonderful. BUT I do my own service. So far I have replaced the PC board in the condenser unit and the coil in an evaporator unit. I do my own service because when I call for service the tech is either incompetent or a smash and grab type. These are from authorized Daikin dealers!

My minis need to be deep cleaned once a year, hot humid FL equals mold. The national average cost for mini cleaning is $200-$400 for me with 3 heads that is $600-$1200 year! I do my own cleaning. I'm 75 with a pocket full of money I saved on electric, I do not want to be doing these things!

 

[notmine]

"Betting on electric rates not going up for 9 years is interesting."

It is possible, as possible as winning the lottery for your retirement funding.

The cost of ur mini split will go up also and when it craps out all that money u saved on kw by not having a electric heater will sail out of ur home just as the hot air from ur mini split in the summer..

 

[mike93lx]

The cost of ur mini split will go up also and when it craps out all that money u saved on kw by not having a electric heater will sail out of ur home just as the hot air from ur mini split in the summer..

Sounds like u made ur decision bro

 

[finn]

Don't see many people putting mini splits in just for heat. Hard to cool your space with a baseboard.

Sure, you can use window shakers, and if your top priority is cost, they win, but it you care about noise and effectiveness, they lose, solidly

We put a. Mitsubishi Hyper Heat mini split in my wife’s basement hideaway/tv room and only use it for heat. It replaced electric baseboard heat, and wasn’t all that expensive after the local utility rebates.

It works fine to well below zero, although it’s happier at zero than at -15.