7 Tips to Get More from Mini-Split Heat Pumps in Colder Climates

Hi Garrett,

That price of $3167 is very reasonable. Fujitsu now offers a floor mount inside head, 12RLFF, with an HSPF of 11.6 and a SEER of 22.7. The 12RLS2 has slightly higher performance, but if the indoor head is mounted lower to get the heat and cooling closer to you make sure it's protected from being bumped. The infloor heating can be used to give a background heat level, but if it gets very cold in the winter quickly the heat pumps output will drop as the heat load of the house goes up and the infloor heat will take a while to start making up the difference. You might need to get used to moderate temperature swings, but nothing that a good sweater and warm slippers won't handle.

Hello,I have a 1760 sq ft home (plus finished 1600 sq ft basement) in Michigan that was built in 1998 with all radiant infloor heat (80% efficent boiler) which I love.  Just added more insulation to the attic (total of about 14"), have high performance Andersen windows all around (a lot of windows and 2 sliding doors) Unfortunately, I live about 2 miles from where the natural gas line ends so I have to use propane.  I live in the house alone and am only there on evenings and weekends.  With hydronic radiant heat you basically just set it and forget it and not adjust it for when you are home or away (or so I have been told).  Due to how much it has been costing me in propane in winter months (between $300-500 @ $1.90 / gallon) I have been keeping my home set to 60 deg which is cooler than I would like, but as I am only home from about 8pm to 6am, it doesn't make much sense to keep it any warmer. 

I orginally was looking at the mini split systems because I wanted to use them as AC for primary, but the more I read about them, are they really that efficent for heating?  I have been pondering a pellet stove or something similar to offset my heating costs, but this may work.  I have a large open floor plan and vaulted ceilings in most of the upstairs.

I guess my question is, it sounds too good to be true.  After reading the article and comments, people are using less that 2000 KW/hr to heat a 1500 sq ft home in for 8 months including winter?  That is only about $200 in electricity!

I am having my local installer come and quote my house this week and would also like to know if there is anything specific I should ask?

Also, if I install one, what would be the best way to regulate it to use both the in floor and the heat pump so the floors are warm and the air as well?

Thanks and keep up the great articles,

Garrett

Nice work on the numbers Peter Talmage. I don't think Fuji engineered it though, it looks like they used a comercial product because the cabling has the same specs you can buy privately - there is only one 240v short run cable around. Fuji just added a connection point inside the box.Running 60watts 24 hours a day for 4 months heating the outdoors is a tad ineffecient, especially for those of us trying to go super effecient. 60 watts is more than all my common lighting usage, or same as my PC.The ice is more of a buildup issue, rather than it making ice like an ice machine. I think a lower wattage strip could work. Just need to prevent freezing over of the drainage holes so the collection doesn't start to grow.I've got a 8 watt strip, but its shape is not ideal; just waiting for decent weather to install and try. It also has a temp sensor so it can stay plugged in continuously. -Got some good testing in of low temp use last night and today.Hit -19 outdoor temp and has stayed at -15 for many hours still (windchill -43) and it still runs and produces heat, but goes into defrost mode frequently, and the actual output has really dropped.I was expecting the unit to kick off possibly after enduring several hours at that temp but it continues plugging away. It's fairly impressive.

How about a greenhouse over the unit?  What is the coldest the temperature of the air coming out of the unit on the coldest days - is it colder than the outside ambient air temperature?  Just as solar water heaters heat the water, I have seen people make solar air heaters and use them to heat garages, some say they have recorded the temp in the solar air heater at 160 degrees on very cold days..

NOTE * I did not mention but devils in the details.  When I mean stated temperatures is 60 degrees whent he units are et for 70, that is downstairs, where the insulation is about completed.  Even though there is little insulation upstairs, the upstairs room temeratures are similar to the set temperature on units.  I do realize that the up and downstairs units are tied to the same compressor as well, so I wonder if there is just much for the outdoor compressor to handle in total...

Hi, I'd like to pick your brains if I can?

I have two LG out door compressors, 1 on each side of the house.  1 has 2 indoor heads and the other 3.  Rated at 21 seer, about 36K each outdoor unit I think.  Old 20's home but have just about completed 1st floor channel fill insulation in the wall cavities, so R value from that should be about 27ish.  Just started on 2nd floor.  When it get's to the teens at night the units can't keep up and even though they are set at 70 the temp is about 60.  New units, operating efficiently, no snow on the ground.  So, two questions, what would have a greater effect on the performance, the heat loss from upstairs not being insulated or the low temperature impacting the outdoor unit.  I would imagine it's more so the outdoor temp impacting the unit, because when it's about 30 degrees, the units warm the house up to 70 degrees without a problem....

If that's the case, then my 2nd question would be, why couldn't solar housing be built over the outdoor unit to directly keep the air around that unit warmer? I recognize this would only be for the coldest of days, and also, would still have to be ventilated to some extent to maintain proper pressure, etc.  But I'm imagining my thinking is flawed in some sense because I don't see that it has been done before?

Thanks very much for your help, love this website...

I want to heat/cool my 600 sq' garage (workshop) and 750 sq' bonus room with 1 multi split heat pump.  I live in West End NC 27376 where the winter temp may get as low as 20 degrees F.  Both rooms are insulated and have windows.  What size do you suggest I use for a multi split heat pump and would each of the room units have to have aux electric heat coils?  Thanks.

Are there any resources you can recommend for homeowners about how to use the heat pump in winter for maximum efficiency?  the user manual which came with my Mitsubishi heat pump is not very useful.

Melting a pound of ice takes 144 Btu. One watt-hr of electricity equals about 3.4 Btu, so to melt a pound of ice takes 43 watt-hr if all the heat gets into the ice. Obviously the heat goes elsewhere too, so a 65 watt heater running continously doesn't sound all that excessive for high ice build up conditions. There are lots of variables involved in how much ice will be produced, so the amount of electricity needed will vary as well. Maybe a simple IR beam activated switch that turns on the heater when the ice builds up and shuts off when the ice melts below the beam.

Unfortunately I'm in a north side install, although I'm not sure how much this would help during the long bitter cold snaps that have little sun.I've had the pretty glacier too. I used 18" tall decorative concrete pavers stood on end set on a concrete pad, drilled and epoxied some bolts on top, put those rubber condensor bushing mounts on the threads to tamp vibration and then set the leg holes on. It was more work than I wanted keeping it all square but I like the look.My goal for to try to learn just how the ice built up through monitoring the first winter. It seems like less of a problem than I thought. You might pay a performance penalty. The way this model is it would take a tremendous amount of ice to even reach the blades.Also surprised to not see much of a steam show at all after de-icing.Like you mention, having a cold metal pan doesn't help. I don't know if another material would do much better as the environment is constant. Besides for shipping protection, ease of cost/assembly, the pan really doesn't need to extend back under the coils at all - it has to reach them and create a little bit of seal to prevent by-pass air flow.I think I'm gonna try adding two more drain holes in between the edges and center so it can escape before freezeing and preventing more backup.I'm gonna use some flat fridge magnets to cover the holes during the summer if it happens to make a difference in airflow.Still thinking about adding the pan heater, but the issue is it could also cause problems by being restrictive, the thick wire and covering could act like a small damn. Without access to one I can't tell if the H model uses a hard coil that sits partly elevated, or even if Fuj did any engineering but to apply a lot of heat. The specs just show its shape and using a piece of tape to secure it so at one point its flat with the pan. I also have to cut a hole to thread it up and into the pan underneath the fins which is not ideal while its on the machine due to the low clearance. The H model runs the wiring internally to a socket on the upper inside.Ideally if I could use a 240v based heater wire, that was triggered when the fan stopped and off when it resumed so enough heat was generated while condensate was dripping to prevent most freezing, I think it would be very effecient. Put a switch on it to only turn it on during winter. Found a six foot 240v heater wire which is about the same length Fuj uses. Leaving it on constantly is just to energy wasteful at 65watts. I have a low wattage 3 foot pipe wrap cable at only 8watts but i'm not sure if it's enough to be useful. Was trying to think of a good test experiment to try replicating the conditions before actually installing it. It won't be warm enough to warm the pan, but it may provide enough of a warm path to the outlet to prevent it from completely plugging. It also has a thermostat and gfci so it's a safe package.Was thinking put it in a wide cookie baking pan filled with water next to unit, let it freeze, then plug it in and see how much action there is.

Hi Bob,

Great comments on shelters and the ice problem. I find it very necessary to mount the outdor units with plenty of clearance underneath so melt water has a clear path to flow out. I've seen a glacier 3" thick under mine. I haven't yet had an ice build up great enough underneath or on the grills to compromise operation on my east side and south side mounted units. Though beneficial for AC operation, ice build up can be much worse on compressors mounted on the north side of buildings on on sides heavly shaded by evergreens. The sun definitely improves ice melt and it would be pretty easy to add shading screens for the summer. Painting the grills and pan black might aid melting even in low sun situatuions. Maybe the pan needs a layer of low thermal mass material to reduce the freeze up before draining problem. Using external heaters to melt ice seems to be a "patch" solution.

Located in central IL.I was curious to see how the unit performed outside before I constructed a shelter.It seems an ideal shelter would be adjustable, or at least removable outside winter season. It would shield it from the sun during the summer, while obeying the minimum space distances, and in the winter it would allow the maximum sunshine while providing a snow cover roof, to keep blowing snow and freezing rain off the rear coils, off the top (which thaws and drips down and freezes), and from falling into the face. A high wind baffle in front might be useful, and it would further keep blowing snow out; Mits sells some for some models.Those models don't have heating in the pan; have you had any ice clogs or do you monitor them?  I can see how after about 3-4 days of deep cold weather and little sun the bottom ports would freeze over and start to build up, but it would take quite some time for it to get anywhere near the fan. Performance might suffer a bit.I know the H model has a pan heater but I'm not impressed with how it's implemented; it's basically a 65 watt heater cord that runs in temps below 40degrees which for me would be all winter 24 hours a day. It drops the HPSF factor from 12.5 to 10ish.I'm debating adding my own heater with a lower thermostat and lesser power output. I'm also debating drilling a couple extra holes for the water to drip before it freezes - the potential negative is allowing more airflow to bypass the coil but it should be minimal.The back frame also acts as a nice place for snow and melted water to refreeze. The front grill will ice up nicely too in a heavy wet snow storm as the blades stop during constant de-icing which allows it to stick.The other day I had snow pool on the top, melt to water and slowly drip down the front, then refreeze like a long icicle that hangs off a gutter. It eventually made its way into the fan blade cowel and stopped it.I thinking of building a structure some like that of a large umbrella that is used on outdoor patio tables with the light weight fabric and aluminum pole construction. The base that raises the unit off the ground provides a good foundation anchor.The heating performance has been impressive - the A/C performance was nothing short of a miracle. I've had one -5 degree night, have a -10 forecasted.I do wish they would add a resistance heating option to the indoor unit as an assistance as sometimes you want heat now, or don't want to get hit with the blowing cool air. It would be a performance penalty, but I'm willing to pay an extra penny in electricity occasionally to have heat when I need it. It wouldn't be too expensive and could be user selectable or possibly an addon like the remote upgrades.

For higher performance from a mini-split system the outside temperature regime is important to consider. Heat pumps designed for operation in very low temperatures typiclly suffer a lower COP in the higher temperature ranges than units with a higher minimum rated operating temperature. In western Massachusetts where the typical lowest winter temperatures dip to -10 for very short periods of time, the typical temperatures are in the teen's and 20's. I chose a Fujitsu 9RLS for my house in Northfield with this in mind. At that point, three years ago, the comparable Mitsubishi model was rated to -13 F while the Fujitsu was rated to only + 5 F. However, the Fujitsu had a significantly higher COP operating in the teen's and 20's. My thought was that if the Fujitsu couldn't deliver enough heat during the short super cold snaps I would use a small resistance heater. At very low outdoor temperatures the COP of a heat pump starts to get closer to 1 so using a resistance heater isn't too much different. I was quite suprised to see the Fujitsu operating one cold morning with the outdoor temperature at -9 F and still putting out useful heat. The newer Fujitsu models now have higher COP's and lower rated temperatures.  Their new "H" models go down to -15 F. If I was installing a mini-split in Minnesota and  wanted to minimize back up heating sources I would go with a low temperature rated model. Bitter cold weather periods in Minnesota are much longer than what we have in central New England. 

With regard to the Kennebunkport Maine photo where it's drawing air from a 3 season porch, I'm wondering if there's really any gain in efficiency.  The 18,000 BTU model I'm considering needs 1500 cubic feet of air a minute.  The Fujitsu probably needs much the same. That must be close to the total cubic footage of air on the porch at any one time so if it's taking virtually all of the air on the porch per minute there'll be little heating of that air before it's used, even on a sunny day.  I would think it would be creating quite a gale on the porch from the air being drawn through.  I have a similar porch and was considering the same kind of installation but the air flow requirements don't seem to make that make sense.  Any chance of an update on that installation on how it's working out?

I have been reading the comments on the mini splits, let me tell you what I have and what I'm looking to do. Any comments will help me. I have a home built in 1932, it's a story and a half and until recently, had an unfinished half story. I took out a bedroom downstairs in order to put up a staircase to the second story and had a 15 foot dormer put in to get the ceiling height for the staircase. Our intention was to make the half story upstairs a master suite. I have friends and family in the heating and cooling business, and I was basically told that the design of my house and the layout I have, it would be impossible to get any kind of runs from my furnace up to the second story without sacrificing square footage on my first floor. A mini split was highly suggested for heating and cooling. Doing research online, and from what my friends in the heating business said, I'm looking into the Fujitsu mini split (12,000 btu model). I have about 450 sq ft area, fully insulated and that includes a closet and a small interior bathroom. So basically, half of the upstairs is closet and bathroom and the other half of it is sleeping quarters. I live in michigan, where the temps can get down to zero in the cold months and I know the new Fujitsu minis splits are rated for the heat pump down to -5 degrees. so my questions/dilemmas are these.... Should I even use a mini split, if so, hoW should the inside unit be mounted, down low for the heating or up high for the cooling?? And how energy efficient are they for the heating/cooling?? Please help!! Not too sure on what I should do!!

Hello Tristan and Kevin, thanks so much for your responses. As I was writing my question above and I was saying that the first order of business was insulation, I was saying to myself... no, the first order of business is to get an energy audit. So... great minds think alike. :) Tristan, we want to have A/C in addition to heat so swapping out our big radiators for smaller ones isn't an option. And our gas boiler is only 4 years old. I have no idea if this is possible, but I'm hoping that we can sell it if we install mini splits because we won't need it anymore. Re: the mini split units installed on the wall... from what I understand, there are also ceiling units now available. In order to have ceiling units in our first floor, we may have to drop our ceilings a bit. I have to find out more about that but I'm hoping that we can just drop the ceilings. The 2nd floor units will work because all that is above them is our attic. If we can't have ceiling units, then, yeah... that's a deal breaker because I'm not about to spend all that money to swap out ugly radiators for ugly wall units.

Kevin, I'm wondering if I can still add a gas fireplace in our living room and one in our 2nd floor bedroom and maybe that would be our alternative heat source for cold days. There's only me and my husband living here so if we don't heat every room to a warm 68 or 70 degrees on very cold days, it's not a big deal. I would *love* to use programmable Nest thermostats with these mini split units but I guess that technology is not available for mini splits yet. Maybe it will be by the time we can afford to do all these renovations. Have either of you ever heard of Mesanna Ray Magic? It's radiant heat and a/c in sheet rock that you install on ceilings or walls. That would be my ideal heat and a/c source but I'm not sure if it works well in humid areas like CT. If you know anything about that, I'd love to hear from you.

Hello, I think maybe you might have already answered my question in your answers to others above but some friends/builders/HVAC techs are telling me that they don't recommend a mini split system for our Connecticut house. So... we have a Colonia Revival built in 1918. It has radiators. I positively hate them. They're in the way of where I want to put furniture. I know that the first order of business would be for us to make sure that our house is airtight. I want to get either cotton denim insulation or cellulose insulation in our walls and attic. Would it be a good idea to insulate the basement ceiling as well? We have double pane windows but I don't know what brand they are or if they're super efficient energy-wise because they were installed by the previous owners of our house. But, despite the fact that we don't have any insulation in this house, it's actually pretty warm even on cold days before we turn the heat up so I'm thinking that the windows are pretty much airtight and efficient. But some of our friends are saying that we won't be warm enough on really cold days in CT and that we'll need an alternative heat source on those days. I would *love* to install gas fireplaces in our three bedrooms and in our living room and den but... that's a really pricey solution, isn't it? I see that Tristan wrote to Dan above saying "If you have a mini-split system that is properly sized for the home (which you would do in consulation with your local installer), then I don't see any obstacles to using such a system through the winter, and simply being aware of lower efficiency at cold temps." I have to think that Tristan's answer to me would be the same as what he said to Dan... that a mini split system that is properly sized to our home would do the job... but on the very cold days, it would work harder and cost more to run. Am I correct? I hope so. I really despise those big ugly radiators.

We have heated our two story log home for 32 years with a large Jotul cast iron wood stove.  As we are reaching retirement age, we'd like to be able to travel more, so we're looking for a way to heat the home without anyone being home.  

We trade kiloWatts with our rural electric cooperative and make more pv electricity than we use on an annual basis. One array on a tracker rack is 1,200 Watts. The newer array is 2205 Watts, also on a Zomeworks tracker.  Our hot water is a drainback system with 80 gallon tank and 10 gallon drainback tank.

In east central Iowa, we normally see at least a couple of weeks where temperatures dip well below zero. Will electric mini-split air source heat work for us to keep our home warm enough in temperatures below zero if no one is home for several days, or should we look into, say, electric thermal storage heaters?

We have a very open floor plan with 26'x46' downstairs including one bath, kitchen, and utility room with washing machine, well pressure tank, solar hot water heater, water softener plumbing that could potentially freeze.

Upstairs is a loft roughly 1/3 open to the downstairs lined by railings, open stair with cathedral ceiling and one bath.

Hi Peter,

Very interesting article. Particularly in how you're drawing in air from the enclosed porch though I can't see from the photo where the connection with the porch is being made.  We have a similar unheated 3 season porch with lots of air flow (there are multiple screened wall panels that are open in the summer and can be opened in the winter if necessary.  I was thinking of putting the outdoor unit in the porch against an outside wall  where I would cut a large hole for air discharge from the large circular fan on the outdoor unit so it would be blowing air out of the porch.  I would screen the opening, of course.  Wonder how this would work. Seems to me it would provide more protection for the unit and also increase the efficiency some what as you mention on sunny winter days. Of course, it might reduce the efficiency a bit in the summer for air conditioning, but we don't need that too many days on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

Richard

I have always read / heard that the indoor uwall units should be up high and 1" or so from a ceiling.  I understand what you said about recycling the cool air, etc, but I'm still not sold.  Can you elaborate on this, add documentation and so on?

I would far rather install my new units down low, so they are out of the line of sight, but want to be sure, etc...

Thanks.

Thanks for a very helpful and informative article. Using the pre-heated air in a 3-season porch makes complete sense, I like that. But, what would you do if you were also using the mini-split for occasional cooling in the summer months? Where would you locate the two components then? I'm in a 1400 sq ft, 1 3/4 story that has upgraded insulation and air sealing and is very comfortably and easily heated with a centrally located woodstove. I'm looking at a mini-split for winter heat when I'm away, and summer cooling and dehumidification. 

Hi Kevin,

Sizing a heat pump is similar to that of any other heating system. Simply put, the supply must meet the demand. Ideally you'd like to know the amount of heat needed to keep your house warm per hour during the coldest weather. This is the design heat load and if the heating system can deliver the same amount of heat per hour you're all set.  You plan to use your wood stove as back up in very cold weather so the heat pump can be size quite a bit smaller. Here's a way to get a rough idea of of the size you need in this situation:

1. Figure the total number of units of fuel you used last year to heat your house.

2. Calculate the BTU content of the fuel.   (#units x BTU content per unit)

3. Determine the house annual heat load.  (BTU x efficiency of heater)

4. Figure the BTU per Degree Day.  (Annual heat load / average annual heating Degree Days)

5. For a typical January day in NH there are around 50 degree days, so in January your house would have roughly an hourly heat load of: (#4 x 50) / 24 hr per day. This is the rated heat delivery of the heat pump you need.

Peter Talmage

Great article - thanks. I'm surprised by the small size - literature I've seen for such model would probably say it would condition a 300 sq.ft. Room. Any comments on sizing?  I've got a 2000 sq ft space that we have insulated and sealed - wood is getting old and wood stove is now way oversized. 

I'm thinking I could get by with something a bit larger that would suffice 90% of the heating season here in NH.

I am curious about this new technology but have heard different views regarding its use for a large, not-yet-well-insulated 1860s home in Vermont like ours. We know we need to insulate, but also have two old oil boilers that need to be replaced. Currently we have a hot-water heating system with old radiators. Is a mini-split heat pump a realistic choice for us to make?