Ductless Minisplit Install (deposit, electric bill, design)

[Louisville Slugger]

New England Ductless quoted me $5,700 after rebates with the cloud for a 15K one zone. Highest quote that I got.

I think I am going to go with Precision Heating and Cooling in Grafton. They were by far the most thorough and the only one to offer a 2 year labor warranty. They were not the cheapest, but they were the one I felt the most comfortable with.

Anyways I am going to have a energy audit done at the end of this week just so I am covered for the rebates.

[CaseyB]

Get all the free light bulbs you can.

[Louisville Slugger]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Get all the free light bulbs you can.

Yes I did this last time I had the assessment (over four years ago). I'll take more if they give them to me

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

If you have breaker space in your panel, and the panel is a modern style panel with plenty of amperage capacity, then you wouldn't need a subpanel or a service upgrade. At that point, electrical cost will depend on how easy, or how much a PITA it will be to run a new wire from existing panel to install area.

When I did my mini split, my panel was full. I now have an outside main panel and the original panel inside is a sub-panel. The condenser is on a pad below the meter and panel. The electrician for that job was about $1K. That electrician rewired my whole house as I gutted rooms so $1K was probably his cheapest bill.


My major error was I went for a Fujitsu Halcyon A/C. A/C-only. If I'd thought about it, I would have gotten a heat pump so it could act as a backup to my gas boiler. I'm on my 9th season with it. When it dies eventually, I'll swap in a heat pump. All my windows, doors, and insulation are new. 18,000 BTU keeps up with a 1,000 square foot cottage and running it 24x7, my biggest summer electric bill is less than $100.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

The electrician for that job was about $1K. That electrician rewired my whole house as I gutted rooms so $1K was probably his cheapest bill.

Oh I can believe that. I'm a former electrician, so I know how expensive it can get.

I sometimes wish I could charge my wife when she runs around pointing to where she'd like an additional outlet or light installed.


I'm with ya on the Heat pump unit though. When I get around to doing my install, i'm going to do a 2 zone unit for the garage and room on top. It's just pretty low on my list right now.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

I'm with ya on the Heat pump unit though. When I get around to doing my install, i'm going to do a 2 zone unit for the garage and room on top. It's just pretty low on my list right now.

When my A/C eventually dies, the replacement heat pump is going to be some HVAC guy's dream job. The wiring conduit is already there. The pad is there. The hole is already drilled. 1 hour job. He'll be at the bar afterwards gloating to the plumber who only made $800 swapping a water heater.


I suppose I could DIY but I kind of like having a warranty.

[wolfgang239]

If you know someone who can charge refrigerant lines it would be super easy. They also sell some with pre charged line sets but I don't think they sell ones that work down to low temps like the mitsubishi's and Fujitsu

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I suppose I could DIY but I kind of like having a warranty.

Absolutely. If this was my main living space I'd have it installed to maintain warranty. I'm busy as it is so I don't have time to troubleshoot the system if it dies on a Tuesday during a busy work week.

Being a small system for my garage I might turn on once a week for a few hours, prob not as critical. I've seen some cheap systems these days that I wouldn't mind if they only lasted 5 years. At that point it's a quick swap out as the hard work is done. They will probably be cheaper by then.

Originally Posted by wolfgang239

If you know someone who can charge refrigerant lines it would be super easy. They also sell some with pre charged line sets but I don't think they sell ones that work down to low temps like the mitsubishi's and Fujitsu

I actually got certified years back for motor vehicle hvac as work on older vehicles as a hobby and needed to be able to get R12. I have a good chunk of tools like vacuum pump and micron guages. still, there are strict laws on venting refrigerant into the atmosphere and recovering it from a system. Ironically, take a ride by your local autozone on a hot day and you'll see plenty of people breaking these laws dumping cans of R134a into their leaking systems trying to get another month or two of cold air. It is illegal to charge a leaking system. The leak must be repaired first.

Unsure if the precharged systms fall under that set of rules. You aren't technically charging the system here. But you are right, they probably aren't as efficient as the high end systems

[Louisville Slugger]

I got a free power strip from the energy audit. He was probably there for less than 30 minutes. I got the signed form proving I had the audit done. I also printed out some electric bills from the winter and summer to prove the 900 kWh differences for the rebates. I signed the proposal from Precision Heating & Cooling. They are going to perform the heat/cool load test and then we'll schedule out the work. I am hoping to have this done by July 4, but depending on how busy they are it might be after the holiday.

[Taffee72]

Good luck with your install. Maybe I will call that same company you are using if you report they did a good job.
I had the MassSave energy audit done and a guy from HomeWorks Energy Inc. came out for the ductless mini split. My quote was $7,842.75 with $300 mail-in rebate. That seems really high compared to the other quotes on here. I just emailed them and told them I can't go forward with that right now.
I wonder why mine is so expensive?