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I have a major project that involves installing four outside mini split units and 12 inside heads. Mini-splits used for whole house heating and cooling seem to be rather new in the Raleigh Durham Chapel Hill area. Who is the best whole house mini split installer in the area?
At this point, I am not looking for advice on other types of heating and cooling systems. I want to have some serious conversations with mini-split installers.
I have a major project that involves installing four outside mini split units and 12 inside heads.
I don't know of any company around here that has installed mini-splits on a project of that size. I hope you are dealing with new construction and not retrofitting an existing home which will be a night mare. Mini-splits have their own set of pros & cons.
I've had a mitsubishi mini split for 8 years (1-to-1) and it's fine for the 1 room it's in but I would never consider it for whole-house for the following reasons:
1. the filter is crap and there is no upgraded filter available
2. the fan needs to be disassembled and cleaned every few years, due to the crap filter and the fact that it's AFTER the coil... it means the fan gets cold so it condenses and grows mildew on it. This is a design problem with all wall-mounted mini splits (not sure if any manufacturer has solved it yet)
3. Although they are efficient and have a lower operating expense, it's not hard to find horror stories where some electronic part fails (and there are LOTS of electronic parts in them) and the repair is $$$. It means all your efficiency savings are gone, or probably, become negative. Fortunately this hasn't happened to me (yet) but I'm just waiting...
I've had a mitsubishi mini split for 8 years (1-to-1) and it's fine for the 1 room it's in but I would never consider it for whole-house for the following reasons:
1. the filter is crap and there is no upgraded filter available
2. the fan needs to be disassembled and cleaned every few years, due to the crap filter and the fact that it's AFTER the coil... it means the fan gets cold so it condenses and grows mildew on it. This is a design problem with all wall-mounted mini splits (not sure if any manufacturer has solved it yet)
3. Although they are efficient and have a lower operating expense, it's not hard to find horror stories where some electronic part fails (and there are LOTS of electronic parts in them) and the repair is $$$. It means all your efficiency savings are gone, or probably, become negative. Fortunately this hasn't happened to me (yet) but I'm just waiting...
You should contact the company about the design flaws. Perhaps it will result in an improved product.
You should contact the company about the design flaws. Perhaps it will result in an improved product.
Thank you for your suggestion, but they are well aware of the flaws. There are many videos like these, all with the same comments. Even Mitsubishi's own youtube channel has a video like this, with the same comments.
I want to thank all of you for your responses. They have been very helpful. An overall theme seems to be that in the Raleigh- Durham area, using mini-splits for whole house heating and cooling is rather unusual. This lack of a track record for the technology, and the absence of installers who are well experienced in whole house installations, indicate to me that such a use is somewhat risky, and potentially very risky.
Your comments also brought up a point that I had not thought through. I would state the point this way: if you have eleven indoor mechanical units, it is likely that there is going to be quite a bit of maintenance. For example, presumably the indoor units will need to be cleaned every year, if not more often. The cleaning is not a simple process, as I understand it. An indoor unit needs to be partially disassembled to clean it. For my part, I don’t have another on-going maintenance task that is of that magnitude. And then there is the risk of something going wrong with one of the eleven indoor units and the four outside unit. It seems like taking care of one or two conventional HVAC units is less intensive. Have I missed something in my evaluation of the maintenance and repair challenge?
Thanks again.
Jona
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