Mitsubishi vote-with caveat
Hi,
We've got 5 of the HyperHeat Mini-splits and love them. They are great at providing heat very efficiently most of the time. And they are a home run for AC.
I would slightly caution anyone who is considering these units as their prime source of heat to carefully consider their heat loss calculations and overall heating needs. We have found that although the units operate efficiently down below zero, the heat loss of the house means they have to work harder (read more costly and need to pump out proportionally more heat under greater stress)
This is our second winter with them, and I have run our oil heat this winter much more often when it gets very cold. (as oil has been much cheaper). The mini splits are awesome but have specific advantages and limitations. You can get 95% of your winter heat from them very efficiently, but that remaining 5% where it is crazy cold might be a real challenge.
greenbuilding advisor has several articles relating to the use of these heat pumps as primary heating units. As mentioned in a previous post, be sure to ask for a good heat loss calculation before committing to purchase. Most system vendors will come in and do a quick SF measurement to "size" the recommended unit. This practice is NOT good enough.
Good luck and stay warm!
-Steve
|