Minisplit System for a Happy Mother-in-Law
The system is sized for temperature control in each room.
The FHB House is heated and cooled with Mitsubishi Heat Pumps. Specifically, there are two outdoor units (MXZ-3C24NAHZ2) that feed five indoor units (two on one outdoor unit and three on the other).
This provides 48,000 btu’s of heating capacity, which is overkill for the house, but it allows us to heat the main living spaces individually. The kitchen, living room, and all three bedrooms each have their own indoor unit. I wanted people to be able to have better control over the temperature in each bedroom. What if a mother-in-law comes to visit? A cold mother-in-law benefits no one. For not much of a cost increase, we are able to provide heating and cooling flexibility, eliminating cold mother-in-law potential.
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The major benefit of the Mitsubishi mini-split is the inverter control which allows a variable speed compressor that will change with the heat load. Most HVAC are designed assuming that the entire house is occupied with a fixed heat load. Closing vents on a typical forced air unit decreases the efficiency.
In my Los Angeles Home I replaced a traditional FAU with five small Mitsubishi SEER 26 Mini-Split units. I added hydronic baseboard for heating. Depending on how much my PV System is producing I can switch between the mini-split heat pumps and natural gas heated hydronic. Traditional heating and cooling systems waste huge amounts of energy.