Many of my solar customers will follow up our work with the addition of air sourced heat pumps and as Flying Scot has pointed out it is a perfect combination. Most of my clients had their systems professionally installed but a few decided to DYI and their results were mixed. One did get his system working after quite a bit of fussing, and the other had to call in a professional to get his working. Installing the fixtures and running the linesets between the pump and handlers can be a bit of a challenge but is usually do-able if you have the time, handyman abilities, and patience. Getting them totally pressure tight and being able to draw the necessary vacuum however can be a real challenge that requires the kind of knowledge and specialized tools that only specialized installers have. My recommendation based on what I have seen would be to have always a professional like Austin Maher in Moultonboro install your mini-split.
There are now however totally self contained and sealed heat pump units that look very much like a rollaround air conditioner and they work very well. I'm sure that the SEER rating isn't anywhere near as impressive as a top of the line full on mini-split but all you need to do is take them out of the shipping box and plug them in ...Done!
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