Mini Split Installation in Wheatland, WY
A new system here will heat from September through May and cool from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Platte County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, and nights near 16°F
A mini-split in Wheatland works most of the year, not just in summer. Heat runs September through May, and on the coldest nights it has to hold steady down around 16°F. Come July and August, afternoons near 84°F ask it to work the other direction. Only two months are cooling months here, but the unit still needs to be sized and installed to handle both jobs well, since it's doing almost all of the heating and cooling this house needs, 11 months out of the year.
Any mini-split installed now has to meet the federal minimum for split-system heat pumps, 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating. That's the floor, and it's worth asking what a contractor is installing above it, since a unit running this many months a year is worth getting right.
- 9 months
- September through May, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 16°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 84°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- Is a mini split worth it?
- For the right room or addition, yes. A mini split heats and cools without ducts, so it works well for a room that never gets comfortable off the main system, or a space added on after the house was built. Winter nights here average 16°F, so check that any unit you're considering is rated to perform at that temperature, since not all mini splits handle deep cold the same way. A contractor can tell you whether one unit covers your space or you need a multi-zone system.
- How many rooms can a mini split cover?
- A single-zone mini split heats and cools one room or open area. If you need coverage in more than one room, you install a multi-zone system, which runs several indoor units off one outdoor compressor, each with its own thermostat. How many zones you can run depends on the outdoor unit's capacity and how the rooms are laid out. A contractor can size the system to the rooms you want covered.
- Can a mini split heat a whole house?
- A multi-zone mini split can heat a whole house if it's sized and placed to cover every room. Homes here need heat from September through May, nine months of the year, with winter nights averaging 16°F, so the system has to be rated to keep up on the coldest nights, not just the mild ones. A contractor can look at the house and tell you whether a whole-home mini split setup makes sense or whether it's better paired with your existing heat source.