Mini Split Installation in Augusta, ME
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 Kennebec County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of the year, one machine is doing the work
Winter nights in Kennebec County average 13°F from December through February. Summer afternoons average 77°F. Between the two, a mini-split here runs from September through May on heat and picks back up in July and August on cooling. That is eleven months of the year with the compressor doing something.
A new system has to hold its heat output at that 13°F mark, not just at the mild days in between. Any mini-split manufactured from 2023 on has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, but the number that matters most to you is how much heat it still puts out when it is 13 degrees outside. Most homes in this county are heated with fuel oil, so a mini-split going in here is often taking on a job the oil furnace used to do alone.
- 9 months
- September through May, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 13°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 77°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- Is a mini split worth it?
- For most Augusta homes, yes, especially as a way to add cooling or to take pressure off a fuel oil system. Most homes here heat with fuel oil, and a mini split can carry the heating load on milder days and cut into how much oil gets burned across the September through May season. At 13°F average winter lows, a cold climate model is worth asking about specifically, since not every mini split is rated to perform down at that temperature. A contractor can tell you what a unit sized for your house would actually deliver.
- How many rooms can a mini split cover?
- A single indoor head is built to heat and cool one room or one open space. If you need coverage in several rooms, a multi-zone system runs more than one indoor head off a single outdoor unit. Each zone has its own thermostat, so rooms can be set differently. How many zones your house needs comes down to the layout, and that's something a contractor sizes room by room.
- Can a mini split heat a whole house?
- It can, if enough zones are installed to reach every room and the system is sized for how cold it gets here. Winter nights in Augusta average 13°F, so the outdoor unit and each indoor head need to be matched to that, not just to a mild fall day. Homes here need heat from September through May, nine months of the year, so undersizing shows up fast. A contractor can work out whether your house is a good fit for full mini-split heat or whether it makes more sense alongside what you already have.