Mini Split Installation in Orlando, FL
A new system here will heat from December through January and cool from March through November every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Orange County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Your mini-split works almost all year here
Orange County only needs heat two months a year, December and January, and winter nights average 51°F. The other nine months, March through November, that same unit is cooling your home through afternoons that average 91°F. Eleven months of the year, it's doing one job or the other.
That kind of duty calls for a unit built to hold up under long cooling runs, since cooling is what it will do most. Any mini-split installed new has to meet the federal minimum for a split-system heat pump, 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating. Orlando sees its share of damaging wind, and with most homes here heating and cooling on electricity, a storm that knocks out power leaves the whole system down until it comes back on.
- 2 months
- December through January, your system heats
- 9 months
- March through November, it cools
- 51°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Florida requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Florida licenses HVAC contractors through the Construction Industry Licensing Board. That license covers the contractor, not the single job, so the same license that qualifies someone to install a mini-split anywhere in the state qualifies them for yours.
Beyond the license, installing a mini-split in most cities and counties also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done.
Sources: Florida Legislature · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
- Is a mini split worth it?
- For most Orlando homes, yes. Cooling runs nine months a year here and heat is only needed in December and January, so a system built around efficient cooling with backup heat for a couple of cold months fits the climate well. A mini split also lets you cool one room or an addition without extending ductwork. Whether it makes sense for your house depends on what's already installed and what you're trying to fix, so a contractor should look at the space before you decide.
- How many rooms can a mini split cover?
- A single outdoor unit can run one indoor head or several. Single-zone systems cool or heat one room. Multi-zone systems connect several indoor heads to one outdoor unit, each with its own thermostat, so you can cover several rooms and set each one differently. How many zones your house needs comes down to square footage and layout, which is something a contractor sizes room by room.
- Can a mini split heat a whole house?
- It can, if enough indoor heads are placed to reach every room. Open floor plans with a few zones do well. Homes with many small rooms or long hallways need more heads to heat evenly, since each indoor unit only heats the space it's in. Orlando only needs heat in December and January, so the heating load is a smaller part of the year than cooling. A contractor can tell you how many zones your specific house would need.