How we compare

Where the figures come from

Every figure on a product page is a claim we recorded with its source: the page or document it was read from, how it was read, and the date. The product page shows the source next to each value, so you can check it in one click. Sources rank in this order:

1. The certification record. ENERGY STAR publishes every certified mini-split heat pump, by its exact outdoor and indoor model numbers, with the figures from the Department of Energy's test procedure: SEER2, EER2, HSPF2, cooling capacity, heating capacity at 47, 17 and 5 °F, the coefficient of performance at 5 °F and the refrigerant. Where a system's pair is listed, those are the figures we show.
2. The brand's own material: its catalogue, spec sheet, product page or warranty document, for what the certification doesn't cover (voltage, sound levels, dimensions, line set, heating limit, warranty).
3. A store's listing of the exact model, when the brand doesn't publish the figure, and for the kit model number a store sells a system under.

Of the 11,337 values shown on the site right now, 30% come from a certification record, 51% from the brand and 19% from a store.

A brand page often names only a system code, not the outdoor and indoor model numbers that are certified. We use a certification record only when the brand's own code, refrigerant and indoor style leave exactly one certified pair, or when every pair that fits carries identical figures; otherwise the system shows the brand's own figures, marked with their source.

When sources disagree

The certified figure wins over a brand's or a store's copy of it. When a brand's page states a certified figure differently (a higher HSPF2, a rounder capacity), we keep the brand's figure on record as a rejected claim with the certified value beside it, rather than throwing it away: 22 such figures so far. Elsewhere, the highest-ranked source wins, and among equals the newest reading. Claims that disagree beyond measuring noise are checked and the wrong one rejected with a reason; rejected claims are kept so the next check doesn't pick the same wrong number up again (360 rejected in all).

Who makes it

When a system's nine certified figures are identical, to the decimal, to a record a factory certifies under its own name, the two are almost always one model sold under two names, and we name that factory as the likely maker, labelled inferred. The full method, every brand and series, and the systems sold under more than one name are on Who makes your mini-split?

Warranty and installing it yourself

We read each brand's warranty document or policy page and record what it says about installation, with the sentence quoted on every product page and the date we read it:

• Kept: the warranty applies when the system is installed as its manual directs, with no requirement for a licensed installer (some brands ask you to register it).
• Reduced: a self-install keeps some coverage but less.
• Licensed installer required: the warranty needs installation or commissioning by a licensed contractor or a certified HVAC technician, so a self-install voids it. Some brands also refuse any warranty on units bought online unless a licensed dealer installs them; where they say so, the product page quotes it.

That's the brand's warranty, not the law. Electrical work, permits and refrigerant handling have their own rules where you live: the EPA's Section 608 rules govern who may handle refrigerant, and a "flare" system that needs its lines evacuated is generally a job for a certified technician. Pre-charged quick-connect systems are designed to avoid that step. We don't give installation advice; the brand's installation manual and local code do.

Refrigerant

Each system shows the refrigerant it is charged with, from its certification record where there is one. Older systems use R-410A; most systems certified since 2024 use R-454B or R-32, which have a much lower global warming potential. The EPA's Technology Transitions rules restrict new installations of systems that use high-GWP refrigerants; the dates and exemptions are on that page, and an installer can tell you what they can still fit.

Confirmed, inferred, unconfirmed

Every product carries a confidence label. It's computed from its sources, never typed in by hand:

• confirmed (576 products): the model number and every shown figure were read from a certification record, the brand's or a store's own page, spec sheet or document.
• inferred (0): read the same way, but at least one value rests on a search result or a figure worked out from the source's own numbers.
• unconfirmed (0): at least one value hasn't been re-checked. The product page says which.

Prices

Prices are re-checked every week. Each shows the store and the date it was seen. The headline price is the cheapest store with the system in stock. A system sold with a choice of line-set lengths is priced with the shortest one included (a choice of colours, with the standard one); the other options are listed on the product page. A store's struck-through "was" price is recorded as the store shows it, as the store's claim. Some large stores refuse automated price checks; those are linked without a price rather than with a guessed one.

Sizes

A system's size is the class the brand sells it as (9,000, 12,000, 18,000 BTU per hour and so on), so the comparison tables line up 12k against 12k across brands. The rated capacity from the certification is shown next to it and can be a little above or below. A brand's room-size figure is its own rule of thumb; it isn't a load calculation.

Previous generations

Series a brand no longer sells new, or is selling out (most of them R-410A), stay listed because stores still sell the stock and owners need to know what replaced them. They're kept out of every comparison and listed under previous generations. A product is marked discontinued only when a source says so: the brand drops it from its range, or tags it for final sell-out and every variant is gone. 80 products are listed there now.

How the site makes money

Some "buy" links are affiliate links: if you buy through one, the store pays MiniSplit Facts a commission at no cost to you. Those links say so right next to the button. Affiliate status never decides what we list, the order things appear in, or which store a price comes from. The headline price is the cheapest in-stock store, whether or not we earn from it. No brand or store pays for placement.

What we don't do

• No scores or "best" picks. A single score hides whose priorities set the weights. We show the numbers and the sources, and you decide.
• No load calculations. Sizing a system for a room depends on the building; a Manual J calculation by a professional, or your utility's guidance, is the way to do it.
• No installation advice and no hands-on testing. Figures are certified or published ones.
• US market only. Models, ratings, prices and availability are for the US.
• No guessing. A value nobody has published is left blank, not estimated.

What the terms mean

Size

The size the brand sells the unit as: 9,000, 12,000, 18,000 BTU per hour and so on. It's a class, not a measurement; the rated cooling capacity from the unit's certification is the tested figure and can be a little above or below it. A room-size claim is the brand's own rule of thumb.

Indoor unit style

Where the indoor unit goes. A wall mount hangs high on a wall; a ceiling cassette sits flush in the ceiling; a floor console sits low like a radiator; a floor/ceiling unit can do either; a ceiling-suspended unit hangs below the ceiling; a concealed duct unit hides above a ceiling or in a closet and feeds one or more rooms through short ducts; an air handler is a ducted unit for a whole floor.

Voltage

The supply the outdoor unit needs. 115V units run on the same voltage as a household outlet (they still want their own dedicated circuit and disconnect, per the manual); 208/230V units need a two-pole circuit like a dryer or range. Bigger sizes are usually 208/230V only. We report the brand's figure; the circuit and breaker size are in each brand's installation manual.

SEER2 (cooling efficiency)

Seasonal energy efficiency ratio, measured under the Department of Energy's test procedure that took effect in 2023 (the "2" ones). It is cooling delivered over a typical season divided by the electricity used. Higher is better. SEER2 figures run lower than the old SEER for the same unit, so compare SEER2 with SEER2. Ours come from the certification record of the exact indoor and outdoor pair.

EER2 (efficiency at 95 °F)

Energy efficiency ratio at a single hot condition, 95 °F outdoors, under the 2023 test procedure. SEER2 averages a season; EER2 tells you how the unit does on the hottest afternoons.

HSPF2 (heating efficiency)

Heating seasonal performance factor under the 2023 test procedure: heat delivered over a heating season per unit of electricity, for the Department of Energy's reference climate. Higher is better. It doesn't say how a unit copes with deep cold; the 5 °F figures do.

Rated cooling capacity

Cooling output at the rating test, from the certification record.

COP at 5 °F

Coefficient of performance at 5 °F outdoors: heat delivered divided by the electricity used, from the certification record. A resistance heater is 1.0; a COP of 2.0 delivers twice the heat for the same electricity.

Heats down to

The lowest outdoor temperature at which the brand says the unit still heats. It's the brand's operating limit, not a capacity: at that temperature the unit delivers much less heat than its rating. For how much heat you get in the cold, use the 5 °F figures.

Refrigerant

The refrigerant the system is charged with, from the certification record when there is one. R-410A was the standard for years; most models launched since 2024 use R-454B or R-32, which have a far lower global warming potential. EPA rules restrict new installations of systems using high-GWP refrigerants; the rule's dates and exemptions are on the EPA's Technology Transitions page, linked from our guides. A system and its line set must use the refrigerant the brand specifies.

ENERGY STAR certified

"Yes" means this exact outdoor and indoor model pair is listed in ENERGY STAR's data set of certified mini-split heat pumps, which is where our certified ratings come from. A blank means we found no record for the pair; it doesn't mean the unit failed anything. Utility rebates often require ENERGY STAR or the cold-climate designation; check your utility's own list.

ENERGY STAR cold climate

ENERGY STAR's cold-climate designation, read from the certification record: on top of the regular ENERGY STAR criteria, the unit meets requirements for efficiency and retained heating capacity at 5 °F outdoors. The current thresholds are in ENERGY STAR's heat pump specification.

Line connection

How the refrigerant lines join the units. Quick-connect systems ship with a sealed, pre-charged line set that screws onto the units without a vacuum pump or gauges; that's what "DIY" usually means. Flare systems have a charged outdoor unit, but the lines are cut and flared to length and the system is evacuated with a vacuum pump before the charge is released; under EPA rules, refrigerant work generally needs a certified technician. We report what the brand says; how to install is in the brand's manual.

Compressor warranty

Years of compressor coverage under the brand's warranty, often only when registered. Conditions are on the product page.

Warranty if you install it yourself

What the brand's own warranty terms say about installation. "Kept": the warranty applies when you install it yourself as the manual directs and local law allows (some brands also ask you to register). "Reduced": you keep some coverage but less. "Licensed installer required": the warranty needs installation by a licensed contractor or a certified HVAC technician, so a self-install voids it. We quote the warranty page or document on each product; terms change, so the date we read it is shown.

Confirmed, inferred, unconfirmed

How a product's data was sourced; see above.