What the submittal sheet says

Mini Split Compare is a reference catalog of 150 ductless heat pump systems from 20 brands across 7 form factors, from 9,000 to 55,000 BTU and $600 to $7,961. The figures that decide whether one of these will heat your house in February live on a submittal sheet rather than a product page, and half this market is sold online under brand names that have no dealer network to ask. Sorting that out is what the catalog is for.

“Operates down to” is not a capacity

This is the distinction the whole cold-climate question turns on. A brand that advertises operation down to -13°F is telling you the compressor will still run at that temperature. It is not telling you how much heat comes out, and a system delivering forty per cent of its rated output is technically operating while your house gets cold. The catalog records what each maker actually publishes: a rated capacity at a stated outdoor temperature where one exists, and the bare operating floor where that is all there is. 111 of the 150 systems here are rated to -4°F or below, which is the practical line between a heat pump that handles a shoulder season and one that is the heating system.

Which documents the numbers are read from

Capacity, SEER2, HSPF2, voltage, low-ambient performance and warranty terms are taken from manufacturer submittal sheets, specification sheets and product documentation, and from AHRI and NEEP listings where a manufacturer files rated capacity at low temperatures with them; where those are not public, from the dealer listing that reproduces them. SEER2 and HSPF2 on the 117 NEEP-listed systems were checked against the certified listing. A submittal sheet is the document an installer pulls a permit with, so it is the one worth reading; the marketing page is derived from it and loses the conditions. Where a figure is not published anywhere, the field is left empty rather than estimated from a neighbouring model.

The word “DIY” hides an electrical question

24 systems here ship with a precharged quick-connect lineset, which removes the vacuum pump and the refrigerant handling — the part that genuinely requires a technician. What it does not remove is the circuit. Only 14 of the 150 units run on 115V, where an existing panel space may do; the rest want a dedicated 208/230V circuit, which for most people is an electrician and a morning. Several manufacturers also tie their longest warranty term to documented professional installation, so a DIY install can cost nothing in labour and several years in coverage. Each unit's install note spells out which of those applies.

Equipment prices, and the number that is missing from them

Prices are approximate retailer prices for the equipment only, as seen at the last check, and they move. Nothing on this site includes installation, and installation is usually the larger figure — often two to three times the equipment cost for a conventional flare-and-vacuum job, and more where a contractor is being asked to install equipment the owner bought elsewhere. Some will decline that work outright. The unit pages note where that is a known difficulty, because it is a real constraint on what you can buy rather than a footnote.

Where the owner and installer commentary comes from

There is no test bench here, no technician on staff, and no equipment installed anywhere to report on. The strengths and catches on each unit come from its spec sheet, warranty terms and dealer listings. The separate “What owners report” section is summarised from public owner and installer discussion, and appears only on the 6 product lines (56 systems) with enough of it to summarise; every claim in it was checked against the discussions it came from. A pattern goes in when it recurs from people with no connection to each other: the same control board failing in year three, the same warranty line taking six weeks to answer, the same head dripping condensate because it was hung level. Which patterns are common enough to print is an editorial call made here.

Two people, and nothing bought

Two people maintain this catalog on evenings and weekends. There is no office, no van and nobody on a payroll. No manufacturer, distributor or contractor pays for inclusion or for a position, and none sees a page before it goes up. Brand and type pages list current units first, coldest-heating first, and the main list sorts however you set it, so position follows from the data and from your sort. The site's only income is Amazon's Associates commission: where a system is sold on Amazon, its page links there and a purchase through that link pays a small percentage. Systems sold only through contractors carry no link and are listed exactly the same way.

A category mid-refrigerant-change

This market is partway through the move from R-410A to R-454B, which means model numbers are being reissued, old stock is clearing at prices that will not repeat, and a unit listed today may be superseded by a physically identical one with a different charge. Systems get added, prices re-checked and withdrawn models cleared as that shakes out. A price, a SKU or a low-ambient figure that disagrees with the submittal sheet is an error here rather than a placement anybody paid for.