I don’t know. They look so weird to me, but I’m not used to seeing them. Does it have to be there all of the time or do you take it down at the end of the summer?
They are permanent installations.
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Yes, this is correct.
Plus, it could be useful in winter as a heat pump, though we don’t use it as such in winter because our electricity rates are higher in winter. [This year our electricity rates more than tripled in the winter!]
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Ok, it wouldn’t be worth it then, particularly not in our own apartment because we only have our ACs installed for 3-4 weeks. That’s why I didn’t buy one of the saddle types last summer, I couldn’t really justify it.
Our guests and tenants have their ACs a bit longer so I will probably start switching over to the saddle types in the other apartments this summer. Their living rooms don’t have much wall space to start with (because of windows and doorways) so the split thing would be very distracting but the saddle ACs won’t really show at all because they’ll be behind the couches.
Ouch. There was a lot of discussion on our local Nextdoor about our electric rates going up here too but I sort of assume those people must have electric heat. I’m probably just used to more expensive electricity so it still seems so cheap to me but, also, our electric bills (and I pay all 4 of them) run about $23/month each in the winter (and only about $60 in the summer).
And they practically give away the water for free (though that’s still too much for such crappy water, lol) here ($48/month for the whole 4-unit house) but they certainly make up for it with the astronomical natural gas prices. Now those blow my mind - though I didn’t miss that the “supply charge” is the bulk of the cost.
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Mini splits mounted on the wall are ugly. I’ve stayed in two STRs with them, one in Costa Rica and one in Marfa TX. Two of my friends have them in rooms where connecting to the central ductwork was difficult for them.
For homes with an attic space there is now a mini split that mounts in the ceiling so it’s not too much uglier than other vents in wall or ceilings. They are called cassettes for anyone who wants to look them up.
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And half the time those units are mounted over the bed, but not centered on the bed, which makes my Libra artistic aesthetic, detail oriented self cringe.
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That’s interesting. We do have the attic above our apartment. But we just don’t need the AC or additional heat. Besides, the ceilings are the best part 
of most of the rooms (antique plaster medallions) . Most of the place is junked up with baseboard radiator heat, which does work well but IMO should be illegal, I hate it. Is it possible to replace the main heat (e.g. rip out the baseboard radiator pipes) with these split things? I would be interested in that for sure.
I’m not a Libra but it does make my sense of human decency cringe.
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Yes.
But why would you want to?
These mini-splits are electric, which for the foreseeable future is more expensive than gas.
We have these baseboard heaters (hydronic). They are dust-free. Make no noise. Economically efficient.
If you want something very cool (but often expensive to retrofit), consider, hot water radiant heating. But you have to tear up all your floors. For new construction, though, or a new area to renovate it’s wonderful. [We use Warmboard: Warmboard | Radiant Floors & Radiant Heat, Floor Heating]
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We have seriously considered that. One of my brothers-in-law has a company that does that. Of course, he has really pushed for us to have it done (by his company naturally) but we’ve pretty much decided against it. The primary reason is that we still have the original 125-year-old wood floors and don’t want to mess with them. (but, also, my brother-in-law is an awful person and I don’t want him at my house, lol).
I know you’re right and that’s why they’re still there but they have been a difficult adjustment for me. I’d rather have just one regular large radiator in each room as we had in NY. Those are an architectural detail but the baseboard type is just an ugly detail (though we’ve been slowly replacing the covers and that helps). Anyways, I know you’re correct but they still drive me nuts.
I have a lot of books and LPs and that requires having a lot of large, sturdy shelving mounted flat against walls. To make it all worse, we live on the 3rd floor so we have slanted walls too. I’ve moved a lot and it usually only takes me a month to be completely unpacked and decorated. This apartment took me 3 years (though granted I did do 3 other apartments first).
I can say that I do appreciate that I don’t seem to get as dried out in the winter as I have when I’ve had forced air heat. Nonetheless for all of the trouble they cause me, you’d think we’d at least have some snow on the ground. I was promised snow, dammit 
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Hi Gillian,
Really loved your post, thank you.
That’s a lot of bookings. It intensifies my frustration with the guest that ruined my 5 star streak. Hmmm sounding like I haven’t quite let it go!
We also don’t want aircon as the space has huge bifold windows and big barn doors that open to allow connection with the garden and breezes. Aircon would not work with the windows and (very expensive) doors open. Like you, we have very few hot days and it just isn’t something that would be used very often. I might keep a portable unit on hand and keep track of the weather.
lol, that’s exactly what i’m talking about! that is pretty much the only a/c units we have here in Australia. they are ugly, and if you don’t have white walls they stick out, plus they yellow with age. you could of course cover it yourself with a sticky film product. We have a small a/c in one of our cottages, the box type one that sits through to wall so the unit is unhelpfully in the wrong spot. at least with split systems you can put the outside part somewhere less inconvenient.
There are “ducted” mini-split systems. We have one in our listed cabin. It has the normal unit outside on the ground, but can be mounted on the roof. Then instead of that wall unit, the heat exchanger/fan portion is installed in a duct which terminates at registers in the ceiling and/or walls.
They’re quieter than the wall-mounted units and of course don’t mess up the aesthetics any more that any register would.
Here’s an example of a pricier one that could handle quite a large space.
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@HostAirbnbVRBO (or if anyone else knows about these hydro baseboard heaters):
Our electricity is out, there looks to be a line down at the end of the block and there is no telling how long it will be until it’s fixed. The heaters are gas but the thermostats are electric. Are we going to have heat without electricity?
Fortunately, we don’t have guests tonight but we do have a tenant on the 1st floor and her apartment has forced air heat, which I’m assuming isn’t going to work; however, our 2nd floor apartment is empty and has the same gas powered hydro baseboard heaters that we have in our own apt. Wondering if the baseboards are going to work without electricity so I can put the 1st floor tenant on the 2nd floor so she has heat?
I don’t have the answer to your question. But in true forum fashion I can talk about something else.
I was just texting yesterday with friends in Austin whose power was out yesterday and I suggested having electric blankets or throws and some of those so called solar generators on hand. Those “generators” which are just battery packs can power a laptop, phone, lamp and electric throw or blanket for at least overnight.
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This. I had a 3 week festive booking before deciding to not rent I didn’t want to cancel it. The dishwasher broke the day after Christmas. Everyone here knows how hard it is to get a new dishwasher within 24 hours, but managed. If it was a shorter stay, I’m not sure 2 people would have cared. She left me my second 4* review, but a lovely public review. Was brutal in her private comments, but whatever.
I’ve never had a dishwasher in my life. My family came for Xmas this year, there were 9 of us for 2 weeks. With 8 of the 9 being over the age of 12, we had no issue taking turns washing the dishes by hand. 
Some people should be forced to live somewhere for a few weeks where they have to walk an hour to get water, and carry it back in an earthen jar on their head. Then they might get a sense of what being inconvenienced really means.
I stopped the Airbnb because I took a new job in Kenya. I understand.
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I think that you are going to have heat though I have not been in your situation – gas without electricity.
Good luck.
I thought so too but, apparently not I’m going to file it under “good to know”. You might want to as well.
The weather app says it’s negative 8 degrees (-8) outside (that’s Fahrenheit y’all, lol). The thermometer inside says 48 but is dropping quickly. There’s a noticeable layer of ice forming inside the windows. I’m trying to book a hotel room for our tenant.
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