Multi Split Heat Pumps for Palmerston North Homes
Heat the lounge, the bedrooms and the office off one tidy outdoor unit. Handy when a raw southerly is coming off the ranges and you want the whole house warm.
A multi split heat pump runs several indoor units off one outdoor compressor. You get separate heads in the lounge, bedrooms or office, each with its own remote, without bolting a second and third box to the wall. Good for larger Palmerston North homes and wind-exposed sites.
One outdoor unit on a wind-exposed section
Plenty of the newer subdivisions around Whakarongo and Aokautere sit out in the open, and the wind funnels off the ranges. Hanging three or four separate outdoor units on a house like that means more boxes catching wind, more pipe runs, and more clutter down the side of the section.
A multi split keeps it to one outdoor unit. You still get warm air in several rooms, but there's just the one compressor to find a sheltered spot for. If you're weighing this against other layouts, it's worth reading through the types of heat pump before you decide.
Which rooms suit a multi split in a family home
This setup earns its keep in larger homes where you want more than one room warm at once. Think open-plan living plus two or three bedrooms in Hokowhitu or Fitzherbert, where a single big unit in the lounge never quite reaches the far end of the house.
You can mix indoor styles on the one system too. A wall unit in the lounge, floor console heat pumps under the windows in bedrooms where cold air pools, and ceiling cassette heat pumps if you'd rather nothing on the wall. If you want heating hidden away entirely, a ducted heat pump system is the other path worth a look.
Sizing several rooms so winter mornings still perform
The catch with multi splits is the outdoor unit only has so much capacity to share. Run every head flat out on a frosty still morning and a system that's sized too tight will struggle. That's the most common thing people get wrong.
We work out the total load across all the rooms, not just add up the heads. You can get a feel for it yourself with our heat pump sizing calculator, then we'll confirm the numbers on site.
- Total capacity shared across all indoor units
- Room sizes, insulation and window area
- Which rooms run at the same time
- A sheltered spot for the single outdoor unit
What a multi split costs and who fits it
A multi split usually costs more up front than one big single-room unit, but less than fitting three or four fully separate systems once you count the extra outdoor units and brackets. The honest answer depends on how many rooms and which indoor styles you choose. We break the numbers down on our heat pump installation cost page.
We handle the heat pump installation in Palmerston North ourselves, from pipe runs to commissioning. Ring us on 06 242 4317 and we'll talk through your rooms.
Not sure how many rooms to heat?
Tell us what you're trying to warm and we'll sort out whether one multi split covers it or a different setup makes more sense.
Multi split heat pump questions
What is a multi split heat pump system?
It's a single outdoor unit that runs multiple indoor units connected by pipework. Each indoor head heats its own room with its own remote, but they all draw off the one outdoor compressor. It suits homes wanting several rooms warm without a wall of outdoor boxes.
How many indoor units can one outdoor unit run?
Most multi split systems run between two and five indoor units off one outdoor unit, depending on the model and its capacity. The more heads you add, the bigger the outdoor unit needs to be. We size it around the rooms you actually want heated so nothing gets starved on a cold morning.
Is a multi split cheaper than separate heat pumps?
It's usually cheaper than fitting the same number of fully separate single systems, because you're paying for one outdoor unit instead of several. It's dearer than a single wall unit though. Whether it's the right call comes down to how many rooms you need warm and how they're laid out.
Can a multi split heat different rooms at different temperatures?
Yes. Each indoor head has its own controller, so you can set the lounge warmer than the spare room, or turn bedrooms off during the day. The one limit is they can't run heating and cooling at the same time on a standard multi split, so all rooms are either heating or cooling together.
Warm the whole house off one unit
We install multi split systems across Kelvin Grove, Aokautere, Whakarongo, Hokowhitu and Fitzherbert. Call 06 242 4317 or send us your rooms for a quote.