Mini Split Installation in Dothan, AL
A new system here will heat from November through March and cool from May through October every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Houston County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work for one system
In Dothan, a mini-split runs almost the whole year. Summer afternoons average 91°F from May through October, and winter nights average 41°F from November through March. That leaves only about a month when the system isn't carrying a cooling or heating load.
A new unit installed here has to hold up on both ends of that range. If it was manufactured after January 1, 2023, it has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, the federal minimum for any split-system heat pump. With most homes in the area heating with electricity, that heating number matters as much as the cooling one.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 6 months
- May through October, it cools
- 41°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors. It covers the contractor, not the job itself, so the same license stands behind everything that contractor installs or repairs.
For a mini-split, that license is what stands behind the work. Most cities and counties in Alabama also require a permit for an installation like this, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is separate from the state license and gives the job a second look after it's finished.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Is a mini split worth it?
- For the right room or house, yes. A mini split heats and cools without ducts, so you are not losing energy through duct runs in an attic or crawl space. Dothan homes need cooling six months a year and heat five, so a system that handles both well earns its place year round. It works best for additions, garage conversions, or homes that need zone by zone control.
- How many rooms can a mini split cover?
- A single indoor head handles one room or open area well. If you need more rooms covered, a multi-zone system lets one outdoor unit run several indoor heads, each with its own thermostat. A contractor will look at the square footage and layout of your house to size the system correctly.
- Can a mini split heat a whole house?
- It can, with enough indoor heads placed in the right rooms and an outdoor unit sized for the whole load. Winter nights in Dothan average 41°F, which is well within the range a mini-split heat pump is built to handle. The main question is layout. Open floor plans cover easily with fewer zones, while homes with many separate rooms need a head in each one to heat evenly. A contractor can size this based on your home's square footage and floor plan.