Electric heat pump?

ok folks I know this is a wood burnig forum but....
Anybody have any experience with electric mini split systems?
Here is the info we have a 4season porch that is off the back of the house its roughly 14 by 16. Sliders on 3 sides and sitting on posts. There is some insulation in the floor, other walls /ceiling are insulated. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

It's current use is as a play room, as much as I'd rather use it for something else but it's probly going to stay that way for a while.
Last year we heated it with propane at 5 dollars a gallon. There isn't enough clearance to install a wood burner unless it was in the center of the room. I think a wood stove in the play room is a bad idea.

It would be nice to have one unit in the porch to heat/cool and one in the house to mostly cool ( is this possible I don't know.)
We have a solar array so electricity is fairly inexpensive. We are located in nh temp anywhere from 100f to 15 below.
I'm fairly handy so I think I could install it myself. Thanks for any input

 

our electric company leases them.. at bosses office 1200 sq. feet 1 mini split heats and cools it. they lose heat efficiency at somewhere around zero so he thru in a small propane gas stove in case.. his electric bill went up by 55.. dollars 30 of it is the lease.. this is the border.. you can do a 2 head system.. they rate the head (the part that heats or cools) like any heater in btus

 

That's almost exactly the sq footage of our bedroom which I converted from a 3 season porch. Look into E-heat electric heaters, that plug into a 110 outlet. No idea what kind of electric usage though, but supposedly efficient.
Look for a high SEER unit (more money, but better efficiency). I believe nowadays you can get units that handle up to 4 heads, but I've heard they don't work as well as singles. You can get units that do heat and air. I'm still thinking about doing one or two in the house, but since they don't do as well in the really low temps (when you need it most), I'm shying away from it somewhat.
Our temps are similar to yours.
So, CbVT, $25/month to heat 1200 sq ft? Why isn't everyone using these?

 

Thanks for the replies fellas. There is an existing gas log that plan to keep functional for when it's real cold

 

papadave 25 is average over year plus lease.. lowS in spring fall .. it's a supplemental system need more to heat your house here.. the good is they are no ducts.. the bad is they need multiple heads if not an open floor plan.. Vermont is a progressive (trying not to be political here) state so they raise everybody's electric 25% to give low income and seniors a 35% discount.. then they add a 3 dollar charge evrry month on bill to run efficiency VT the systems if you were to buy it would be 8 to 12 grand.. the largest power company buy hundredS and leases them back to customers subsidized by efficiency VT

so short version would be would you buy a secondary system for 8 grand no.. but if you lease it you get lower rate on electrical for using green energy which fits into Vermont (the green mountain state) eco friendly agenda

average electric bill for 3 bedroom house is 175 a month.. sorry if answer is verbose..

 

How do these compare to other brands of the same type

 

Don't know. My brother has one in his small garage/shop and says it works pretty well.
They're only good up to 150-ish sq ft though.

 

I was just thinking , put one of those on the wall in BR instead of the oil heater in the middle of the room , 475 Watts instead of 1500
Edit: how long has your bro had the heater?

 

Thanks , I bought one , be here Sat
I was waiting for papadave to answer how long his brother had his , but he took off on me and hasn't come back yet , he's probably outside tearing stuff up
I did my research though
I use a heater in the BR sometimes when it gets really cold or sometimes when it's not very cold ,put the heater on low at night and let the rest of the house get cold

 

I was originally thinking electric baseboard but read that you can get burned if you stick your fingers in them.

 

I don't know if this is something you want but this is what I got for the bedroom as supplemental heat, got 15 bucks off free shipping ,

Envi High-Efficiency Whole Room Plug-In Electric Panel Heater (HH1012T)

 

The oil heater takes a while to heat up to, I have had other oil heaters but the one I have now kicks butt, tested it with an IR thermometer and it was 300

 

Thanks ww and hd I'm looking for a more long term solution and I'm interested in the ac aspect.

We use a small infrared heater in my sons bedroom as a just incase the temp drops for whatever reason. It works good. I have seen some bigger ones we may just go for that for now. Ahh the joys of owning a home!

 

Sorry HD HDRock .....wife and I went to Gaylord and just got home. That's the heater brother got and he's had it about a year.

 

I'd like to talk to a professional but we keep our yard neat and kept up with the house looks nice from the outside, and I think when people show up to give estimates they think we are rich or something. And I trust no one that I don't know in my house never mind cutting holes in it!
Most times I try to just figure things out on my own and do what needs to be done.