Mini Split Installation in Waukegan, IL
A new system here will heat from October through May and cool from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Lake County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Waukegan asks for eight months of heat and three of cooling
Winter nights here average 19°F, and heat is running from October through May, eight months in a row. A mini-split has to hold that line, then switch over and carry summer afternoons that average 81°F from June through August. Most of the year, one system or the other is on.
Any mini-split installed new has to meet the federal minimum for a split-system heat pump, 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating. That is the floor a unit has to clear, not a target, and it applies whether you're adding a mini-split or replacing one that gave out.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 19°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
In Illinois, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the cities and towns.
Lake County sets its own rule here, since Illinois leaves HVAC licensing to the cities and towns rather than the state. Whether a contractor needs a local license, and what that license requires, depends on the municipality or county office covering the address, not on any statewide standard or test.
For a mini-split installation, the protection here comes from the permit process rather than a license. Most cities and counties require a permit before the work starts and an inspection once it's done, which is what checks that the line set, the electrical hookup and the mounting were done right.
Source: Illinois General Assembly
- Is a mini split worth it?
- For the right room or house, yes. A mini split heats and cools without ducts, and it holds its efficiency in cold weather better than an old electric baseboard or window unit. Winters here drop to 19°F on average overnight, so ask about the unit's low-temperature heating performance before you buy, since not every model handles that well. Most homes here heat with gas, so a mini split often works best as a way to cover a room the furnace doesn't reach, or as the main heat and air for an addition.
- How many rooms can a mini split cover?
- One outdoor unit can run one indoor head or several, depending on the system. A single-zone system covers one room or open area. A multi-zone system runs several indoor heads off one outdoor unit, each with its own thermostat, so different rooms can be heated or cooled to different temperatures at the same time. How many rooms make sense for one system depends on the size and layout of the house, which is something a contractor needs to look at in person.
- Can a mini split heat a whole house?
- It can, if it is sized and placed for the whole house rather than for one or two rooms. That takes enough indoor heads to reach every room, and enough outdoor capacity to keep up when it's 19°F outside, which is a normal winter night here. Homes here need heat eight months a year, October through May, so the system has to hold up across a long season, not just take the edge off a cold snap. A contractor can work out whether whole-house coverage makes sense for a given floor plan.