# Mini split guides > Plain answers for Portland homes: what a mini split costs, how many heads you need, sizing, placement, permits, Energy Trust incentives and cold weather. URL: https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/ Guides Answers to the questions that come before an estimate, written for Portland bungalows, ranches, split-levels and condos. ## Planning a mini split Where to start: what a mini split costs in Portland, the permit, how a job runs, and how to add cooling to a house built without it. [How we install mini splits](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/) - [Learn**How do you add air conditioning to an old house in Portland?** Adding air conditioning to an old house in Portland: bungalows and foursquares with no ducts upstairs, after the heat dome.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/adding-air-conditioning-to-an-old-portland-house/) - [Learn**Is a ductless heat pump the same as a mini split?** Two names for one machine, and the few cases where the words point at something different.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/ductless-heat-pump-vs-mini-split/) - [Cost Guide**How much does mini split installation cost in Portland?** Typical ranges by job, what moves the number, and the public costs inside it.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-installation-cost-portland/) - [Learn**What happens during a mini split installation?** The mini split installation process, every step from the first call to the city's final inspection, and what you get at the end.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-installation-process/) - [Learn**Do you need a permit for a mini split in Portland?** Which permits a new or replacement mini split needs, what they cost, and which office issues them outside Portland.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-permit-portland/) ## Single-zone installation One room, one head: sizing it, placing it, and how it compares with a window unit. [See the service: Single-zone installation](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/single-zone-mini-split-installation/) - [Learn**Where should a mini split go?** Head placement inside, the outdoor unit outside, and the Portland rules and weather that decide both.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-placement/) - [Learn**How do you size a mini split for a Portland room?** Mini split sizing in BTUs: design temperatures, the load calculation, and why two rooms the same size can need very different heads.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-sizing/) - [Decision Guide**Window AC vs mini split: which is right for your room?** A summer stopgap or a permanent system that also heats. What each one does to the room, the bill and the window.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-vs-window-ac/) ## Multi-zone installation Several rooms on one outdoor unit: counting heads, choosing single or multi-zone, and the circuit it needs. [See the service: Multi-zone installation](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/multi-zone-mini-split-installation/) - [Learn**How many mini splits do I need?** Count the rooms you close a door on, not the square feet. Then group the heads onto outdoor units.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/how-many-mini-splits-do-i-need/) - [Learn**What are the electrical requirements for a mini split?** The circuit, the disconnect, the panel and the permit, and what changes in an older Portland house.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-electrical-requirements/) - [Decision Guide**Single zone vs multi zone mini split: which should you choose?** One outdoor unit per room, or one outdoor unit for several rooms, and why the answer isn't always the cheaper one.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/single-zone-vs-multi-zone-mini-split/) ## Whole-house systems Heating the whole house with heads: cold-weather output and how it compares with a ducted heat pump. [See the service: Whole-house systems](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/whole-house-mini-split/) - [Learn**Do mini splits work in cold weather?** Portland's winters are mild with sharp exceptions: freezing rain, an east wind and a few nights in the teens.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/do-mini-splits-work-in-cold-weather/) - [Decision Guide**Mini split vs central heat pump: which fits a Portland house?** It comes down to your ducts: whether they exist, where they reach, and what shape they're in.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-vs-central-heat-pump/) ## Baseboard to mini split Replacing baseboards and wall heaters: the Energy Trust incentive, the electric bill, and rentals. [See the service: Baseboard to mini split](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/baseboard-heat-to-mini-split/) - [Learn**How much will a mini split add to my electric bill?** Running costs worked out from PGE, Pacific Power and NW Natural rates, against baseboards and a gas furnace.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-electric-bill/) - [Learn**What mini split rebates are available in Oregon?** What Energy Trust pays, which homes qualify, how state and city programs work, and what's changed for the federal credit.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-rebates-oregon/) - [Decision Guide**Is a mini split a good choice for a rental property?** What Oregon law asks of rental cooling, what Energy Trust pays, and how to lay out heads in a house or a fourplex.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-for-rental-property/) ## Ceiling cassette Cassettes in the ceiling or heads on the wall: what each needs above and around it. [See the service: Ceiling cassette](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/ceiling-cassette-mini-split-installation/) - [Decision Guide**Should you get a ceiling cassette or a wall-mounted mini split?** The four kinds of indoor unit, what each needs from the house, and which rooms suit which.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-cassette-vs-wall-mount/) ## Repair When a head drips or trips: drains, pumps and what goes wrong. [See the service: Repair](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/mini-split-repair/) - [Learn**How does a mini split condensate drain work?** Where the water goes, gravity or pump, and the common reasons a head starts to drip.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/mini-split-condensate-drain/) ## Cleaning and maintenance Filters, coils and wildfire smoke season. [See the service: Cleaning and maintenance](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/mini-split-cleaning-maintenance/) - [Learn**Do mini splits filter wildfire smoke?** What a ductless head does with smoky air, what it can't catch, and how to keep one room clean in a Portland smoke week.](https://firlandsportlandminisplits.com/guide/do-mini-splits-filter-wildfire-smoke/) ## Ask about your house (971) 458-4515