Just wondering if anyone has one of these . Seems like a good idea. I'm wondering about efficiency and other costs.
Thanks
KID

I use a split for ac only - installed last year (2020) I already had a shop furnace so just needed. ac. The shop is 24 x 36 with 10' ceilings and is fully insulated. I keep it around 70 degrees but only have to turn the ac on around July as the shop stays cool until then. I rarely open the large doors because everything in the shop is cool enough that it will immediately form dew from the humidity entering the shop. What doesn't rust will get moldy. I'm in the same weather belt as you.

I’ve got one in one room of mine at my shop. I bought it because of the efficiency. It is in a 25x 50 room with 11’ ceilings. It is a solid brick with a metal roof and 1/4” silver backed foil insulation. It only has one 10 x 10 garage door on the north end. The room was unbearable in both winter and summer in west Texas. I installed the mini split and it really helped. It made it bearable but not comfortable. The upside was it I hardly noticed the bill going up. Now this Is not and everyday use room, either. Fast forward a couple of years and I insulated with spray foam about 2” thick and insulated the garage door. Now I can turn on the heat mode on a day of 20 degree temps and I’m down to working in a t shirt in about an hour. Ac works great in the summer as well. Still, I hardly notice the bill increase. I’ve got a regular heat pump/ac in my man cave in the same building and it can run up the bill. It is very well insulated. I like the split. If I had a regular ac/heat pump in the shop area, it would be faster to heat and cool but probably more expensive to run.

That's way too broad a question. It all starts with how many square feet are you trying control and how well are you insulated? And I don't care what anybody selling the stuff says, if the temps get below 10 degrees you will need another heat source. I would lurk on garage journal.

The finished part of my shop is 25' X 50' with propane floor heat and 12' walls. I've looked at a number of mini-splits and it always boils down to complexity and no need for heat capabilities. Based on my insulation, it looks like I'd need about 26,000 BTU/hr of cooling. So I've decided to go this way.

Window Air Conditioner

Seems to be easier to install and cheaper IF all you want is A/C. All I have to do is cut a hole and wire it and I can handle that. We'll see next summer if this was a wise choice.

25x50 is a lot of area for one unit to cool even if it has the BTU capacity simply moving the air about will be tricky. Might be wise to think about two units, or more, spread out to handle the entire building. Otherwise you will have one area nice and cool and another not so much.

Maybe some that are more educated on this subject will chime in
My shop is 30x40, block construction of which about 1/2 is buried into a hill. the center stall ceiling is vaulted to allow use of a lift while to other two bays are at 10 ft. Very well insulated.
So far I've been able to get by with 2-4 oil filled radiant heaters. I start with 2 in the fall on low when the temps begin dropping in the bldg. As the outside temps drop I ramp them up, add a 3rd and the 4th when it starts getting down to 0 or below.
Summertime is handled by a 25K? BTU window A/C unit.
The existing setup works pretty well but am always open to improving things especially if there is a substantial cost reduction.
And just an FYI, I am all electric with the house and shop.

I have a Mitsubishi mini split I use for both heating and cooling in my shop.

I don't recall the exact measurements but it is basically a double length single car garage that is part of the house but separate from the other two car garage.

The shop is well insulated with six inch walls and no windows.

It was sized and installed by a local HVAC contractor.

It seems to be very efficient and I have seen little increase in my electric bill that I can attribute to its use. Of course I only use it when I plan to be out there.

I use it to heat as much as I do to cool.

Absolutely legitimate concerns. I have two ceiling fans that I am planning on using to distribute the air coming off the A/C unit. But it may be more feasible to go with two smaller units spaced along the wall.

The only problem with this, whether it be heating or cooling, is that everything in the shop radiates heat or cold. So in summer, everything is hot and will radiate that heat when you turn on the ac - so the ac is trying to cool the air but the shop contents are are warming it. Likewise in winter your heat source is trying to heat the air but the shop contents are radiating cold and trying to cool it.

I've found it to be more efficient and pleasant just to set the thermostat and let the furnace or ac do its thing. And I can go into the shop any time without having to heat or cool an hour or so ahead of time.

Does it show up on the utilities bills? I don't care!

I have a mitsubishi mutizone split unit that can run 3 indoor units. It is the more expensive cold weather unit. I have a 300sf room and the garage is 700sf. One unit is 18,00 BTU good for 750sf other is 9,00 BTU good for 350sf. The air works wonderful and the heat is great until the weather gets under 32 and then it has a harder time. The regular units won't work much under 10 so I bought the better unit.

If it's cold it isn't like a gas furnace. It won't be able to raise the temp for hours.

It was around 0 here last week and the garage unit set to 61 kept the garage 56 but it does have a double and single door. The other unit set at 70 could do 67 @ 0. The ac on them can freeze you out even at 100.

No disagreement.

Depending on the shop temp I try to turn the unit on before I go out there.

Also, since the shop is so well insulated I don't face quite the extremes that I would otherwise.

A lot of great information here guys THANKS! I'm planning to heat/cool about 2,000 sq ft. I'm not finished insulating yet but it will be well insulated. I'm planning to leave it on in the winter probably around 50degrees. Just want to maintain a decent temp.
I've installed a couple of ceiling fans to keep the air moving and it seems better than nothing at all. Cooling is secondary. I'll line up a couple of quotes.

KID

But will add that I do adjust the temps up or down overnight to curtail the cost a bit. usually about 10 or so degrees. Doesn't take long to recover and alleviates the radiated temp.

Spare no expense on insulation. The spray foam is unbelievable and worth every penny. It seals every crack. The thicker you spray it, the better it is. I wish I would have went 2” plus maybe to three. I got an unusual deal on mine by a tenant learning how to spray his first couple of jobs. It looks ok but he could have done better and I could have prepared the walls better.

My son runs one in the new shop he built.Its like 900 sq ft.Works pretty good unless its real cold.He does have good insulation in the shop.He runs a wood burned at times but not often.His shop is mostly for wood working as he makes custom bows.Rocky

I suppose a lot depends on what utility services you have. A dual minisplit is going to use electricity for both cooling and heating. Electricity is a pretty damn expensive utility (in these parts). You're pretty much stuck with that for cooling but when it comes to heating you have options - natural gas, propane or oil with natural gas being the least expensive. I put my furnace in years ago and only installed the minisplit ac in 2020 but I wouldn't have done it any other way. The Hot Dawg" overhead furnace heats the shop in the coldest weather with no problems regardless of how cold it is outside. But as others have said, the minisplit has its limits both heating and cooling. There is also the issue of failure - if either the heat or ac breaks, is it economical to repair or does it dictate a replacement unit. It would be worthwhile to compare the cost of a single ac/heat minisplit versus an ac minisplit and a separate furnace as well as a comparison of operating costs. The furnace install is obviously a little more involved but much of the work can be done yourself with the exception of the gas line (assuming you were to go with gas). One thing to note with any furnace, it needs an air source or the exhaust will back up into the shop. In my case I just vented fresh air from the attic down through a pair of wall studs.

Ceilings fans help a bunch. Staying at 50 shouldn't be a problem. They measure the temp of the incoming air into the top of unit not like a thermostat on the wall. Mine puts out 115 degree air which heats the intake air over the unit so to keep it 50 it'll probably be set at 60. Get ready to be shocked at 2000 sf you'll a need a mutizone unit with probably 3 indoor units. Friend just bought a single zone 18,000 BTU for his new 700 sf garage. $7,000. It is a good cold weather unit and a bit oversized which means it heats above average but in summer sometimes it doesn't run long enough to take out the humidity so he uses a dehumidifier. A trade off.

Agree on the ceiling fans, from experience in 2 different places.
Definitely improves heating or cooling and cuts the expense.
Rotation CCW in Summer, CW in Winter, low speeds.