Currently taking in my back porch to add a super small office and a new bedroom for my 3rd kid on the way.

Bedroom 11X11
Office 8X8

Both rooms have a big nice window but I hate to throw a window units in them.

Anyone have any experience with mini splits? Is the office too small for one to work?

I'm located in southeast Texas so cooling is the main issue by far.

I don't but I hear it's the way to go. Thinking of heating and cooling my 3rd car garage this way.

You can get zoned mini splits

Was just reading up on this. Just didn't know with it being such a small space if I would run into humidity issues

What size in tons is your current hvac system and how many square ft is the house before the porch enclosure ?

I would vote for a zoned minisplit. You install one outside box and two inside boxes in the room. They are independently controlled for temperatures and run off one compressor.

With mini splits, you do have the option of dehumidifying (if it has the option), so humidity shouldn't be as much of a concern as a more 'traditional' HVAC system.

Essentially, don't buy the cheapest one, but look at the options available. I could also see that if these rooms are connected to the house, that'll help moderate the humidity (humidity moves).

Also, picking the unit before ocnstruction can help with holes and supports instead of after the fact.

~egon

I framed in a small office 10 x 12 in my garage. Installed a 12K BTU mini split myself almost 10 yrs ago and it works great. Mine is a wall mount, but now they make a ceiling mount. Wish ceiling mount was available then.

I purchased a "Soleus" model from https://airconditioner.com/ and it was still cheaper w/ shipping than anything I could find locally. You'll need a lineset the appropriate length to go with it.

JP76's Q may be on to a solution similar to mine =
extend existing ductwork to new spaces & I can report this has worked just fine +
when replacing a 20yr-old system, they can replace with 1/2 ton larger if needed.

Oh, no - IF now the whole house is too large for existing HVAC?
There may be a large room with exterior wall that may benefit from its own mini-split
and then shutting off the main registers to it.
It is here that the HVAC guys are squirming about duct sizes being ignored, shoe-horned into
improper duty and we all are hoping there's no RA grill in this potential large room that might
need be also shut off.

Mini-splits
Finally we are seeing 1/2ton minis come out whereas 3/4ton were the smallest
forgive my brutal calculations controversial as 240sf vs 360sf served by the above
while turning a blind eye to the ability to share a unit via attic ductwork/boxes.

That said, testimonies from Gator & Doctor are very worthy of more research to solve this problem.

Dr. Doctor said:

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I would vote for a zoned minisplit. You install one outside box and two inside boxes in the room. They are independently controlled for temperatures and run off one compressor.

With mini splits, you do have the option of dehumidifying (if it has the option), so humidity shouldn't be as much of a concern as a more 'traditional' HVAC system.

Essentially, don't buy the cheapest one, but look at the options available. I could also see that if these rooms are connected to the house, that'll help moderate the humidity (humidity moves).

Also, picking the unit before ocnstruction can help with holes and supports instead of after the fact.

~egon

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I live in CO and have this. I have one inside my very large living room and one in my home office. I do not have any other AC in the house, but it is needed in the summer and they work great. Mine are 5 years old, LG. I have had only one issue with the unit and it was a leak on the high side a year after they installed it (I did not install it, previous owner did right before they sold it to me).

My new place has one in a 2-car garage. Works great. Has the "dry" setting someone else mentioned for if it's humid, and that naturally helps cool too.

I actually ran it last winter during the cold snap to heat the garage a bit since water softener and some other piping is in there. Didn't seem to work this week though (wondering if something is up with the heat option that I'm not aware of). Prior owner also insulated the garage door though, so that alone helps it stay warmer/cooler than the outdoor temps.