Anyone built an enclosure to their outdoor ductless heat pump?

[Hammerjoe]

Does ayone have built an enclosure for their ductless heat pump?

I am thinking of building one for mine to protect it mainly in the winter for snow and I was wondering what kind of clearance is needed for these units?

Also please share pics.

 

[begreen]

This blog shows a snow cover for their Daikin compressor.
http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/hse/log/878784/25.html

 

[woodgeek]

The most important thing is elevation off the ground. This is usually in the form of 'legs' called 'pump ups', or hanging the unit on an adjacent wall.

 

[peakbagger]

I built a removable pitched roof over mine. Its just a sheet of PV panel pitched at 45 degrees mounted well above the unit. Even at 45 degrees snow will occasionally build up. I thought I would remove it for summer but found that in the summer it also shades the unit. There are clearance requirements in the installation manual. I installed mine on the SE corner of my house facing east. Its quite noticeable that the side nearest the south side of the house has slightly higher frost buildup when I have west winds than the other side which is sheltered by the house. I have considered installing a side baffle on the exposed side to redirect any snow away from the coil.

I have seen some elaborate designs which generally seal up the sides of the unit with about 10" of clearance between the coil and the enclosure while having free air flow from the base to the top and generally very open louvers on the face of the unit.

I do agree that elevation off the ground is key. Mine is about 4' from the grass to the base of the unit. Even then I have to be careful during snow season to keep the banking down and I think I even had to run my snowblower under the unit once of twice to keep adequate clearance. I have mine hung off a wall with a frame made out of unistrut. I have never detected any noise or vibration through the wall.

When Bangor Hydro in Maine started advocating the installation of these units they discovered that poor siting was the key issue with poorly operating units, they spent a lot of time educating installers and I believe the installers needed to be certified to get rebates.

I run into folks on occasion who don't like the look of them and want to install them below their deck or a porch. I would expect that is a very poor location unless the deck is quite high and air flow is high. I have seen pictures or installations in a covered screened in porch, they look like a good place to install for winter but I expect in the summer they would ruin the use of the porch as they do crank out heat.