Please refer me to a commercial product or plans for a roof covering for snow and leaf protection for my two Mitsubishi minisplits.
My new Mitsubishi minisplits are located on the gable side of my new home about 18″ apart, approx 4.5′ high, 12″ wide and 30″ from my house siding. I would like a protective structure(s) to have some side protection from both drifting snow and wind blown leaves. A major consideration for this structure is flexibility for partial dis-assembly so that servicemen will have access for periodic maintenance. Would it be possible to use some wire screens on the front and sides for adequate ventilation which would also prevent autumn leaves from accumulating around the units? I would like to leave the structure(s) in place thru all New England seasons. The current winter in N.E underlines the necessity for this and also in the event that my wife and I travel South for a period of time during which the house is unattended.
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Replies
Joseph,
Can you post a photo of the current situation?
In general, the most important way to avoid problems with snow is wall mounting. Can you install wall-mount brackets to keep the units about 5 feet above grade?
.
Once the snow melts, probably in July, I plan for my minisplits to be installed on stands that will raise them a few feet above the ground. I'd like to keep them off the house for noise/vibration reasons. No matter what, in winters like this one, it will be necessary to shovel around them. I think a wire fence could help, as long as it is far enough from the units that the space inside the fence can accommodate a snow shovel.
I'm not a professional, so keep that in mind with my advice...
I think that you only need some simple protection from rain/snow coming down and it needs to be mounted high enough to stay above normal snow levels. A more complicated wire structure seems excessive.
Attached is a photo of the small roof we built over our heat pump, it protects the unit from rain/snow coming off the roof, this is in a cold/snowy part of New Hampshire.
The snow shoots away from the house and doesn't impact the small roof much. Leaves and blowing snow aren't an issue. In hindsight, I would probably choose to ground mount to reduce noise/vibration and locate on a gable end.
You may want to check manufacturer specifications. I am looking at building same kind of structure too, but I am finding in my research (so far) that roof over the mini-split has to be at least 5' above the unit. Which kind makes it useless in N.E. with snow being blown right on top of the unit.