They work very well. Onky down side on cooling... you have to keep filters, blower wheel and indoor coil clean.
only downside of heat....they ard heat pump only, when outdoor temps below 32 degrees you need aux heat source.

Very efficient. Very quiet. Havd one in my master bedroom.

Interesting thread, as I'm slowly starting to do the same thing. We have a cabin in the forest on 35 acres that has a generator, wood burning stove, propane refrigerator & stove, and an outhouse, as our backup place to live.

For our everyday home, I am looking at a wind system for electric. I need to swap over to a wood burning stove for a backup heating source. I have looked at solar systems, but they aren't cost affordable.

For food we have an abundance of game in the area. We raise ducks for eggs(I like them better than chicken eggs) but I will add some guinea hens after reading this thread. We have a couple of donkeys that I pack with. I'll be adding a mammoth donkey to the group, they're big enough that I can ride it and are easier to care for than a horse.

What about refrigeration ?
Is there a dc option ?

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html

Based on these wattages it wouldn't require a whole lot to install enough solar panels to run a home

I didn't find anything on the requirements for a mini split a/c though