Few of us (maybe none of us) live in areas with such extreme winter temperatures.

Consult with a reputable HVAC contractor in your area for the best possible advice.

How big is this cottage? The mini split would work but it needs back up heating. Electrical heat strips are the most common. If the electric rate is reasonable, then the mini split would be more attractive than dealing with propane deliveries and a stove. The Fujitsu Halcyon claims it will operate down to minus 26 degrees Celsius. It will be be at some reduced heat output.

The cottage is 1100 square feet.

Elmer J Fudd, hahahaha, if only that were true! Here in western Wisconsin we can go for weeks at a time at -10F, and for days at a time at -30F. And today it is +107F (heat index), with 95F actual. Why do people live here, I often wonder!!!

HU- We're in the process of turning our 200sf 3-season porch into a year-round sun room and have been advised by an HVAC professional to go with a mini-split with additional heat support with some kind of baseboard radiant heat for the really cold parts of the year. The sunroom has fully insulated, exterior-grade doors separating it from the rest of the house, so we may do a ceiling mount mini-split and forgo the back-up heat. We can close those doors on the coldest days and let it drop to something like 60F out there rather than try to keep it fully heated. I'm worried that the radiant heat units would be unattractive and if we only need them for a few days out of the year, why bother? We're looking at ceiling mount cassettes and there are some new wall insert units that will fit between the studs and hide behind the drywall and since we are down to the studs right now, I'm just starting researching those too. Let me know what you find and I'll do the same?

Sure ferinian2! We have a meeting with two HVAC professionals next week. I think I am leaning towards a propane stove.

You need a heating load calculation. If cottage is open design, perhaps propane wall units. Of course, propane is very expensive heating fuel...

TD

We are at 11,500 feet elevation and have long cold winters. No electric available so we use propane wall heaters. Propane at that altitude isn’t as efficient, so we supplement with a wood stove. We also keep a propane wall heater in the crawl space to prevent the plumbing from freezing. Beware though it will still freeze and burst in the living space if not heated or pipes blown out with pressurized air if not heating. Learned all these things the hard way.