Our new house is still under construction by a standard builder. After the home is finished, I will be installing a small mini split ductless AC system for a home office that will get much warmer than the rest of the house.
I received permission from the construction manager to run a cable from the breaker to an outdoor wall, so that I would not have to tear up the drywall or run conduit from the breaker to wherever the compressor will go. I will not be installing the wire into the breaker, or the outdoor outlet, until after we have closed on the home. It will essentially be a dead wire sitting in the wall until I add it do the breaker and then add the outlet.
That being said, I am not sure if the compressor will be a 110v or 220v configuration (I haven't decided on a unit). What would be the best cable to run to ensure that I can either install a 110v outlet or 220v outlet using the same wire? Is this possible?
Also, what should my outdoor outlet look like? Is just an outdoor junction box sufficient or should I use something similar to a non-fuse metallic disconnect?
Thanks for the help!
Best Answer
If you truly want to future proof, install conduit instead of cable. This will allow you to pull whatever wire you need, once you've decided what you want.
3/4" conduit should work fine, and would give you the option to install up to four 8 AWG condcutors (Schedule 80 PVC). If you think you'd ever upgrade to a whole house unit, this might be a good option. If you only ever plan to have a single mini-split unit, you'll probably be alright installing 1/2" conduit. Though upgrading to 3/4", would make pulling easier.