If you live in a moderate climate area like the Pacific Northwest, your heating and cooling needs differ from those who live in harsher locales. So, to cool or heat your home, you likely don&#;t need to rely on the bulky, inefficient HVAC systems that populate residences elsewhere.
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Enter the mini-split heat pump. These systems offer a variety of benefits that aren&#;t available through typical HVAC systems. Their inverter technology leads to lower energy bills, more comfortable living spaces, and a scalable solution that makes it easy to grow as your home does.
Mini-split heat pumps, sometimes referred to as ductless heat pumps or ductless mini-splits, are made up of two main components:
An outdoor compressor unit
An indoor air-handling unit
While some homes may need only one outdoor unit, the number of indoor units can vary depending on the residence size, layout, and willingness to keep doors open. Small homes may only need one indoor unit. Larger homes may need more, especially if family members&#; preferred bedroom temperature differs greatly. Additionally, not all indoor units need to be installed at once if you select a multizone system. This allows you to install more indoor units if you choose to.
The indoor and outdoor units are connected by copper refrigerant pipe and electrical interconnector wiring. Typically, you&#;ll only need a three-inch hole in your wall for this bundle to pass through.
A ductless mini-split heat pump operates more like a refrigerator than a typical heating and cooling system. Refrigerant captures heat from the surrounding and air and releases it where it&#;s needed. So, in warmer months, the refrigerant transfers heat from the inside to the outside. In colder months, the heat of the outdoor air is transferred inside.
Perhaps the primary advantage of the ductless system is the lack of ducts. Ducts are expensive to install, take up lots of space, and are difficult to maintain. It&#;s practically impossible for ducts to remain perfectly sealed, which allows the conditioned air to escape. This causes your system to work that much harder to hit ideal temperatures. Indeed, the United States Department of Energy estimates that 30% of ducted systems&#; energy consumption stems from duct losses.
Ducts are also fairly difficult to maintain. They need to be cleaned regularly. Otherwise, they&#;ll soon become home to dust mites, pet dander, allergens, and other pollutants. Then, each time you turn on your heating or cooling system, these particles are blown into every room with a vent. This can have detrimental health effects, especially of those in the home already have asthma or another respiratory issue.
Finally, properly designed and installed ductwork is very expensive, both in terms of money and space. If you&#;re adding ductwork as part of a remodeling project, you may find you need to lower ceilings in hallways or certain rooms to make sure the ductwork can fit properly. This, of course, adds up financially, and you can find your remodeling bills far exceed initial estimates.
As mini-split systems don&#;t rely on ducts to heat or cool rooms, you won&#;t encounter any of these issues even when installed as part of a remodeling project.
The ductless advantage isn&#;t just due to the absence of negatives. Mini-splits offer benefits all their own through efficient operation, scalability, and high level of customizability.
For a better understanding of these benefits, think of your kitchen faucet. When you turn it on, you don&#;t expect water to start flowing from other faucets in your home. In fact, if that did happen, you&#;d likely call a plumber to fix the problem.
That&#;s exactly how ducted systems work, though. If you want your living room cooler, you also have to cool every room that has a vent.
Mini-splits, though, work more akin to how your faucet should. Each indoor unit operates independently from each other. So, if you&#;d like to turn up the heat in your bedroom, you&#;re not spending money and energy to also pump warm air into empty rooms in your house.
Whether you schedule a professional installation or feel confident tackling it as a DIY project, it&#;s essential to know some basics of the installation process. Often, the first step is to find a level, outdoor place to install the outdoor unit. When you work with The Heat Pump Store, we&#;ll help you identify the best spot for ideal operation without harming your home&#;s exterior aesthetics.
Typically, indoor units are installed high on the wall, but with several inches left for air clearance.
The recent boom in smart home technology aligns well with the growth of mini-split heat pumps. Each indoor unit will have its own remote control that allows you to change the temperature, set heating and cooling schedules, and conduct cleaning cycles. You can often purchase modules that allow you to control your space conditioning through an app on your or via voice control of a smart speaker.
With regular maintenance, such as cleaning air filters, a mini-split heat pump system should last 12-15 years. This obviously can vary based on how often the system is used and the quality of the system. Most systems also come with manufacturers&#; warranties that last at least five years.
Ductless system costs can range from $3,500 and up. However, the reduction in energy costs due to their efficient operation lets the system pay for itself over time. Furthermore, many electric utilities offer rebates to encourage switching to this system. For example, Portland General Electric will give $200 to any customers who switch to a ductless heat pump system.
The Heat Pump Store is the ductless heat pump expert of the Pacific Northwest. Our expert, the customer-focused team can answer any of your questions and help you choose the specific system that best matches your needs. We can schedule installation, walk you through your new system, and craft a maintenance schedule to ensure your new heat pump is working at its best.
Give us a call today so we can answer any of your questions. You can also contact us online or visit our showrooms in any of the following locations:
Today&#;s ductless mini splits can heat and cool an entire house for year-round comfort. They&#;re also incredibly energy-efficient, which means they cost less to run than other common HVAC solutions.
These systems are more popular than ever here in South Jersey. And, starting this year, there are more local rebates and federal incentives available for homeowners who install heat pumps, mini splits, and other high-efficiency heating or cooling systems in their homes.
In this article, I&#;ll explain what a mini split is, exactly, how it operates, and how it compares to the heating and cooling systems we usually see in Avalon, Ocean City, and other towns in our part of the Garden State.
And, I should know: Broadley&#;s has been family-owned for more than a century, and I&#;ve been part of the company for decades, installing thousands of heaters and air conditioners across South Jersey along the way.
In that time, I&#;ve seen how residential systems have evolved and what&#;s worked best for homeowners in our neck of the woods.
If you&#;d like to learn more about ductless HVAC, call or click below to schedule your free consultation.
Schedule A Ductless Consultation
A mini split, also known as a ductless HVAC system, works by moving heat from one place to another. By transporting only that thermal energy, and not air, it provides heating and cooling throughout the house without ductwork.
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Indoor air handling units heat and cool the air in the area where they&#;re located, and the outdoor unit handles the heat transfer process.
Single zone mini split systems heat or cool an individual room or area of a home. This setup has one indoor unit connected to the heat pump outside. These are great for additions, third-floor rooms, or any space that needs extra treatment.
Or, add up to eight air handlers to a heat pump for a multi-zone system. It&#;s an excellent option for heating and cooling every room in a house that, like so many South Jersey homes, doesn&#;t have ductwork.
A mini split is a heat pump system that moves heat energy to different parts of your house using two main components and the laws of physics.
The heat transfer process relies on the fact that heat, or thermal energy, naturally moves toward cold spaces. A mini split moves that heat using a very cold refrigerant liquid that absorbs heat in the air around it.
Then, the refrigerant travels through the system via narrow piping to transport the heat from one place to another.
The heat pump, or outdoor unit, regulates how much refrigerant moves to the indoor units, thereby controlling how much heating or cooling your home gets. And, it either moves heat into the house or removes it, depending on the season.
The indoor unit is called an air handler. It includes a blower fan, evaporator coil, and air filter. It draws in the air from the room, heats or cools it, and then recirculates it. You can set the temperature on each one separately using a remote control.
The air handlers are connected to the outdoor unit by a conduit which houses the power and refrigerant lines as well as the condensation drain.
Mini splits heat a house by having the heat pump extract heat from outside air and transfer it indoors via the refrigerant line. The indoor unit then distributes the warm air through the room.
In the summer, mini splits work in reverse by removing heat from indoor air and transferring it outside. The indoor unit absorbs warmth from the air and sends it to the outdoor unit through the refrigerant line. It also removes humidity from the air.
The outdoor unit then releases the heat into the outside air. Then, the air handler redistributes the now-cool air in the room.
Read More: Advantages Of A Ductless Mini Split
Justify Right: Alt Text: Ductless Heating And Cooling Vs. Other HVAC Systems
Ductless mini-split systems offer several advantages over traditional HVAC systems:
Forced-air heating systems lose pressure through the ductwork, which means that rooms further away from the system often don&#;t get enough heating. It&#;s also a centralized system: Only one thermostat for the whole house.
Since mini splits don&#;t move air, and every air handler has a thermostat, each room gets the exact treatment it needs.
These systems are also:
Central air conditioning systems use the same ductwork as your furnace &#; and suffer from the same limitations. Without the linking of ductwork to a central forced air system. mini splits offer more customization and better performance.
Virtually all mini split systems are Energy Star-certified, which means they meet energy efficiency guidelines set by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
While baseboard heating or space heaters lets you set the temperature in each room, they use a lot of electricity to heat up the coils that produce warmth. And, they don&#;t provide cooling.
Mini split systems only need a little bit of power to run the heat transfer. Plus, they double as air conditioners.
Window air conditioning units are expensive to operate and tend to be noisy and not aesthetically pleasing. A mini split is permanently installed, doesn&#;t take up window space, operates quietly, and costs less to run.
Read More: Ductless Vs. Window ACs
Here are the answers to a few more frequently-asked questions about mini splits:
Mini split systems offer several advantages, including energy efficiency, quiet operation, and zoning capabilities that allow temperature control in specific areas of the home. They are also easy to install and do not require ductwork, making them an ideal option for retrofitting or new construction.
Mini splits use much less electricity than electric furnaces, and less energy than gas, oil , or propane heat. With their variable speed compressors that run in low-power mode, and zoning for precise temperature control, mini splits help homeowners save money on their energy bills.
On average, mini splits last between 15 to 20 years. The lifespan depends on several factors, including the quality of the unit, maintenance, and usage. With proper care and regular servicing, homeowners can ensure their mini split system operates efficiently and lasts for many years.
Click below to schedule your free consultation to learn more about installing a mini split in your Ocean City home, or anywhere in South Jersey.
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