If you’ve dreamed of having a personal thermostat in each room, a ductless mini-split system could make your wishes come true. Ductless mini-splits are famous for their energy-saving features, but they’re also ideal for home zoning in new constructions and existing buildings. They offer exceptional versatility and individualized comfort without the need for motorized dampers or miles of ductwork. Learn about this technology to see why more homeowners are going ductless.
The Basics of Ductless Mini-Splits
The central idea behind ductless mini-splits is both simple and brilliant. Instead of central heating and cooling that’s distributed through ductwork, each mini-split unit heats and cools the air directly. They can be mounted virtually anywhere and require just a small conduit to link to the main outdoor unit. Most mini-splits are also heat pumps, so they can deliver both heating and cooling in a single package.
Ductless heat pumps are remarkably versatile. Most central HVAC systems have one or two zones, but with a ductless air conditioner, a single outdoor compressor can support up to eight independently controlled zones across your home. Customers can heat and cool distant spaces, such as a garage and sunroom, or create a localized zone for a group of stuffy bedrooms. On a larger scale, ductless multi-splits are ideal for energy-efficient new constructions and older homes that have never been outfitted for central heating and cooling.
How Does Zoning Work?
Since mini-splits can be mounted nearly anywhere and controlled independently, these systems are perfect for instituting zoned heating and cooling. This simply means dividing your home into discrete “zones” and controlling the conditions of each one separately. A zone can be a room, a level of your home or just a particular area you’d like to control individually. Zoning can even be used as a supplement to smooth out the performance of an existing central HVAC system.
Advantages of HVAC Zoning
The main reason many homeowners love zoning is that it offers unparalleled flexibility and customization. One person’s idea of “comfort” is often different from the next, but zoning allows everyone to have their way. If you love the heat and someone else in your family prefers to keep it cool, why not have both? It’s also a great way to improve efficiency by choosing where and when to expend heating and cooling energy. As an added bonus, it eliminates the significant amount of waste that’s typically lost to leaky air ducts.
Another advantage of ductless home zoning is the impressive variety of low-profile, surface-mounted, and partially ducted air handlers. Homeowners have the freedom to choose the best option based on the characteristics of the space and their aesthetic preferences. Plus, each zone can have a different type of air handler. All indoor units feature onboard air quality controls and integrated technology that lets you adjust the temperature using a remote control or cloud-based home automation app.
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