Since the spring of 2020, we’ve seen more garage remodels than ever before. With people home much more often, many homeowners in the Boise, ID area want to make the most of every square foot they have. In many cases, a mini split has been the best way to keep those areas comfortable.
This job was a little different than others. We’ve seen garages converted into workshops, classrooms, and offices. In this case, the couple who owned the house wanted an office with two separate rooms.
Since they both worked from home now, they needed enough space to take video calls or talk on the phone without distributing the other.
And, of course, they needed to be comfortable while working!
In this case study, we’ll go over:
- Ductless Comfort For Home Offices
- Mini Split Installation For Home Offices In Boise, ID
And, if you’re finishing or remodeling the garage, basement, or third floor in your Boise, ID home, reach out to us here at Snowflake Air! Starting with a free consultation, we’ll help you add the perfect heating and cooling solution for your new living space.
Problem: Boise, ID homeowners converted their garage into two home offices. They needed heating and cooling for this new space.
Solution: Installed a two-zone mini split. The ductless system heats and cools better than their forced-air heat and AC. And they didn’t have to extend their ductwork or affect the central system.
Read More: How Much Does A Mini Split Cost In And Around Boise Metro?
Ductless Comfort For Home Offices
When it comes to home offices, comfort is more than just the right temperature. It’s also about fewer distractions. And, in a quiet working space, your heating and cooling system can make a big difference.
Our homeowners noticed the sound of air rushing through their vents much more at home than they did in their old offices. It made sense: With more people around, there are more sounds to drown the sound of a forced-air system.
At home, in silence, however, the furnace or AC clicking on and off a few times every hour became distracting. It was something they wanted to address in their new setup.
Whisper-Quiet Operation
In contrast to forced-air systems, ductless heating and cooling is whisper-quiet. At its loudest, the indoor air handler makes about as much noise as leaves rustling outside. And, it’s rarely working at its loudest.
The trick here is that the system doesn’t move air around the house. Instead, it only moves heat by running a coolant liquid in a loop between the components.
That means the air handler only needs to draw in air from the room and send it right back out. And, with state-of-the-art fans and sensors, it does an amazing job of circulating without making a lot of noise.
Consistent Climate Control
Sure, peace and quiet is great, but it’s not worth it if your heating and cooling leaves you needing a blanket on your chair or a fan on your desk! Fortunately, our homeowners’ new ductless system also offers comfort and consistent climate control.
Here’s what that means:
First of all, the entire garage is right at the temperature they want. Those fans and sensors we discussed before? They’re great at finding hot and cold spots and treating them immediately.
This way, there’s no pocket of air that’s too hot or chilly, even in a space this big.
Outside, the ductless heat pump uses Inverter technology to run at variable speeds. Unlike conventional one-stage HVAC, then, it can do much more than only turn on and off.
Instead, it spends most of the time running in a low-speed, low-power mode. That’s different from only turning on when the temperature gets a few degrees warmer or cooler than you want it.
Instead, it keeps the temperature consistent down to the degree. You don’t get those moments of being too hot or too cold before your heat or AC finally clicks back on to correct things. Instead, you get consistent comfort all the time.
Mini Split Installation For Home Offices In Boise, ID
As we mentioned before, this mini split installation was a little different from other converted garages and home offices we’ve handled in Boise, ID. Where most of these only had one large open space, this design had two separate rooms. But, it was still a quick, straightforward job!
Even with an oversized, open-space garage, one indoor unit would be enough to handle the whole space. But here, we had two separate rooms with no way for air to travel between the two with the doors closed.
All that meant, however, was that we needed two air handlers instead of one.
This way, each room would always be at the right temperature. And, the homeowners had some wiggle room. For instance, they didn’t use the second room every day. With two units, they could save energy by turning off the one they didn’t need.
Or, if one person wanted it warmer or cooler than the other, they had two rooms and two thermostats to work with.
Read More: Rebates and Financing For Mini Splits In And Around Boise Metro
Connecting To The Heat Pump
To hook it all up, we installed the air handlers on either side of the wall in the middle of the garage. Then, we placed the heat pump outside and in a straight line from where we mounted the indoor units.
Finally, we ran both sets of lines in between the new wall. Since the construction was ongoing, it was easy to get around the rafters before the contractors put up drywall.
This way, all the homeowners see are the air handlers hanging on the walls. And, all they notice is silent, consistent comfort for the entire workday.
Over the past year, we’ve seen more Boise, ID homeowners than ever convert their garages into classrooms and offices. If your new work or learning space needs a comfort upgrade to be truly complete, contact Snowflake Air today for your free consultation for custom mini split installation in Boise, ID.
