Our homeowners in Boise, ID have only lived in their Boise, ID home for about ten years. But, their HVAC setup was more than a century old! Clearly, it was time for an upgrade. And ductless heating and cooling was the best option.
To be clear: The actual furnace and window air conditioners haven’t been there for 100 years. But, the century-old home never got upgraded when ductwork and forced-air systems came around.
As a result, these homeowners, like those before them, made do with outdated heating and cooling strategies. In particular, they use old wall-mounted gas heaters in the winter.
And, where other homeowners probably had portable window-unit air conditioners, they just made do with fans and open windows. But, with summers getting hotter, that wasn’t an option anymore.
Plus, they were tired of paying way too much on their utility bills. It was time for a change! But, they didn’t want to change the look and feel of their classic home by adding ductwork.
Nor did they want to pay thousands of dollars more, and turn the house into a construction zone or weeks, just to have it installed!
So, they called Snowflake Air to see what else they could do. And, once they learned about ductless systems, they knew it was the best choice for their older home.
In this case study, we’ll go through:
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Heating And Cooling In Boise, ID Homes With No Ductwork
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Ductless Heating And Cooling In Older Homes
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More Ductless Heating And Cooling Benefits
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Ductless Heating And Cooling Installation In Boise, ID
Problem: Homeowners in Boise, ID were paying too much for heat and had no AC. Their home, built-in 1910, had no ductwork or air conditioning. They used a natural gas wall-mounted heater in the winter.
Solution: Installed a four-zone ductless heating and cooling mini split system. It provides heat and air conditioning, offers fantastic comfort, and costs very little to run.
Read More: How Much Does A Mini Split Cost In And Around Boise Metro?
The bottom line is: You don’t need to tear apart your older home in the Treasure Valley just to get the heating and cooling you need! Call Snowflake Air for a free consultation, and we’ll help you find the perfect solution for your home.
Heating And Cooling In Boise, ID Homes With No Ductwork
Forced-air heating wasn’t around in homes before the 1950s, and central air wasn’t available residentially until about 20 years later. As a result, prewar homes weren’t built with ductwork in mind.
And, people today who buy homes like that often aren’t interested in putting it in. Doing so would require bulky soffits in each room. Those are the buildouts you see in the corners of rooms to house the ductwork.
Today, open floor plans are all the rage. But back then, homes were built with multiple small rooms on each floor. That held heat better in the winter. And, it means ductwork would ultimately eat up a lot of space in each one.
Radiators were standard solutions back then: All you needed were a few skinny pipes going from room to room. And, in this case, the homeowners had a wall-mounted gas furnace. It heated the space without requiring ductwork.
But, it left rooms with hot and cold spots. And, it cost a lot to run. So, the homeowners were ready for a change.
Ductless Heating And Cooling In Older Homes
Ductless heating and cooling works great in older homes like this one. The main benefits are:
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No Need To Add Ductwork
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One System Does It All
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Fast, Easy Installation
No Need To Add Ductwork
We’ve mentioned this a few times now. The question is: How does it work?
A mini split doesn’t require ducts because it doesn’t move air — only heat. Here’s what that means.
You have a heat pump outside that transfers heat. In the summer, it pulls warmth from inside and dumps it outside. In the winter, even the tiny amount of heat outside is enough to pull in and warm the house.
Inside, wall-mounted air handlers draw in the air in each room, warm or cool it, and recirculate it. To move the heat, there’s a tube with refrigerant liquid traveling in a closed loop between the indoor and outdoor units.
The heat travels with the liquid either into the house or out of it. And, since that refrigerant line is small and flexible, we can often run it right through the wall where you don’t see it at all!
And, this process provides better comfort with no hot and cold spots. We’ll get into that a little later.
One System Does It All
The next advantage is not worrying about two separate systems, such as, for instance, baseboard heaters and window air conditioners. Instead, the heat pump works in both the winter and the summer. So, like a furnace and central air, you don’t worry about switching things back and forth.
Fast, Easy Installation
A significant advantage for older homes: Installation is fast and easy! There’s no major construction — a big concern especially for people with historic homes. Finally, they can get the comfort they want without sacrificing the style and charm they’ve worked so hard to preserve.
We’ll discuss the installation a little more later. But, the long story short is that even a four-zone system like this takes less than a week to put in. And, we barely make an impact on the inside of the home.
More Ductless Heating And Cooling Benefits
As if all that wasn’t enough, ductless heating and cooling also offers:
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Amazing Comfort
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Energy Efficiency
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Silent Operation
Amazing Comfort
The heat pump uses a variable-speed motor that can run at low speed to maintain a steady temperature within one degree of a thermostat’s setting. That’s a massive improvement over standard single-speed furnaces that don’t turn on until the room is too cold.
And, each air handler can detect and treat cold spots within a room to create more “even” heating and cooling all the time.
Case Study: Ductless Mini Split Offers Comfort Upgrade For Boise, ID 1890s Home
Energy Efficiency
The variable-speed motor uses much less energy than traditional HVAC. So, not only are the homeowners getting better comfort, they’re paying less for it each month on their electric bill.
Silent Operation
Finally, these systems are as quiet as you can get! Even when the motors and equipment are running at top speed (and they are rarely running at max capacity), they make about the same amount of sound as leaves rustling outside.
Our homeowners can enjoy quiet conversations and never have to turn up the TV when the heating or cooling kicks in.
Read More: Rebates and Financing For Mini Splits In And Around Boise Metro
Ductless Heating And Cooling Installation In Boise, ID
As we mentioned before, installation is fast and easy. Even for the entire home, it takes less than a week. And, we don’t have to tear through walls or make any significant changes.
Instead, we map out where each indoor air handler will go. That depends on the best spots for airflow. And the easiest way to link them all together.
Once we had that planned, it was simply a matter of mounting each unit and running the lines from each one out to the heat pump. After that, the entire home was more comfortable than it ever was before!
If you’d like to learn more about how to make your older or historic house more comfortable than ever before without changing the look and feel of your home, call or email Snowflake Air today for a free consultation for efficient mini split installations in Boise, ID.
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