Problem: New homeowners bought a home built in 1941. It didn’t have ductwork, furnace, or air conditioning in it. They wanted the most comfortable and energy-efficient solution possible.
Solution: Installed a four-zone mini split for ductless heating and cooling throughout the house. It provides superior comfort, customization in various rooms, and hardly uses any electricity.
Read More: How Much Does A Mini Split Cost In And Around Boise Metro?
What do you do when you want your older, or historic, home to be more comfortable in the winter or summer — but you don’t want to rip the place apart to get it?
That was the question our Nampa, ID homeowners were facing. Their cottage looked great, but they knew it would leave a lot to be desired when it came to heating and cooling. The home had no furnace or ductwork in the house.
There are some easy fixes for this. For instance, we commonly see people use baseboard heaters in the winter and then lugging out those clunky, old window air conditioners in the summer.
Sure, they do the job — for the most part, anyway. But, if you’re starting from scratch, it’s not the best way to go. Both these solutions use a whole lot of electricity. And, the ACs are very loud and are a real hassle to move around.
If the home had ductwork, then a furnace and central air would solve all their problems. But, just the ductwork design, build, and installation could cost just as much — if not more — than a new system.
And, that would take lots of space in each room. The look and feel of their quaint, older home would drastically change.
Instead, they went with ductless heating and cooling. This way, they could get state-of-the-art comfort in each room. And, they can control the temperature in different parts of the house separately. That’s an upgrade over the one-size-fits-all approach of central heating and air.
And, without ducts and vents in the picture, installation is fast and easy. And, there’s almost no impact on their home’s layout and design. Or, even how our homeowners planned to furnish and decorate each room!
In this case study, we’ll cover:
-
Buying A Home With No Heating Or Cooling
-
Best HVAC Solution For Smaller Homes
-
Three More Benefits Of A Ductless Mini Split
-
Four-Zone Mini Split Installation In a Nampa, ID Cottage
And, if you’re looking for the best way to transform the comfort in your Treasure Valley home, or if you’re looking for the best way to heat and cool your home without taking up too much space, reach out to us here at Snowflake Air. Starting with a free consultation, we’ll help you find the perfect solution.
Buying A Home With No Heating Or Cooling
We should mention first that, in most cases, you can’t get a mortgage on a house with no heating system. Even if there’s no furnace, the home must have radiators, baseboard heat, or some way of keeping the place warm in the winter.
If you’re buying the house in cash, there’s no problem because there’s no bank involved. Or, you can get an FHA 203(k) loan or a similar arrangement. These are known as “construction loans.” The mortgage also bundles in the costs to rehabilitate or make updates to the house.
This way, you can get the house without the usual requirements. But, there are strict guidelines as to how the money is used and how quickly you must get the work done. It’s best to talk with a loan officer about it.
But, the upside is you’d have plenty of options for how your home will look and feel. And, when it comes to comfort, it’s tough to beat a mini split.
Best HVAC Solution For Smaller Homes
For smaller homes, in particular, we recommend ductless mini splits for heating and cooling because their footprint is so small. As the name suggests, there’s no ductwork involved. That frees up a lot of space and gives you plenty of room to work with.
The “split” part of the name comes from the fact that it uses an outdoor unit — the heat pump — and then indoor units: the air handlers. But, they appear to be completely separate from each other.
The system only transfers heat, not air. So, all you need is a small line that runs refrigerant fluid in a loop between the indoor and outdoor units. In many cases, we run that through the wall like electric wiring, so you never even see it.
This way, all we need to do is mount an air handler high up on a wall in a room. It’s out of the way of your furniture and often not in your eye-line. You get excellent heating and cooling while barely noticing its source.
Three More Benefits Of A Ductless Mini Split
Along with fitting neatly in this Nampa, ID cottage, the mini split also:
-
Provides Amazing, Quiet Comfort
-
Offers Customization
-
Uses Very Little Energy
Provides Amazing, Quiet Comfort
With a variable-speed motor, the heat pump always provides the exact amount of heating and cooling you need. Instead of clicking on and off a few times every hour, it holds the temperature within one degree of your setting all the time.
Offers Customization
Each air handler has a built-in thermostat. This way, each one works independently of the others. You get the exact temperature you want in every room. Set each one differently. Or, put them all at the same temperature for even heating and cooling throughout the house!
Uses Very Little Energy
Ductless mini splits use a fraction of the energy window ACs, and even traditional central and furnaces require. Much of that is due to the variable-speed motors on the heat pumps, plus how well the indoor units circulate the air.
Read More: Rebates and Financing For Mini Splits In And Around Boise Metro
Four-Zone Mini Split Installation In a Nampa, ID Cottage
Would you believe that it took us less than a week to outfit this entire Nampa, ID cottage with state-of-the-art heating and cooling? It’s true! These systems are very easy to install because they don’t require a lot of room or extra construction.
In this case, we took the load measurements and found the best spots in each room for the air handlers to do the job while staying out of the way. After that, we mounted each indoor unit and linked them all to the heat pump.
Four days later, our new homeowners set the thermostats to the exact temperatures they wanted — and have been perfectly comfortable ever since then!
If you’d like to learn more about whether a minute split will work well in your Treasure Valley home, contact Snowflake Air for a free consultation.
