For decades, men have used their garages for much more than just storage or as a place to park the car. We’ve seen everything from rec rooms to offices to workspaces to classrooms. Today, however, they can be more comfortable than ever before thanks to ductless mini split heating and cooling.
And, comfort is why this Boise, ID homeowner called us in the first place. He did a lot of projects out in the garage. Now, he wanted to use it year-round without sweating in the summer or hooking up a space heater in the winter.
In this case study, we’ll review:
- “Zoned” HVAC With A Ductless Mini Split
- Ductless Heating and Cooling Vs. Portable AC or Heaters
- Mini Split Installation In A Boise, ID Garage
And, if your workspace, man cave, or home office in Boise, ID is ready for a comfort upgrade, reach out to us here at Snowflake Air. Starting with a free consultation, we’ll help you find the perfect system for your home!
Problem: A Boise, ID homeowner used his garage as a workshop. But, with no heating and cooling, it was uncomfortable for most of the year.
Solution: Installed a single-zone Mitsubishi ductless mini split. It provides exceptional heating and cooling to the entire garage.
Read More: How Much Does A Mini Split Cost In And Around Boise Metro?
“Zoned” HVAC With A Ductless Mini Split
The significant advantage of a ductless mini split in this situation was the “zoned” aspect. That’s compared to the ductwork and furnace with central air handling the rest of the house. That’s more of a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
And, it wouldn’t work for the garage.
Let’s say we extended the ductwork to reach the workspace. In theory, you’d get the power of the central system. But, a few things would go wrong.
First, the furnace and AC are sized for the rooms they treat. If we suddenly added this extra, open space, there wouldn’t be enough pressure to circulate air through the entire house.
Then, not only would the garage get weak heating and cooling — so would the rest of the house. Plus, the thermostat is inside, far away from the garage. It would never get a good read on what the workshop needed.
Customized Heating And Cooling
A mini split offers just as much power as a system handling the entire house. In fact, it does the job a little better. And, it provides customized heating and cooling just for that space.
The mini split uses a ductless heat pump outside connected to a wall-mounted air handler. The key here is that the indoor unit has a built-in thermostat. So, it’s measuring the temperature in the exact area that it’s regulating.
If you’ve ever had rooms too hot or too cold upstairs, that’s often part of the reason: The thermostat is on the first floor. If our homeowner decided to add more air handlers to other problem rooms, he’d get that same customized treatment there as well.
Ductless Heating and Cooling Vs. Portable AC or Heaters
If the garage needed custom heating and cooling, why not just use baseboard or space heaters, plus a window air conditioner? It seems like a simpler and less expensive setup, right?
Well yes. But the results wouldn’t be nearly as good as with ductless. The differences are:
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Heating and Cooling
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Better Comfort
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Whisper-Quiet Operation
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Energy-Efficiency And Cost-Savings
Heating And Cooling
The mini split offers both heating and cooling in one permanently-installed system. There’s no dragging a portable AC out of storage in the spring or switching over to a separate heater in the fall.
Better Comfort
Next, you get better, more consistent, and more precise HVAC treatment. First off, you have Inverter technology in the ductless heat pump. That means, in part, that the unit runs at variable speeds instead of only either on or off.
This way, it works at full capacity only until the air handler’s thermostat reaches its call. Then, instead of turning off until the temperature drifts, it goes into low-speed, low-power mode.
That way, it maintains the temperature down to a degree all the time. You never get that five-to-ten degree difference that occurs with conventional, one-stage HVAC units.
Meanwhile, even one small air handler is strong enough to treat the entire garage. With forced-air, it would take forever to reach every part of it.
Instead, the ductless indoor unit has special fans that circulate treated air in more directions than just forward. This way, it can spread faster and more efficiently. And, it uses sensors to locate the hot or cold pockets that need the most conditioning.
Whisper-Quiet Operation
When it comes to heat, this isn’t as big of an issue: Space heaters or baseboard heaters are pretty much silent. But, you can’t say the same at all for air conditioners.
By contrast, however, the air handler — and even the heat pump outside — is whisper-quiet. Even at full blast, and if our homeowner is silently working on something, he’d barely hear anything.
Energy-Efficiency And Cost-Savings
The final benefit here? It doesn’t cost much at all to run. Our homeowner will pay a fraction of what he’d pay if he tapped into his furnace or got any portable units. In fact, he’ll barely see a difference at all on his monthly bills.
In the winter, the system transfers heat instead of generating it — a process that requires fewer resources. And, the low-speed mode is also low-power. It only needs a tiny bit of electricity. And, it’s more efficient than stopping and starting all the time.
Read More: Rebates and Financing For Mini Splits In And Around Boise Metro
Mini Split Installation In A Boise, ID Garage
Installing a one-zone mini split is a one-day job, and this Boise, ID garage was no exception. First, we found the right spot for the air handler on an exterior wall. That way, we could then mount the heat pump outside right on the other side.
After that, it was simply a matter of running the lines through the wall to the outdoor unit. We run them behind the air handler, so all our homeowner sees is the wall-mounted unit. And, all he feels is perfect heating and cooling.
As you can see, installation is fast and easy. And, the garage is more comfortable than ever before afterward. If you’re ready for the same fantastic climate control for your Boise, ID garage, or workspace, reach out to us here at Snowflake Air for your free consultation for your quality mini split installations in Boise, ID garages!
