Working from home is here to stay! Even with place reopening, many people are making their new workspaces permanent. This West Boise, ID homeowner did more than put a desk and a laptop in a spare room: He converted a shed into a standalone home office!
And, he took the project further than buying some new furniture and electronics. The next step was heating and cooling for the new space. And, the best way to get it was with a mini split for ductless heating and cooling.
This way, the space is comfortable all the time. He also didn’t have to worry about a complex installation process. And the benefits don’t stop there.
In this case study, we’ll cover:
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“Zoned” HVAC For Offices, Sheds, And Additions
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Ductless Heating And Cooling Benefits For Home Offices
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Single-Zone Mini Split Installation In West Boise, ID
Problem: A West Boise, ID homeowner turned his shed into a home office. It needed heating and cooling, and he didn’t want to pay too much more on his monthly bills for it.
Solution: Installed a single-zone ductless mini split. It provides quiet, energy-efficient heating and cooling that keeps this space comfortable in all seasons.
And, if you’re looking for the best way to make your new home office, workspace, or any room in your Treasure Valley home more comfortable, reach out to Snowflake Air for your free consultation.
Read More: How Much Does A Mini Split Cost In And Around Boise Metro?
“Zoned” HVAC For Offices, Sheds, And Additions
Once our homeowner told us about the space he wanted to treat, we suggested a “zoned” HVAC approach. This meant we wouldn’t try to run new ductwork from the home’s central system. Nor would this home office rely on inefficient window ACs or space heaters.
Instead, our homeowner went with a mini split to create a new “zone” in the house. He’d get the same power and comfort that his furnace and central air provided for the rest of the house. In fact, it’d probably be even better!
But, the key here is that it’s not tied to the same thermostat regulating the rest of the house. And, that makes a huge difference.
The temperature out in the shed is different than in the house, no matter what. With a smaller space and less insulation, it’s bound to be hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. So, it needs a separate gauge to treat it properly.
With ductless, we install an air handler that has a built-in thermostat. It heats and cools the space based on the exact temperature in the shed — not the measurements from inside the house.
Ductless Heating And Cooling Benefits For Home Offices
With ductless heating and cooling, this West Boise, ID home office would always be at the right temperature. And, our homeowner enjoys even more advantages. They include:
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Exceptional Comfort
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Whisper-Quiet
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Energy-Efficient
Exceptional Comfort
We talked a lot about the customized “zoned” aspect of this system. But, on top of that, it just plain heats and cools better than a conventional furnace and central air.
A big reason for this is the fact that the system runs almost constantly. It doesn’t click on and off a few times an hour like the usual one-stage, forced-air systems you see in most homes.
Instead, it works most of the time in a low-speed, low-power mode. This way, it maintains a consistent temperature within a single degree of the thermostat setting.
You can compare that to the system in the house: the temperature can drift five or six degrees before the heat or AC kicks back in.
Whisper-Quiet
Ductless heating and cooling uses a heat pump and air handler to move heat, not air. So, you don’t deal with the sound of forced air rushing through ductwork. Instead, both the indoor and outdoor units are whisper-quiet.
Even when the system’s working at full capacity — and it rarely has to ramp up to full-speed — it never gets louder than the sound of, say, leaves rustling outside in the fall.
That’s a great benefit in any application. But, for a home office, where people need quiet to concentrate, it’s an especially appealing feature.
Energy-Efficient
Even though the mini split runs almost constantly, it uses significantly less than a space heater and portable air conditioner. It even uses less than his West Boise home’s central heating and cooling system.
As a result, our homeowner stays comfortable all year when he’s working. But he’s not paying much extra for it each month. The system barely makes a blip on his electric bill.
Read More: Rebates and Financing For Mini Splits In And Around Boise Metro
Single-Zone Mini Split Installation In West Boise, ID
It didn’t take long for our homeowner to opt for ductless heating and cooling in his converted shed. After that, it didn’t take us much longer than that to install it! Installing a single-zone mini split only takes one day. And, there’s hardly any work or impact on the house.
As we mentioned before, the system moves heat, not air. In the winter, the heat pump draws whatever warmth there is outside and sends it into the air handler. That indoor unit draws in the air from the room, warms it, and circulates it again.
Then, the system works in reverse for the summer: The air handler draws in the heat from the room. The indoor unit sends that warmth out to the heat pump, which “dumps” it outside.
All this process requires is a small lineset running between the two units. It carries a coolant fluid, and the heat travels with that fluid.
But that’s all behind the scenes. All our homeowner sees is a wall-mounted air handler in the shed. Then, we mounted the heat pump right outside, on the other side of that wall. The last step is running the line through the wall, connecting the two.
With this fast and easy installation, we had this shed ready for any weather in just a few hours. Now, our homeowner may not ever go back to the office. And, with comfort this nice, he may never even go back in the house!
If your Boise, ID home office, addition, or workspace needs better heating and cooling, reach out to us here at Snowflake Air. Starting with a free consultation, we’ll help you find the solution that’s perfect for your home and your needs for Boise, ID mini split installation services.
