If you heat your Indiana home with electricity, you may have heard that a heat pump is your most energy-efficient option. While this is often true, if you find a forced-air heat pump system isn't ideal for your situation, a ductless mini split system provides a heat pump alternative with even greater advantages, including:
- Energy efficiency – On average, air ducts waste around 20 percent of the energy used to heat or cool your home. Because mini splits don't use air ducts, they prevent that energy loss.
- Ease of installation – A ductless mini split system consists of an outdoor compressor/condenser unit and one or more air-handling units mounted indoors. A conduit line for the electrical cable, refrigerant tubing and other lines connects the indoor and outdoor components. Installing the conduit line requires only one three-inch hole through the wall.
- Simple zoning – Mini split systems let you place air-handling units where you need them, making zoning easier than with a forced-air system. Depending on the model you choose, you may be able to connect as many as four air-handling units (for four zones) to a single outdoor compressor unit.
- Inconspicuous outdoor unit – The outdoor compressor can often be installed as much as 50 feet away from the indoor unit. That lets you place the outdoor unit in an inconspicuous spot without compromising your ability to condition your home's front rooms.
- Design flexibility – Most air handler units are around seven inches deep, making them unobtrusive even in small rooms. Because you can mount the air handlers on a wall or ceiling or choose free standing units, you have a variety of options for fitting the units into your interior design.
- Quiet operation – With the compressor unit outdoors and a low-speed fan in the indoor evaporator unit(s), mini split systems create little noise.
If a whole-house mini split system isn't in your budget right now, consider buying your system one zone at a time.
For more pro tips on choosing a ductless mini split system, please contact us at Hartman Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning. Since 1963, we've been serving the Fort Wayne area with top quality HVAC care.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in New Haven, Indiana and surrounding Fort Wayne area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about ductless mini splits and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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