When building an addition to your home, one of the challenges you’ll face is how to heat and cool it. One option is to extend your home’s existing ductwork to let your central HVAC do the job. However, altering existing ductwork has some downsides. One is that it can change the airflow in the rest of your home and affect your comfort. The other is that you may need to upgrade your HVAC to accommodate the additional demand. As an alternative, you should consider a ductless mini-split HVAC. Here’s everything you need to know about them and why they’re a perfect solution for room additions.
What’s a Ductless Mini-Split?
If you’re unfamiliar with them, ductless mini-splits are a type of HVAC system that offers some unique advantages. The first mini-split was an invention of Mitsubishi Electric, who designed it to serve homes in cramped post-war Tokyo in 1959. The novel design featured a slim, wall-mountable outdoor unit and sleek, wall-mounted indoor air handlers. That made it possible to install the systems in virtually any home. Installing them in apartments on a unit-by-unit basis was even possible.
Today, multiple manufacturers offer mini-splits as part of their heating and cooling product lineups. Mini-splits are also a common sight in most of the rest of the developed world. In the US, the near-universal installation of ductwork in new homes starting in the 1960s prevented mini-splits from gaining traction. However, that’s beginning to change as more HVAC companies offer mini-splits as an HVAC option here.
How Ductless Mini-Splits Work
A ductless mini-split uses its centralized outdoor unit to serve one or more indoor air handlers. In place of ductwork, a mini-split uses a bundle of refrigerant and power lines to connect its indoor and outdoor units. Each air handler produces cold air in cooling mode to serve the surrounding space. The outdoor unit expels the heat collected by the air handlers inside your home. In heating mode, the process reverses. Then, the outdoor unit gathers heat energy from the outside air, and the air handlers use it to warm the surrounding space.
The Advantages of Ductless Mini-Splits
Ductless mini-splits offer various advantages compared to traditional central HVAC systems. The first is energy efficiency. Since they’re heat pumps, most mini-splits boast coefficients of performance of 3.5 or higher. That equates to an energy efficiency of 350%! One of the ways they’re able to do that is by not relying on ductwork. The ductwork in the average home typically suffers from several deficiencies that harm HVAC efficiency. One is air leaks, which waste conditioned air by letting it escape into walls and ceilings. The other is poor insulation, which allows convective losses as conditioned air passes through. Those losses can waste up to 30% of the energy consumed by the average ducted HVAC.
Another advantage offered by mini-splits is that they enable zoned heating and cooling. Each mini-split air handler comes equipped with its own thermostat and controls. So, you can set different temperatures on each or even turn individual units off entirely. That lets you avoid paying to heat or cool spaces you’re not using. It also allows everyone in your home to customize the temperature in the space they occupy.
Why Ductless Mini-Splits Are Perfect for Room Additions
Ductless mini-splits are a perfect comfort solution for room additions for multiple reasons. One is that you can install one to operate alongside your home’s existing HVAC. Choosing a mini-split to serve a single room doesn’t require you to make any other comfort system modifications. Your mini-split will work independently of your home’s central HVAC in that configuration.
Another reason that mini-splits work exceptionally well for additions is their ease of installation. To install a mini-split, you can place its outdoor unit outside the room it serves. Then, all it takes is a small, roughly 3-inch hole through the exterior wall to run the refrigerant and power lines. The air handler of the average mini-split comes with a mounting bracket that’s simple to install. Once mounted, the air handler will hide the hole and the service lines, making the final installation sleek and unobtrusive.
It’s also worth pointing out that mini-splits operate very quietly. So, however you plan to use your new room, you needn’t worry about distracting noise. Most mini-split indoor units make between 25 and 35 decibels of noise while running. That’s no louder than the ambient noise in the average library, at worst. Some mini-splits even offer a special quiet operation mode for when you need complete silence. The outdoor unit of the average mini-split should also be far quieter than a comparable central HVAC outdoor unit.
Are Mini-Splits Only Useful for Room Additions?
Ductless mini-splits are very flexible heating and cooling options. Although they work very well to heat and cool a single room, that’s far from their only use case. Ductless mini-splits come in multiple capacities ranging from 6,000 to 60,000 BTUs. Larger mini-splits can support up to eight indoor air handlers. So, you can replace the entire central HVAC of the average home with a mini-split if you so choose.
Mini-splits also work with multiple kinds of indoor air handlers, too. High wall-mounted air handlers are the standard option. However, you can also choose low-wall air handlers that look like sleek radiators. You can also select recessed ceiling cassette air handlers. Those offer excellent omnidirectional airflow and a low-profile look. Some mini-splits even offer air handlers that connect to your home’s ductwork. You can use them to create a single comfort zone in far-flung parts of your home at the cost of some efficiency.
Available Ductless Mini-Split Incentives
You should also know that as heat pumps, many ductless mini-splits qualify for generous incentive programs. If you choose a highly efficient model, you can claim up to 30% of its cost, up to $2,000, as a federal tax credit. If your home needs an electrical panel upgrade to support your mini-split, there’s a credit for that, too. For that part of your project, you can again claim up to 30% of your costs, up to a maximum of $600. Your local electricity supplier may even have its own rebate programs to help you save even more!
Local Ductless Mini-Split Experts
If you’re building a room addition to your Kaufman home and want a mini-split, Accurate Home Services can help. Our family-owned and -operated HVAC company has served local homeowners for over 30 years. We sell and install ductless mini-splits from several reputable manufacturers. Our NATE-certified HVAC technicians have years of experience installing and supporting mini-splits. Plus, we’re members of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America and uphold the highest professional standards.
Additionally, we’re Better Business Bureau accredited with an A+ rating. We can even offer you financing options on approved credit to help you afford a new mini-split. So, if you’re interested in a ductless mini-split for your Kaufman home, contact our team at Accurate Home Services today!
