SHARING CENTER
At least twice weekly, we will put a short (usually) article for the enjoyment of our current, past, and future clients, their friends, and anybody else who stumbles upon this site. These articles are largely for the benefit of those who regularly perform DIY projects or are considering hiring someone for a change to their home. There are so many considerations, and sometimes good information can be difficult to find.
On the lighter side will be the Tip of the Week. Sometimes this might have nothing to do with the home. The other two articles will be of the "Product Insights" and the "Project Insider" types which could be based upon a homeowner's project. If you would prefer to read these articles on Facebook or participate in discussions, you can join us on social media (see the bottom of the page).
6-Jul-2021 Product Insight
Recently, I have had a lot of people ask me whether or not a mini-split would be appropriate for their home. The first thing I need to do is explain what a mini-split is. Most homes that have central A/C use a central air conditioner unit or an air-sourced heat pump.
To the naked eye, the A/C and heat pump systems don’t seem different. They each have an outdoor compressor and exchanger, as well as an indoor air handler with exchanger. The only thing passing between the two units is refrigerant.
They main difference is that the compressor in the heat pump can run in the opposite direction, generating heat. For many years, the heat pumps weren’t quite efficient enough to supply heat when outdoor temperatures became very low, so there was a resistive heating element to back it up. Today’s systems have little difficulty with low temperatures, however they still have a resistive element should temperatures hover at or below 0°F for days at a time.
The mini-split is a heat pump (called the outdoor unit) that is intended to be connected to a ductless indoor unit, that is a wall mounted unit that replaces the air handler. The intention is that each of these splits covers a portion of the building or dwelling unit permitting thermostat control where it would otherwise be very expensive. In fact, with multiple mini-splits, some parts of the building can be using cooling (say top floor), while others are using heating.
Many installations use zoned mini-splits which means multiple indoor units connected to a single outdoor unit. This can save a lot of money with the one trade-off of all areas on that mini-split must be using either heat or cooling. Either implementation of the mini-split is very energy efficient because with a heat pump, instead of generating heat, it is moved from one place to another.