The Owners of this new home in Greenville gave us a call here at Blue Ridge Heating & Air after finding us as a recommended Diamond Dealer on Mitsubishi’s website. They were building their dream-forever home and were researching how to get the best comfort throughout the space.
They were impressed by the flexibility and quality of Mitsubishi ductless systems, so we were excited to sit down with them and design the perfect system that would meet all their needs.
The Heating And Cooling Challenges
This new home has a lot of great features, including 2 master suites, one on each floor. That meant ensuring comfort in the bedrooms, bathrooms, and closets, as well as for the rest of the home.
They also wanted to make sure the humidity in the home was controlled, which helps ensure great indoor air quality and avoids that “sticky” feeling, especially in the summer.
Solution: Two Multi-zone Mitsubishi Ductless systems, one for each floor of the home, will give the homeowners precision control of their comfort throughout the home, while its high energy efficiency will keep heating and cooling bills low.
Problem: Homeowners were building their Forever Home and wanted to make sure it had the perfect heating and cooling system that would keep them comfortable all year round, for years to come.
Mitsubishi Ductless Systems- A Super-efficient Heat Pump
The main part of any Mitsubishi ductless heat and cooling system is the high-efficiency heat pump. Using inverter technology, these systems take the temperature of the outside air and use it to add heat or remove heat from your home. Whether it’s -13oF or over 100oF outside, Mitsubishi heat pumps do a fantastic job of delivering the comfort you want, right where you want it.
Also important to know is that the outdoor condenser units are extremely quiet- meaning that you can place the systems near your deck or other outdoor space and not worry about the noise when they turn on or off affecting your enjoyment of your deck or patio.
These outdoor condenser units deliver the heated or cooled air into your home through indoor units, sometimes called heads or units. Each outdoor condenser unit can power up to 8 indoor units, giving you individual zones of comfort wherever you may want them! Because each “zone” can be controlled separately, that means you can have bedrooms cooled down for comfortable sleeping while you keep the living and dining room areas warmer and cozy for watching TV and spending time with the family. This gives you exceptional comfort wherever you want it most.
Indoor Ductless Options
One of the great features of Mitsubishi Ductless systems is that there is a wide variety of options available for indoor heads and units. There are ceiling mounted units, units that hang up on the wall, out of the way, and there are even floor mounted units available- giving homeowners a lot of choice when finding a comfort solution that works with their home.
As we worked with our homeowners, they chose a mixture of ceiling mounted units like the one pictured here, and wall mounted units in other places in the home. Each individual unit can be controlled independently, creating that separate zone of comfort where you want it most.
Each unit is equipped with advanced sensors that monitor your room for both heat and humidity- and make the adjustments necessary to always make sure you’re perfectly comfortable.
By making small adjustments just when needed, the systems avoid the big temperature swings you get with standard heating and air conditioning systems, while using the minimal amount of energy needed to maintain that consistent comfort. As a result, these systems are highly efficient, and end up being really cost effective to run, year after year.
What Makes This Project Unique?
One of our favorite aspects of this project is that each master suite is served by a ducted air handler that delivers air to the bedroom, each closet, and the master bathroom. This is nice because it’s not practical to put an individual cassette in each smaller room every time. The other rooms in the house are served by either ceiling or wall cassettes. So on each floor, they have a 1-ton air handler and several other indoor units connected to the same outdoor condenser unit.
This is a great way to combine the use of ducts, and also ductless technology. Even though the ducts don’t run all through the home, they can use small ducts to deliver the treated air to the smaller rooms in the home. This is going to help save energy, and also improve overall comfort.
Understanding Ductless Mini Splits
Mitsubishi ductless systems are called “ductless” because they don’t require using ductwork on your home- and that can be a real advantage.
First of all, the heating and cooling generated from your main heater/AC unit dissipates as the heated/cooled air travels through the ductwork to get to the room where you need it, reducing the overall efficiency of the system. (If you really want to learn more about this- check out this article about designing ductwork– it talks about the balance between air flow, fan strength and more- the things guys like us love to read about, but most people find a little too nerdy…)
Without ductwork, you can often put a zone of heating and cooling wherever you want it- and not worry about overtaxing an existing HVAC system or installing new ductwork behind existing walls.
But sometimes, using ductwork can have its advantages. For example, when we were working with the homeowners to design what would keep the master suites on both floors comfortable- short runs of ductwork would keep the bedrooms, master bath and closets all heated and cooled evenly.
We were also able to use these “Branch boxes” which act like a distribution manifold for the refrigerant lines that help regulate the temperature and humidity in each room. This minimized the lines they might see outside their home, and makes sure the outside of the home looks as nice as the inside!
A Home Gym Needs Extra Comfort
As part of their Forever Home, our homeowners were partially finishing the basement and creating a home gym. And as anyone who has ever been to the Y knows, controlling the temperature and humidity inside is key for a gym – even if you like hot yoga!
We installed our Moisture Medic unit, which will help control the humidity, especially in the basement. That will make sure things are never cold and clammy in the winter, and if you’re getting sweaty, it’s on purpose, not because the heating and cooling system is a problem!
High Efficiency Means Lower Energy Bills
There are 6 great reasons to choose a high-efficiency system like Mitsubishi Ductless!
- Zoning: The separate zones of comfort mean that you are only heating and cooling the portions of your home while in use; the other areas can be in stand-by mode, meaning you aren’t spending extra money heating and cooling space no one is using!
- Pinpoint control: Mitsubishi ductless systems can be controlled by a handheld remote, by a thermostat, or by a Smart Phone app. This means you can have control of your system from anywhere- even when you’re on vacation! You never have to worry about forgetting to adjust the thermostat before you leave for vacation- you can do it from your phone wherever you are! The system even works with Alexa and Google home!
- Quiet Operation: Mitsubishi ductless systems are whisper quiet- 32 db! That means you’ll barely notice when they turn on, and they’ll never interrupt your sleep or your phone call!
- Inverter system: The Mitsubishi ductless system with its high-efficiency inverter can help your room reach its set point and maintain it, using up to 40% less energy than conventional systems.
- Comfort on Demand: By allowing you to add just the heating or cooling you need, where you need it, a Mitsubishi ductless system will keep you more comfortable, especially in the Spring and Fall. Those days you get unpredictably hot or cool temps-you can get the comfort you want in minutes, without worrying about turning on or off the heat, or installing window air conditioners- you are always comfortable, at a touch of a button.
- Better Air Quality: Mitsubishi Electric systems also continuously clean the air of dust, allergens, and other materials, improving your indoor air quality. The filters are washable and last up to ten years, and with regular maintenance, you’ll have better indoor air quality than ever before, keeping your family healthier, too.
Considering a New HVAC System? Give us a Call!
If you live in Greenville or surrounding communities and are thinking about whether it’s time to replace your HVAC system, or if you are building new, give us a call here at Blue Ridge Heating and Air! Our expert team can help you design the perfect system for your home, to meet your comfort needs for now and tomorrow while making sure you save money each month on your energy bills. We’re here to help you stay comfortable year-round!