Multi-family homes are among the hardest to heat and cool. Large New England homes were originally built for big families. With space being at a premium in Boston and its suburbs, large homes were split into multi-family homes.
However, a single thermostat for the whole house just doesn’t work when you have multiple families living in it. Here’s what our Jamaica Plain homeowners decided to do.
The Problem: The tenants of this multi-family home in Jamaica Plain, MA, were suffering from uneven heating and cooling with their forced hot water, gas heat system. The intensely cold winters in Massachusetts left many of the rooms frigid, while others were unbearably hot.
The Solution: After speaking with the owners and inspecting the home, our specialists determined that a Mitsubishi ductless mini split system with a Hyper-Heating cold climate heat pump would be the ideal solution. To adequately distribute the heated or cooled air throughout the home, we determined that a six-zone system would be needed.
Struggling with Uneven Warmth from a Gas Heating System
As with many multi-family homes, the old FHW gas heating system did not distribute the hot air adequately throughout the separate units. The units were all controlled by a centralized thermostat. This heating system was not only inefficient and ineffective, but the uneven heating and cooling cost the homeowners a fortune in energy bills every winter.
Another problem the families faced was that the home did not have a central AC system, which left everyone hot and uncomfortable in the summers, as well. They were forced to resort to window air conditioners and fans to try and keep the home cool, but these were expensive to run and often resulted in more hot and cold spots throughout the house.
Finally, the homeowner had enough of overpaying for heating and cooling the home, so they looked into alternative air conditioning systems.
No Removal of the Old Gas Heating System Was Needed
Through some research, the homeowner found that N.E.T.R., Inc. is the #1 Elite Diamond Dealer for Mitsubishi Electric ductless air conditioners in Massachusetts. Because N.E.T.R., Inc. had a library of positive reviews from previous customers and extensive experience with similar homes, the owners chose to contact us for a solution to their problem.
Fortunately, there was no need to remove an old system to install the ductless heat pump units; instead, we mounted the wall units in each of the six rooms to act as supplemental heating and cooling for the existing system.
The rooms that were desperately in need of supplemental heat were the kitchen, office, two of the bedrooms, and the basement. We were easily able to install each of the units and run the thin tubing through the walls, into the basement, and then through a branch box to the outdoor condenser.
The outdoor heat pump was installed on the side of the home so that it could easily be accessed for maintenance but remained out of sight so as not to interfere with the home’s curb appeal.
The Benefits
The new ductless heat pump system will offer efficient, even heating throughout the home no matter what the coming winters throw their way. The Mitsubishi Hyper-Heating ductless heat pump system has been proven to function perfectly, even in temperatures as low as -13F so that these families can count on consistent comfort throughout their home, even in the harshest winters.
Mitsubishi ductless ACs are designed to be individually controlled through remotes, instead of using a centralized thermostat. This flexibility allows for pinpoint control of each room, regardless of the temperatures set in other places. Now, if the office needs an extra touch of heat, but the kitchen gets too warm in the afternoon, the homeowners can merely adjust the individual heat pumps in each room to the temperature that works best for them. Ultimately, this will lead to lower monthly bills, due to the ability to turn off the ductless units in rooms that are not in use and only heat or cool them when needed.
In addition to functioning as a cost-effective supplemental heating solution, these ductless air conditioners offer state-of-the-art cooling in the summer months, as well. Now, instead of struggling with clunky window ACs, the families need only to set their preferred temperature on the indoor ductless ACs, and they’ll find even, efficient cooling relief.
Not only do these ductless mini split units offer world-class heating and cooling for homes like this, but they also monitor humidity. Each unit will systematically check the moisture of the room and adjust appropriately.
Another incredible benefit to switching from window air conditioners to a ductless split system is that the units function with whisper-quiet technology. These ductless wall ACs run so quietly that we’ve installed them in music studios on numerous occasions.
The benefits of these ductless mini split systems are not just in comfort brought into the home, but also in the savings that the homeowners see by merely switching to more efficient systems. These homeowners will see an impact on their heating bills once winter rolls around again since the FHW gas system will no longer have to struggle to keep up with heating the large home alone. The supplemental heating from the ductless heat pump will lower their gas bills throughout the winter while providing better comfort than the family has had in years.
Ductless Savings
In the summer, the families will see a massive difference in their electric bills, since window ACs are costly to run, and their switch to ductless air conditioning is among the best in terms of energy efficiency.
Lastly, by upgrading their home from the old system to an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly option these homeowners qualified for $2712 in rebates from programs like Mass Save and Mass CEC. These rebates are offered by the state of Massachusetts to encourage homeowners to switch to more environmentally friendly heating and cooling systems.
Is Ductless Right for You?
Are you suffering from a home that is too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter? Maybe you’re tired of paying a fortune for heating and cooling a house that’s never the right temperature. If you’ve been frustrated with the consistency of the temperature in your home, contact N.E.T.R., Inc. today! Our Mitsubishi ductless specialists with work with you to design the ideal solution for your home.
