Taken together, heating and cooling costs are a huge chunk of any family or homeowner’s expenses. According to the US Energy Information Administration, heating and cooling account for 52% of the average American household’s energy use. Clearly, anything that can be done to reduce that energy usage will put money back in your pocket.
Luckily, there are ways to dramatically cut the energy you spend on both heating and cooling. In Florida, if you use a furnace, you’re spending a lot of money you don’t need to. Here’s how a ductless system can cut your energy use and your bills.
What a Ductless System Is
A ductless system or mini split is a system for both cooling and heating. It uses a heat pump to cycle refrigerant through coils which separate (thus the term “split”) as they enter the home to connect to air handlers in different areas. With the refrigerant flowing in one direction, heat is carried out of the home, but when that flow is reversed, heat is carried into the home.
Year-Round Energy Savings
Some of the ways that ductless systems cut your energy use apply to both time spent heating and time spent cooling. These include system efficiency, lack of ductwork, and zone control.
- System Efficiency: Today’s heat pumps use a lot less energy than your ten-year-old air conditioner did, even when it was brand-new. Advances in materials for refrigerant coils, variable-speed fan motors, and multi-phase compressors have made a big difference, on top of the fact that heat pumps simply use smaller motors than traditional air conditioners.
- Lack of Ductwork: Even top-notch, brand-new ductwork allows for a lot of heat transfer along the ducts, meaning that once it reaches your vents, the air is no longer as hot or as cold as it was to begin with. And most ductwork is aging and damaged, with cracks and leaks that can account for up to 30% of your hot or cold air being lost to places you don’t need it, like your attic.
- Zone Control: Typical central air conditioners or furnaces distribute air to many zones of the home, but they don’t allow for individual temperature control to these zones. Ductless air handlers each have their own thermostat, so you only use your heating and cooling where you need it, when you need it.
Heating Savings
This is where ductless systems completely outshine all other options. In climates like ours, where temperatures rarely drop below freezing, heat pumps are staggeringly efficient at heating. The process of generating heat is very energy-intensive. But heat pumps simply don’t do that! They only transfer heat from one place to another, which uses a tiny amount of energy in comparison.
How can heat pumps bring warmth into your home when it’s chilly outside? The key is that it’s the temperature differential, not the specific temperature, that matters here. As long as the outdoor air is a bit warmer than the super-cooled refrigerant, heat can be transferred.
If you’d like to know more about ductless heating in Ferry Pass, FL and how your home could be heated for a fraction of the cost of using a furnace, we’d love to have a conversation with you about it.
Contact the team at Commander Air Inc. Your hometown heating and cooling specialist for three generations.