My house was constructed in the mid-eighteen hundreds.
It covers over three thousand square feet and is divided into a lot of smaller rooms. There are high ceilings and big windows. We have done some remodeling and opened up the floor plan of the kitchen, dining room and living room. While the house is outfitted with ductwork, the system doesn’t include the perfect number of supply and return vents to manage consistent comfort in every room. The kitchen in particular tended to be extremely chilly during the winter and quite overheated during the summer. For a while, I compensated with electric baseboard heaters and a window air conditioner. I was not happy with how the portable heating and cooling equipment detracted from aesthetics. The heaters took up floor space and the cooling unit eliminated our view from the window. Plus, they failed to keep up with demand on especially cold winter nights or hot summer days. About two years ago, I finally invested into a ductless mini split. The system consists of an outdoor unit that operates so quietly that I’m never certain it’s running and an especially compact indoor air handler. The air handler is mounted up high on the wall, has a slim profile and draws no unwanted attention. It works by moving existing heat between the indoors and outdoors, reversing the flow of refrigerant as needed to provide both heating and cooling capacity. The air handler features an independent thermostat that allows adjustment through a remote or an app on my phone. I’m able to raise or lower room temperature, direct airflow, determine fan speed and switch between heating and cooling. I can target the kitchen without affecting the rest of the house.