If you are interested in ductless installation near Steelton, PA, check out how we helped this homeowner. Our homeowner in Steelton, PA was looking for the best ways to improve the climate control in her colonial home. She wanted to improve her heating. And, she wanted to replace her old window air conditioners.
Fortunately, we had the solution that would handle both of these at once: a Bryant ductless split system.
This setup would supplement her oil heater. That unit was still in good condition. She didn’t need to replace it, but it didn’t always warm the entire house evenly.
Meanwhile, those old ACs were a nightmare. They were loud and cost a lot to run. On top of that, they didn’t even do that good of a job.
Fortunately, the Bryant system addresses all these concerns. Let’s see how this all came together.
Problem: A colonial home in Steelton, PA had an oil boiler and no central air. The homeowner wanted to supplement her heat and add air conditioning, but there was no ductwork to connect a central AC unit.
Solution: Installed a Bryant ductless split system with outdoor heat pump and three high-wall air handlers. These add extra heat in the winter while cooling the entire home in the summer.
While oil heat isn’t as popular as it once was, it’s a mainstay out here in Central PA. Before every town had gas lines, we relied on oil to keep us warm all winter.
Today, plenty of homes still use it. But, there are better options out there now. Ductless split systems, for instance, use much less energy. And, they get rid of those pesky hot and cold spots in the house.
However, our homeowner’s boiler is still in great shape. She won’t need a new for years. But, she wanted to improve the climate control in her home. That’s where the new setup comes in.
Sometimes, you can run extra ductwork through the house. It’s a little costly, but it’s doable. The problem was, there was no ductwork to begin with here. And, there was no room for us to run it.
That made the Bryant system the best option. These systems consist of outdoor heat pumps and air handlers inside that we mount on the walls.
These components are connected by refrigerant lines. This is the big difference when it comes to space.
Those lines are very narrow and flexible. We run them through the wall just like you would do with electrical wires. As a result, we can put the handlers just about anywhere. But, we don’t need to do any work on the house.
This was a big deal for a split-level like this. With common areas at different spots in the house, the heating was uneven. In the winter, the bedrooms would be much colder than the living room, for instance.
With the new system, we put the air handlers in all the problem spots. They fill in the blanks, so to speak when the oil boiler is working.
The Bryant ductless system we installed here holds quite a few benefits over those old window air conditioners our homeowner was using before. And, it’s even better than a traditional central unit.
Simply put, the air handlers can cool a room much more evenly than the old portable units. And, they’re much quieter. Each air handler only gets as loud as around 20 decibels.
For reference, leaves rustling outside clock in at around 24 decibels.
And, believe it or not, safety is a factor here, too. The problem with window units is they’re not secure. Anyone can just push it in and get into your house.
The same goes for those new portable ones you see out now. You can wheel them anywhere in the house, and you only need to open the window a few inches for a vent. Well, there’s nothing stopping someone from opening that window all the way.
WIth ductless, however, the air handlers are permanently installed inside the house.
Of course, for a long time, central air was the best option for treating the whole house. But, that’s changing as systems like the Bryant one we installed here become more popular.
These setups are just as powerful as a central system. And, yes, they’ll provide cooling for every room in the home. But, there’s more.
Not needing ductwork is the big one, obviously. Remember, this home doesn’t use forced air. Adding the ducts and vents could easily double the price of a central air unit.
Finally, our homeowner spends less money on her monthly energy bills with this system than she did before. It’s also cheaper in the summer than it would have been if she’d gone with a central unit.
There are a few reasons why this happens. But, we’ll look at one in particular.
Using zoned HVAC instead of a central setup:
So, what do we mean by “zoned?” Well, remember that we put air handlers in various rooms. Each one has a thermostat built into it. That means our homeowner controls each one separately.
Now, compare that to a central system with one thermostat for the whole house. What happens there is the system turns on and off based on the temperature in just one room. It can’t account for when the bedrooms or rec room are hotter or colder than that.
That’s the advantage of supplementing her boiler. If one room is always colder than the others, then the unit in that room works longer than the ones in the other areas. Now, she’s not turning up the thermostat more than she needs to treat the colder places.
In fact, that lets her set each room to whatever temperature she wants. If she likes the bedroom warmer than the living room in the winter, for instance, she can program each unit separately. Or, she can turn down the thermostats in the other rooms at night and just keep her room toasty.
All in all that equals lower monthly energy bills all year. Our homeowner doesn’t run her furnace as often and doesn’t need as much even in the winter. Then, in the summer her new cooling system costs way less than those old energy-guzzling window units.
Then, there are the “shoulder seasons,” spring and fall. That’s when it’s chilly enough to need a little warmth, but it doesn’t really need all that firepower. With the new system, our homeowner can now rely on her more efficient system before switching over to oil.
Are you looking for the best way to supplement your central heating and replace old air conditioners?
Contact us, and we’ll design a system that’s perfect for your home!
