Adding heating or cooling to a room that isn’t currently connected to the main duct system can be difficult. This is a common challenge many homeowners face when putting an addition onto the house or when converting a space that wasn’t originally designed for normal daily use. It’s sometimes possible to extend the existing ductwork and connect the space to the central HVAC system. However, installing a ductless mini-split is often the more practical solution for heating and cooling certain spaces.
What Is a Ductless Mini-Split?
As the name suggests, a ductless mini-split is a type of heating and cooling system that doesn’t rely on ductwork to circulate air. The system has two primary components. There’s a heat pump unit that sits outside and a “head” or air handler unit that’s mounted on the wall directly within the space. The fan in the air handler draws air into the unit. It then quickly heats or cools the air and circulates it throughout the space.
Some mini-splits have a single air handler. There are also multi-zone systems that can have up to eight individual air handlers. This means you can still use a mini-split to heat and cool multiple spaces, such as if you’re putting a multi-room addition onto your house.
At Call Climate Services, we offer professional mini-split installation for homes throughout Davis County and the Northern Salt Lake Valley. We carry a range of quality systems from trusted brands and will help you find the solution that best meets your needs.
When Extending Ductwork Becomes Complicated
Extending the ductwork to some rooms or parts of a house isn’t always as easy as you may think. If the room you’re wanting to heat/cool is far away from the main duct system, it’s often necessary to cut holes in ceilings and through walls to connect the new branch and run it to the space. In some cases, a duct extension simply isn’t possible because of a lack of space.
In Utah, it’s common for homes to have most of the main duct system in the basement or crawl space. This prevents major challenges in terms of an addition since the concrete foundation wall prevents you from connecting the new space to the existing HVAC system. You can also encounter the same issue if you want to add heating and cooling to a converted garage.
Mini-Splits Work Well for Home Additions
Installing HVAC for home additions is sometimes complicated. In many cases, an addition commonly needs its own individual comfort solution since it wasn’t a part of the home’s original HVAC design and installation. This means that it’s often necessary to make significant changes to the ductwork in order to connect the addition to the existing central AC and heating.
Even if major ductwork changes aren’t required, there’s also the concern that the HVAC system may not be sufficiently sized to handle the additional cooling/heating load. If the system isn’t large enough, it will struggle much more to evenly cool and heat the entire house and also use more energy. The only way to avoid this is to upgrade to a larger system, which will often be more expensive than just installing a mini-split. This is especially the case if you need to upgrade both your furnace and central AC.
A mini-split is an ideal solution in these types of situations. The system will ensure that the addition has effective heating and cooling without requiring major ductwork changes or forcing you to upgrade to a larger HVAC system.
Mini-Splits Are Helpful for Converted Spaces
A mini-split is also a great solution for converted spaces that weren’t originally designed as a living space or built for daily comfort. This includes spaces like garages, basements, converted attics, workshops and sunrooms. At Call Climate, we highly recommend mini-splits for these types of spaces and for additions. A mini-split is also an excellent solution if you want to supplement the existing cooling and heating in an individual room that frequently stays hotter or colder than you want.
Ductless Systems Can Support Energy Efficiency
One great thing about ductless mini-splits is that they are highly efficient. Long duct runs and leaky ducts directly contribute to energy losses and reduced efficiency. If the room is far away from the main ductwork, your HVAC system may also have difficulty with keeping the space sufficiently comfortable. With a mini-split, you can ensure that the room always stays at your desired temperature without significantly increasing your energy bills.
Mini-Splits Can Offer Room-by-Room Control
Whether you have a single-zone or a multi-zone mini-split, you can directly control the room temperature from the air handler. This type of independent temperature control can be useful for rooms that you rarely use or spaces that you don’t use for much of the day, such as guest rooms, offices and hobby rooms. The fact that mini-splits provide highly efficient zoned heating and cooling is part of the reason why more and more people are opting to install them instead of central HVAC when building a new house.
When Extending Ductwork May Still Make Sense
While there are many situations where mini-split installation is the smarter decision, there are also times when extending ductwork may make more sense. It depends largely on the capacity of the existing HVAC system and how easy it is to run ductwork to the room.
If extending the ductwork isn’t all that complicated and the existing system has sufficient capacity to handle the additional load, connecting the room will almost always be quite a bit cheaper than installing a mini-split. Even if some changes need to be made to the original ductwork, you’ll still typically pay less as long as you don’t need to upgrade your central HVAC system.
There are even situations where ductwork extension can still be worth it even if your existing HVAC doesn’t have sufficient capacity and you need to upgrade it. This includes if the existing system is fairly old and likely won’t last much longer, isn’t very efficient or often struggles to maintain the set temperature.
When Extending Ductwork Makes More Sense
Extending ductwork is almost always the best option for additions and converted spaces that are close to the main duct system. The main thing is whether you can connect the room without making major structural changes. If so, connecting it to your central HVAC system will make the room feel more integrated into the rest of the house.
Ask Call Climate Services for a Professional Opinion
At Call Climate Services, we’re proud to be the most trusted name in Davis County for mini-splits. If you’re considering a mini-split for your home, we can guide you through the process of finding the best option and then expertly handle the installation from start to finish. Our experienced technicians can also handle all of your repair and maintenance needs to ensure that your mini-split continues operating at its peak for years to come.
As a Lennox Premier Dealer, we offer industry-leading HVAC products and are held to the highest standards in terms of workmanship quality and customer service. We specialize in the full range of cooling and heating services and are ready to manage all of your home comfort needs. To schedule service in Davis or Salt Lake County and get honest advice on whether extending your ductwork or installing a mini-split is the better solution, contact the experts at Call Climate Services today.
