Replacing Window ACs With Mini Splits In Tinley Park, IL
This gorgeous Craftsman-style home in Tinley Park had one major drawback- no ductwork, and no central air conditioning. They gave us a call here at A-Guy Heating and Air to see if there was a better solution to keeping them comfortable than the window air conditioners they had been relying on for years.
Problem: Homeowners of a Craftsman style home in Tinley Park had no air conditioning. The Homeowners wanted more comfort in our increasingly hot and humid summers.
Solution: 3 zones of ductless heating and air conditioning will keep this classic home comfortable all summer long.
Why They Wanted To Replace Their Window AC Units
As soon as our expert team from A-Guy came out to the home, we knew we could help the homeowners solve this problem with a Mitsubishi ductless heat pump system, that would give the family terrific comfort and save them money on their energy bills every month as well.
The homeowners were using window air conditioners to make the main living areas on the first floor of their home comfortable, but window units have a lot of drawbacks.
Window AC Units Are Expensive To Run And Give You Uneven Cooling
Window AC units are real energy hogs. Because you have to try to fit them perfectly in a window and surround it with some insulation to keep the cold air in, you inevitably have a lot of leakage of air in and out of the house.
The units don’t always distribute the air evenly in the room, so some spots are cool while others are hot, and if you close the doors to the given room, you get one room that’s an icebox while the rest of the house feels like a toaster! That means the units run all the time, they can ice up, and basically then you have issues with condensation running into the windows and walls- what a mess!
Window ACs Are Really Noisy
Window AC units are pretty loud- indoors and out. That can mean it’s hard to take phone calls, watch TV or simply enjoy the quiet when the AC is on full.
Tough Installation And Storage
Growing up in a home with window AC units, I remember helping my Dad drag the things up from the basement each year. They always smelled weird – from mold, mildew and the bugs we forgot to clean out the previous season- and they were heavy and bulky- and we always had to run to the hardware store to get something- a piece of wood to help the unit fit better in the window, more insulation- it was everyone’s least favorite chore, and took up a whole weekend to get done.
Another issue was when you put them in too early, after the first hot day, you were sure to get a cold snap and the house was freezing for a week or two. Or, you helped put them away in the fall, only to find another heat wave come and give you a week or sporadic days of sweltering heat. Who needs that?
Security Concern & Aesthetic Issues
Besides being an eye-sore and hogging up your windows for half the year, window AC units can be a security issue as well. There are news stories from the area where thieves have pushed in window air conditioners to break into homes, punching the equipment to the side, and causing homeowners headaches to try to make these open windows more secure, adding brackets, cages and more.
For all of these reasons, it’s worth looking at a more permanent (and less back-breaking) solution for your home. And best of all, you don’t need to install ductwork to get the comfort you want, right where you want it!
Using Mitsubishi Ductless Mini Splits To Replace The Window AC
When we spoke with the homeowners, it was clear that the most important thing to them was to make the first floor of their home comfortable year- round. They spent a lot of family time together, cooking, working from home, and enjoying their enclosed front porch.
We recommended that they could get the comfort they wanted by adding three zones of Mitsubishi ductless- one in the kitchen, and one each in the living and dining rooms, to keep those rooms comfortable.
How Does Ductless Work?
Mitsubishi Ductless systems consist of two main parts- an outdoor condenser heat pump unit, connected via lines to indoor, often wall-mounted units, sometimes called cassettes or heads. Each outdoor condenser can be sized to power up to eight indoor heads, which is one of the reasons these systems are called “mini-splits”.
Each indoor head creates a separate zone of heating and cooling, which means you can adjust the temperature and humidity level in one zone without affecting another. So you can compensate when you’re baking that cake in the middle of the summer by adding a little more coolness in the kitchen, without affecting the temperature in the living and dining room at the same time.
As high-efficiency heat pumps, Mitsubishi ductless systems can act as both heaters and air conditioning wherever they’re placed. They can help take the heat from the indoor air and pump it outside, or the reverse when it’s cooler in the fall, allowing you to add a touch of heat to your home when you need it. Mitsubishi ductless systems are up to 70% more efficient than baseboard heating and 30% more efficient than window air conditioners, which means you’ll get a lot more comfort, while seeing smaller energy bills every month.
No More Window Units?
Mitsubishi Ductless indoor heads have a bunch of different options, but the most common is mounted up on a wall, out of the way. From this height, the state of the art sensors can monitor the temperature and humidity level in the room, and make the small adjustments to keep the room at an even comfort level.
The system distributes the heated or cooled air evenly throughout the room, eliminating the hot and cold spots you get with window air conditioners. And best of all, you get to enjoy your windows again, like the lovely window seat in this home in Tinley Park!
Mini Split Installation
Over the course of two days, we were able to install a total of three zones of comfort in the home. Because the kitchen was on the opposite side of the home from the living room and dining room, we used two outdoor condenser units, to keep the lines shorter on the outside of the home.
The lines are hidden with a covering that looks like a normal gutter, and matches the exterior trim of the home, giving a great appearance on the outside. Indoors, we placed the units up on the wall where they could evenly distribute comfort to make sure the home looked as good outside as it looks inside!
Ductless Mini Splits Are Whisper Quiet
Mitsubishi ductless mini-split systems are whisper quiet- only 19db when they’re running, so you’ll barely hear them turning on- all you’ll notice is the comfort! The state of the art sensors monitor both the temperature and humidity in a room, and use the minimal amount of electricity necessary to adjust the comfort level, kind of like a dimmer switch on a lamp, or the multi-stage features on high-end HVAC systems.
This helps the systems work efficiently, and you can control them from a remote, or even from an app on your smartphone. That means you can adjust the comfort level at home even when you’re away on vacation!
The system means that the family can spend quality time together, reading, watching TV or working at the dining table- and not deal with the noisy window air conditioners.
And because the system can also work as a heater, it will be able to add that touch of heat you want on cold fall mornings, without having to turn on the heat for the whole house. And that helps save money as well!
Ductless Mini Splits In Tinley Park, IL
If you have any area of your home that’s hard to heat and cool, or if you’re looking for an alternative to window air conditioners to stay cool, Give us a call here at A-guy! With the heat index this summer hitting over 100 degrees, you might want to consider a more permanent solution that will help you stay comfortable all year long, and add additional safety by freeing up your windows as well!
