Serving Round Lake & 
There’s no doubt that Round Lake can experience some extreme temperatures throughout the year. While hanging out on Hook Lake can be a great way to stay cool during the summer, having a reliable home air conditioner is a must for household comfort. A feasible solution for homeowners who live near the Prairie Grass Nature Museum or the Round Lake Area Park District is a ductless mini-split system for many reasons.
Heating and Cooling
One reason that ductless mini splits are becoming increasingly popular is that they can provide adequate heating and cooling for your home. Instead of having to purchase a separate air conditioner and heater to stay comfortable throughout the entire year, you can rely on one unit to handle the job. This can also make things a lot easier when it comes to financing a new system, as you won’t have to make two different payments every month.
No Ducting Needed
The beauty of a ductless mini split is that it doesn’t require traditional ductwork to function. This type of HVAC system uses multiple indoor air handler units to deliver hot or cold air to the different rooms of your home. These units connect directly to the outdoor condenser unit via refrigerant lines.
This means you don’t have to worry about poor indoor air quality due to a buildup of debris in your ducting or air losses due to gaps in your ducting. The mini split is a very popular option for retrofitting homes that don’t have existing ducting. This can be the perfect solution if you build a home addition or if you want to control the temperature in your garage. You won’t have the expense and inconvenience of installing ductwork after your home is already built.
Energy Efficiency
Mini splits rely on heat pump technology to heat and cool your home throughout the year. This technology is extremely energy efficient and can reduce your energy bills significantly. Ductless mini splits are more efficient than traditional central air conditioners or ducted heat pumps because they don’t lose any of your conditioned air through gaps in your ductwork.
Their efficiency really shines through during the winter months. These units will extract heat from the air outside or from the soil, depending on the type of technology your system is using. Either way, both are extremely efficient, reaching levels between 200% and 400%. The only heater that comes close to this is an electric furnace that offers 100% efficiency. While it’s a common concern that because these mini splits rely solely on electricity, they’re very expensive to run, their high-efficiency level well offsets their running costs.
Zone Temperature Control
With traditional central air conditioners and heaters, there’s one thermostat that controls the temperature for all the rooms of your home. With a ductless mini split, each indoor air handler unit has its own thermostat setting. This allows you to set each unit independently from the rest of the units, increasing your comfort level since you can set the room to be at an optimal temperature for whoever is using it.
An added advantage of this zone temperature control is that you can optimize your energy usage. During the winter months, you can turn the temperature setting down in rooms that you don’t use that frequently to minimize run costs. Conversely, in the summer, you can turn the temperature setting higher in rooms that aren’t frequently used to cut costs during the warmer months.
Tax Credits
The federal government, some local utility companies, and even some state governments provide homeowners with tax credits and rebates when they invest in energy-efficient appliances for their homes. This is in an effort to reduce our country’s reliance on fossil fuels significantly.
When purchasing a new HVAC system for your home, different units will provide you with different credits. One of the most popular tax credits is through the Inflation Reduction Act. You must purchase a unit that’s ENERGY STAR certified and meets the minimum efficiency ratings set by the Department of Energy. Central air conditioning systems that qualify are eligible for a tax credit of up to $600. Ductless mini splits that qualify have a maximum of $2,000 or more depending on whether it’s air-source or geothermal.
Easy Installation Process
One unique advantage of mini splits is that they’re very simple to install. You have the option of choosing between wall, ceiling, or floor-mounted mini-split air handlers. These units come in a variety of different colors and styles to match the interior aesthetic needs of each room. All that’s required to connect your indoor air handler units to the outdoor condenser unit is a small three-inch hole in the exterior of your room. This hole is typically created behind the air handler.
All the indoor units are lightweight, easy to handle, and have their own air filters, which prevents germs and other contaminants from constantly recirculating throughout the home. The largest mini-split component is the outdoor condenser unit, which conveniently sits outside of your home where it’s easy to access. The main requirement is that the condenser needs to rest on a concrete pad or pavers so that it can remain level. Because of its outdoor location, installation, repairs and maintenance are easier to complete with mini splits than with HVAC systems that have primary units residing inside your home.
Ultra-Quiet Operation
One very notable difference between mini-splits and traditional ducted HVAC units is their noise during operation. With a ducted setup, you’re always going to hear a blower fan running, and you may actually hear your furnace or boiler while it’s running because it’s inside your home.
With a ductless mini-split system, the noisy compressor pump sits in the condenser unit outside of your home, keeping the inside of your home much quieter than it would be with a traditional HVAC system. Additionally, you won’t hear the blower motor as each air handler has an internal fan that offers whisper-quiet operation.
Super Safe Operation
One of the biggest drawbacks of a furnace or boiler that burns fuel to create heat is its potential for dangerous fume accumulation. Toxic fumes like carbon monoxide are byproducts of the combustion process. Normally, these toxic fumes vent directly to the outside of your home and disperse into the air.
Unfortunately, if there’s a problem with your heating system, there’s the potential for harmful carbon monoxide to back up inside your home. This can create a very dangerous situation and requires you to have active carbon monoxide detectors, which will alert you when there’s an issue. Ductless mini splits rely solely on electricity, so there’s no worry about toxic fume emissions in your home.
Reliable Ductless Mini-Split Installation Service
Duane Blanton Plumbing, Sewer, Heating & Cooling provides reliable ductless mini-split installation service to the Round Lake, IL area. We can also help with all your ductless mini-split replacement, repair, and maintenance needs. Call Duane Blanton Plumbing, Sewer, Heating & Cooling today to book your next service consultation with one of our very knowledgeable HVAC technicians.
