Can you install ductless heating in an older Michigan home? Yes, older homes make great candidates for ductless mini-split systems, particularly homes without existing ductwork or those with difficult-to-heat rooms.
You may love your older Michigan home for its charm and rare architectural features, but you may not love how difficult it is to heat in winter. It’s understandable why your home isn’t up to the task: back then, houses weren’t built with today’s heating and cooling needs in mind. In fact, some older homes don’t even have the ductwork needed to support traditional forced-air heating.
That’s OK, because there’s a solution out there for you: ductless heating systems. Best part is, you get efficient, targeted warmth without having to tackle an extensive renovation.
Ductless Heating: How Does it Work?
Traditional furnaces distribute heated air through ductwork, which carries the air throughout the house and delivers it through vents or registers. Ductless mini-splits, on the other hand, use indoor units to deliver warm air directly into individual rooms or designated zones.
They consist of two main components:
- An outdoor unit that contains the heat pump equipment
- Indoor units mounted on walls
These two components are connected through a small opening in the exterior wall, eliminating the need for extensive ductwork.
Many ductless systems offer the benefit of air conditioning during summer as well, ensuring year-round comfort in one solution.
Why Is Ductless Heating a Good Fit for Older Homes?
It can be complicated, invasive and expensive to install conventional ductwork in an older house.
Ductless heating:
- Minimizes disruption
- Allows you to control heat by room or zone
- Can improve energy efficiency
- Accommodates different room layouts
- Offers heating and cooling in one system
Can Ductless Heating Handle Michigan Winters?
This depends. As you know, Michigan winters bring freezing temperatures, snow, and many months of frigid weather. Understandably, you want to make sure your ductless system would be able to keep you comfortable during all that.
Modern cold-climate ductless heat pumps are built to handle temperatures well below freezing, but that doesn’t mean every mini-split system can perform the same way.
Ask yourself these questions to determine if the proposed system could meet your needs throughout winter:
- What is the system’s rated heating capacity at low outdoor temperatures?
- Does my home have sufficient insulation? Are there a lot of drafts?
- How old are my windows? Are they in good shape?
- How energy efficient is my home overall?
- How many rooms do I want to heat? What’s the layout of each?
- Will I use the system as my primary or supplemental heat source?
Depending on the answers to these questions, you may decide to keep an existing furnace or boiler as backup heating. The best way to find out what’s best is to hire a professional HVAC technician in Metro Detroit for an evaluation.
What About Homes With Radiators or Boilers?
If your older Michigan home relies on a radiator or hot-water baseboard heating, you may have certain rooms that are harder to keep comfortable than others.
Fortunately, ductless mini-splits can pick up the slack and complement your existing boiler system for peace of mind.
Here are some suggested areas in which ductless heating would be particularly beneficial:
- Finished attic
- Converted porch or sunroom
- Upstairs bedroom
- Home addition
- Frequently-used living area requiring independent temperature control
The bottom line is, you don’t have to choose between your existing heating equipment and a new ductless heating system. You can have both!
Explore Ductless Heating With Warm or Breezy Heating & Cooling
Get in touch with the HVAC experts at Warm or Breezy Heating & Cooling to learn about your ductless heating system options. We can let you know if your home is a good candidate for these systems. Call us today at (586) 335-3044.
