In Louisiana, chances are, the only heat you could ever need for your home can be provided by a heat pump. And because of the efficiency and ease of installation, a mini split or ductless system for your heat pump is the perfect choice. With proper system sizing and air handler layout, you can be perfectly comfortable all year, whether it’s 35 degrees outside or 105.
If you do have this type of system and you find you’re not totally satisfied with it, what could be wrong? Is it broken, and in need of repair? Well, it could just be that your system doesn’t fit your home. Let’s discuss how many mini splits a home needs, and how an HVAC technician can help resolve your concerns.
How Many Air Handlers Can One System Have?
Most heat pumps can actually provide cooling and heating for quite a large space, even if it’s divided among many air handlers. It is generally possible to connect as many as eight air handlers to a single heat pump outdoor unit, though not every home requires quite so many air handlers.
How Many Air Handlers Does a Home Need?
A single air handler is all that’s needed for a small, single space, such as a studio apartment. A full-size home will need more than one. That’s one of the best things about mini split systems—the heating or cooling is dispersed uniformly throughout the home. Even better, with each air handler having its own thermostat, the temperature can be controlled individually in the various zones.
So, our baseline answer here is that a typical home will need more than one air handler, and that it could have as many as eight. That still leaves a lot of room for questions. The fact of the matter is that an HVAC professional will need to make the precise assessment of how many air handlers it will take to keep your home perfectly comfortable, and where they should be located.
How Does an HVAC Expert Measure a Home for Air Handlers?
First, keep in mind that the air handlers do not all have to have the same BTU (British Thermal Unit) rating. They can have different heating and cooling capacities. The square footage of each room or area must be measured to determine what BTU rating is necessary for that zone’s indoor unit. The layout of your home matters, too. In the case of an open floorplan, you may need multiple units in the largest space.
Another consideration that not everyone is aware of is the insulation of your home. If your home is new, well-insulated, and tightly-sealed, you will need fewer air handlers, or air handlers with lower capacity. If your home is old and poorly-insulated with drafty spots and single-pane windows, you will need more air handlers, or each air handler will need to have a higher BTU rating.
The only way to be certain exactly how many units of what capacity will be needed to keep your home comfortable is to have a consultation with a member of our team. We know all about maximizing your comfort and efficiency with ductless heating in West Monroe, LA, and we’re happy to chat with you.
Contact Mike Smith Heating & Air Conditioning, LLC. We provide “Professional grade service.”