Blog Stories Are ductless heat pumps right for you?

Are ductless heat pumps right for you?

By Carson Mead, June 27, 2022

As the Portland summers get hotter and drier, I finally decided that it was time to look at AC for my own home. With my primary bedroom upstairs, another summer of unbearable heat at night was off the table for me. I have a forced air gas furnace, so I initially considered adding AC to my ducted system that was already in place. However, living in a 1940’s home with no return vent on the second floor meant that any cooling that reached the second floor was likely going to be a trickle, and not nearly enough to cool the space like I would need. Therefore I would likely also need a ductless heat pump for my upstairs.

I pivoted to ductless heat pump systems, aka mini splits for the whole home. These heat and cool spaces extremely efficiently, but target only specific areas of the house. Each unit is called a head, and there are different size compressors depending on how many heads you want to run. I opted for a three head system, one for my upstairs, and one for each common space of my main floor. The hope was that the two units downstairs would be able to cool secondary spaces like the bedrooms via ambient air flow moving through the house. In the winter I’ll add a couple in wall heaters for the bedrooms.

As someone who always lived in homes with central heating, it’s a very different experience having the heat pumps. Gas furnaces always felt very noticeable to me from the roar of the furnace, but the air flow was very subtle coming out of the vents. The mini-splits are much more present in their look, being attached to the walls around eye level. The air flow is also more present as it circulates through the room and is focused only from the unit as opposed to several registers around each room. The units are really effective in the temperature of the air it produces, blowing cold and hot.

Designing a system for an older home can be tricky though. In my experience the heat pumps don’t travel down hallways very well. Cooling my main level bedrooms has proved more difficult than I would have liked. I also had to relocate my upstairs unit to maximize its potential. All in all, I’m glad that I chose these units, especially as we transition toward an electrified future of renewables over natural gas. However, understanding a homes heating and cooling system can be complicated, and having a team to work with who will help guide you through it is key. Similar to building my ADU, I find direct experience is invaluable in guiding my clients through understanding the process and helping to set expectations. I’m always happy to help, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Carson Mead

Broker | ADU Specialist | OR

My first introduction to the world of real estate came in 2004, when at the age of 22 I bought my first home in NE Portland with my sister. I still remember what a monumental life transition that was. Buying my own home laid the foundation for a lifelong love of all things related to houses. I enrolled in a year-long Building Construction program to gain more knowledge in housing systems and techniques. I have used those tools to enhance my own home both inside and out. I joke that my favorite part of a house is the basement, as that’s where I can see the health and maintenance of a home’s systems: plumbing, electrical, HVAC, foundation etc. While a home inspector is the professional on helping to understand the story of a home, I like to provide as much due-diligence as possible up front before you spend the money and get into contract. Ultimately my goal is to meet you in any endeavor that you are wanting to undertake. If you are looking to sell, I will develop a strategy that makes sense for you with your goals, timelines and marketing strategy. If you want to invest in your home before going on the market, we’ll look at what you can do to maximize your profit: be it refinishing floors, painting, modifying light fixtures, and getting it staged. If you need to stay in your home while selling, I’ll bring in my stager to help get perspective on how to pare down the feel of your home and have tangible goals to achieve in getting ready to go on the market. Once last piece of my professional and personal life that I spend a lot of time thinking about are ADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Units). Also known as mother-in-law units and granny flats, these can be detached or attached. When I see a home, I look at the property in detail to see how the home is oriented on the lot and if it is ripe for a detached ADU (new construction), or if it is a good prospect for creating an attached unit (a basement apartment). I also look at the zoning to see what kind of potential this could add. I bring this eye from having looked at hundreds of properties, and completing my own ADU, including partitioning the lot so that the original house and ADU were able to be sold separately. I am a cooperatively focused broker, with a passion for helping people achieve their goals and succeed in their endeavors. I am patient, understanding, trustworthy, and truly care about your best interests. My duty as your agent is to give you my expertise, offer perspective, information and guidance, so you have the tools to make the best informed decision for yourself. As a father of two young kids, I've learned the fine art of juggling life and all the curveballs that come with it - qualities that allow for a cool and collected experience that helps when buying or selling a home. I have a Bachelor of Science in Climate Change, and spend a lot of time thinking about the environment, and our world at large. While it can be easy to go to a place of doom and gloom, I also think there are a lot of success stories and hope. When out and about you can find me searching out coffee shops and bakeries, parks and playgrounds, listening to KEXP (kexp.org), riding my electric bike with kids in tow, working on my house (and its endless to-do list) and spending time with wondering friends, family and clients. Please let me know if you'd like to share a beverage, coffee, tea, beer/wine to talk about what’s important to you and see if it would be a good fit to work together. All the best— Carson carsonmeadpdx.com yelp
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  • T: 503-853-5446
  • F: 503-961-8224
  • carson@livingroomre.com

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