Archive for the ‘Energy efficient’ Category

Check out the South Sound Ductless blog here to learn about a home energy audit and how it can help you get comfortable, save money and breathe easier.

On March 12, 2012, South Sound Ductless installed a new ductless heat pump for a customer in Olympia, WA (Thurston County). The primary heat source at the time was a fourteen year old forced air electric furnace.  An original heat pump, which was installed at the same time as the furnace, had quit working two years earlier.  Although the furnace kept the home heated, it was expensive to run and blew air out of the ducts at 74 degrees, making the home feel drafty and cold.

The first thing the homeowners noticed was the fact that the house was now warm, comfortable and much quieter (due to the noisy, drafty furnace being shut off).  A month later they decided to wash the filters, as you should each month. Although the filters didn’t look dirty at all, the homeowners were very surprised to see the color change as they washed the filters. They were amazed at all the dust and particulates that washed way. Although these were all great, positive, changes to the comfort of the home and air quality, the best was yet to come.

On May 1st the homeowners received their first power bill from PSE since the installation. By using the PSE web site they were able to analyze their power bill.  According to PSE, the bill should have gone down $33.00 to $55.00 due to warmer weather and $16.00 due to a shorter billing cycle. All things being equal, as a best case, the bill should have dropped $71.00. The bill went down $226. The PSE web site could not account for the $155.00 dollar decrease.  Since the customer had not made any other changes to the house or their lifestyle, the only explanation for the decrease was the ductless heat pump.

As of July 5th, two more months have passed and the homeowners recently received their second power bill since installing the ductless heat pump. Compared to the June 2011 bill, they saved $92. Not as much as the March/April bill, but the weather has been warmer, so the demand for heat is less. What was interesting though is that according to the analyses from the PSE website, the homeowners actually spent more money on hot water then on heat for this billing period. The first time that has ever happened.

Our customer couldn’t be more pleased with the Ductless Heat Pump. For the first time their home isn’t noisy and drafty, and instead is extremely comfortable and quiet. The air that used to be blown through dirty ductwork is now clean and pleasant to breath. And they’ve saved $247 in just three months. When we last spoke with them, the homeowners joked that the next bill may not show as much of a savings, since they are planning to run the air conditioner and live comfortably in the heat of the summer.

To learn more, or if you’re already familiar with Ductless Heat Pumps and are ready to experience your own “case study,” be sure to call South Sound Ductless at 360.529.7567  or feel free to send a note.

So, maybe you are thinking about a ductless heat pump system, but don’t want to invest in a new technology that may still have some kinks to work out.  That’s understandable; no one wants to be the “guinea pig,” especially when it comes to your home and personal comfort.

Many people don’t realize that ductless heat pumps have been around more than 30 years.  Even though they may not be well known in the United States for residential heating and cooling, ductless heat pumps have been widely used in Asia and Europe since the 1970’s.  US commercial buildings have been using them since the 1980’s.

So rest assured, the comfort and efficiency of ductless systems have a proven track record and a history of being both dependable and reliable.   To learn more, visit www.southsoundductless.com.

Ductless heating and cooling systems work in much the same way as a traditional centrally ducted heat pump or air conditioner, yet there are some distinct advantages over those traditional systems.  Firstly, there is no large furnace or fan coil to take up valuable floor space and the fan motor is smaller, producing much less noise.  Also, there are no air ducts, so installation is much easier, quicker, and costs about half the price as installing a ducted system

A condensing unit is located outside the home. This part of the system contains the compressor which circulates the refrigerant to produce the cooling effect. There are several types of compressors but the latest innovation is inverter technology. This technology allows the compressor to operate at an almost unlimited number of speeds. These units normally start at full speed when there is the need for heating or cooling. After the set point is reached, the units typically reduce the compressor speed to pump just enough refrigerant to match the requirements of the home. This provides energy savings as well as longer cycles. The longer operating cycles provide more cleaning/filtering of the home’s air and more even temperature distribution.

A fan coil can be mounted on the wall or ceiling of the room to be conditioned. Other units, called console units, have a free-standing fan coil unit that sits on the floor. The fan coil unit contains the evaporator coil, fan, and filtering system along with the control components.

Some units include advanced filtering systems such as carbon activated filters, electrostatic filters, or anti-bacterial filters. Many units include more than one filter technology.

Some units also include a very small motor to move louvers back and forth. This is normally called swing mode and enhances air circulation throughout the room. The most advanced units move the louvers both up and down as well as back and forth.

To learn more about ductless heat pumps and how they can help make your home more comfortable, save you money and breath easier, be sure to visit www.SouthSoundDuctless.com

Contrary to the myth of perpetual rain, it can get pretty warm here in the North West.  Have you ever stood in front of your refrigerator on a hot day, trying to cool off but telling yourself you really weren’t wasting energy, you were looking for that leftover tub of coleslaw from last week’s barbecue? A much better option for beating the summer heat while increasing the comfort and efficiency of your winter heating system is installing a ductless heat pump.  Ductless heat pumps not only keep you warm and cozy in our northwest winters, but cool you off when our glorious, but warm, summers arrive.  They are also a great way to cool a second story in homes that tend to heat up fast in the summer months.

And don’t forget, if you’re upgrading from electric resistance heating, you may qualify for one of the rebates being offered by most utility companies.

SO WHY UPGRADE YOUR EXISTING HEATING SYSTEM?

• Every system comes standard with A/C.  Ahhhhh…
• Energy savings.  This is money in your pocket!  Who doesn’t like that?  Most folks save 25% to 50% on their heating bills
• Low cost, easy installation.  No ductwork is needed
• Rebates are available for qualified installations.  More money in your pocket!

With a ductless heat pump you can stay cool this summer AND increase the comfort of your home, spend less money and save energy on heating this winter.  No more excuses for standing in front of that open fridge, coleslaw or not.

To learn more about Ductless Heat Pumps, visit our sister site at South Sound Ductless