Ductless Heating and Cooling for Multi-Family Condo
This 3 story multi-family home in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas, TX, was built in 1915 and heated using antique, in-wall gas furnaces. The building was purchased with a major renovation in mind. The existing heating system was unsafe and would have to go. The building had originally been constructed with eight-foot ceiling heights and framing members with only eight-inches between each floor.
The Problem:
The Solution:
An antique building in an upscale neighborhood needed a modern heating and cooling solution and did not have room for any ductwork.
Benchmark Service installed a multi-zone, mini-split, ductless heating and cooling system with nineteen indoor units and seven outdoor condensers.
The Problem:
An antique building in an upscale neighborhood needed a modern heating and cooling solution and did not have room for any ductwork.
The Solution:
Benchmark Service installed a multi-zone, mini-split, ductless heating and cooling system with nineteen indoor units and seven outdoor condensers.
The Design
The condominium is in a historic and conservation district which required that original windows and features be retained in the renovation of the building. Due to space restraints in the ceilings and walls, Benchmark Service designed a system using high-efficiency Mitsubishi FH-Series hyper-heat, wall-mount air-handlers.
The Installation
Unlike traditional HVAC systems, the ductless system from Mitsubishi Electric does not require ductwork to be installed throughout the home. Instead, small tubing was piped through the ceilings and walls to connect the stylish indoor air-handlers to the outdoor condensers. The indoor A/C systems were mounted onto the walls and concealed in bookshelves in a way to provide the most unobtrusive and aesthetically pleasing visual representation possible.
The Benefits
Each of the nineteen ductless A/C’s operates independently from the other units, which allows the residents to have pinpoint control over their comfort. Each of the rooms can maintain a different temperature to keep the occupants comfortable without causing a strain to a centralized system because each unit is able to sense the temperature of the space that it resides. It can adjust its output to meet the demand in that room.
For example, when cooking a large meal in the kitchen, the system in that area will sense the need to deliver more air into that area without delivering excessive cool air to the unoccupied areas. Four rooms have southern exposure and lots of windows. As the sun moves throughout the day, the system in those areas will adjust to provide constant comfort. Additionally, individual units can be turned off if they are not in use, then the occupants can save money by choosing not to cool or heat that room when it is not in use. Because of the Mitsubishi Ductless system’s efficiency, the families will save on their monthly energy bills throughout the year. In the summer, they will no longer have to overpay for their air conditioning, because the ductless system only costs about the same as a lightbulb to run.
Another benefit of the Mitsubishi Ductless system is that it is whisper-quiet, so the occupants will no longer have to talk over a loud, conventional A/C system or be awakened at night when the system kicks on. Instead, they’ll enjoy quiet comfort throughout the year without the drawbacks of other HVAC systems. Contact us for more info!
