DO YOU KNOW DUCTLESS?  PART II

 

OUR 'Q&A' TO EXPLAIN MORE ABOUT THIS HIGH EFFICIENCY INNOVATION

 

Q: How long have ductless systems been around?
Q: How much does a ductless system cost?
Q: What incentives are available for ductless systems?
Q: How long will a ductless system last?
Q: What kind of maintenance does a ductless system require?
Q: How do I know what size of system my house needs?
Q: What is a Master Installer?

 

Q: How long have ductless systems been around?

 

Ductless heating and cooling systems were developed in Japan in the 1970s and have since become a preferred heating and cooling system throughout Asia and much of Europe. In the United States ductless systems have been used in commercial applications for over 20 years.

 

Q: How much does a ductless system cost?

 

The average cost of an installed ductless systems with a single indoor heating/cooling zone is between $3,000 and $5,000. Additional heating zones and greater heating capacities will increase the cost of the system. Other factors that will affect the cost of an installed system include manufacturer and model, refrigerant line-set length, difficulty of installation, and contractor rates.

 

Q: What incentives are available for ductless systems?

 

Utility Rebates: most utilities in the Northwest are offering their customers cash rebates as high as $1,500 when they upgrade their existing electric resistance heating system to a ductless system. Interest-free financing may also be available. Check with your local utility for details.

Federal Tax Credits - Additional incentives: May be available to taxpayers who purchase a qualified energy-efficient residential ductless systems. In 2012, the Federal Tax Credit was removed.  For the most recent information,  visit http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index#c3

Montana - Additional Incentives: the state of Montanas Energy Conservation Installation Credit provides a tax credit for 25% of the cost of a ductless system with a maximum credit of $500 per individual; up to $1,000 for a married couple filing jointly. http://revenue.mt.gov/forindividuals/ind_tax_incentives/energy_related_tax_relief.mcpx

Oregon - Additional Incentives: the Oregon Department of Energy has a tax credit available through the Residential Energy Tax Credit (RETC) program. The credit is valued at $50 per half-ton of rated capacity, with a maximum credit of 25% of the system cost, or $400, whichever is less. www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/RES/tax/HVAC-HP-AC.shtml

Additional Resources: a database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency can be found at: http://dsireusa.org/

 

Q: How long will a ductless system last?

 

With proper maintenance and care a ductless systems should perform for over 20 years. Many of the systems installed during the 1980s are still functioning well today.

 

Q: What kind of maintenance does a ductless system require?

 

Ductless systems require basic maintenance to ensure optimum performance. In most cases maintenance is limited to keeping filters and coils clean. These tasks can easily be performed by the home owner.

 

Q: How do I know what sized system my house needs?

 

Ductless systems are sized to meet the heating and cooling needs of a homes individual zones. There is a great deal of flexibility when it comes to system sizing as one indoor unit can provide between .75 and 2.5 tons of heating/cooling depending on its BTU capacity rating. Some common capacities for indoor units are 9k, 12k, 18k, 24k, and 30k BTU. Outdoor units are sized to meet the combined load of all heating/cooling zones. More than one outdoor unit may be necessary for multi-zone systems.

 

Q: What is a Master Installer?

 

A Master Installer has proven experience with ductless systems and provides thorough customer support. These installers have successfully completed Quality Assurance Inspections, a high level of technical installation training, and agreed to rigorous series of best practices. A ductless system installed by a Master Installer will include attention to equipment performance, appearance and thorough customer education.

For more information visit www.evenflowmechanical.com

DO YOU KNOW DUCTLESS?  PART I

 

OUR 'Q&A' TO EXPLAIN MORE ABOUT THIS HIGH EFFICIENCY INNOVATION

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Q: What is a ductless heating and cooling system?
Q: Do I still need my old heaters?
Q: How does a ductless system work?
Q: How is the system controlled?
Q: What are appropriate applications for a ductless system?
Q: Are ductless systems efficient?

Q: What is a ductless heating and cooling system?

      A ductless heating and cooling system is a highly efficient zonal heating and cooling system that does not require the use of air ducts. Ductless systems consist of an outdoor compressor unit and one or more indoor air-handling units, called 'heads', linked by a dedicated refrigerant line. Indoor heads are typically mounted high on a wall or ceiling covering a 3 inch hole where the refrigerant line passes through from the outside unit, which is mounted at the base of the house. Each indoor head corresponds with a heating and cooling zone that can be controlled independently.

 

Q: Do I still need my old heaters?

          While a ductless system can be used as a primary heat source, homeowners are encouraged to keep their existing electric heating units as a supplement the Ductless system in case of extreme weather conditions or in hard to reach extremities of the home.

 

Q: How does a ductless system work?

Ductless systems are reversible, 2-way heat pumps that use electricity to transfer heat between outdoor and indoor air by compressing and expanding refrigerant. Using a refrigerant vapor compression cycle, like a common household refrigerator, ductless systems collect heat from outside the house and deliver it inside on the heating cycle, and vice versa on the cooling cycle. Ductless systems use variable speed compressors with 'inverter technology' (AC to DC) in order to continuously match the heating/cooling load, avoiding the on/off cycling of conventional electric resistance and central heating systems that is commonly associated with uncomfortable temperature variations and high energy consumption.

         Ductless Systems consist of several parts:

         - An outdoor unit that contains a condensing coil, an inverter-driven variable speed compressor, an expansion valve and a fan to cool the condenser coil.

        - An indoor unit that contains an evaporator and a quiet oscillating fan to distribute air into throughout the heating zone. 

      - A refrigerant line-set that is made of insulated copper tubing and is housed in a conduit alongside a power cable, and a condensation drain. 

     - A remote control that can be used to set the desired temperature and program in night-time settings.

 

Q: How is the system controlled?

          The system is controlled via remote control that changes temperature as well as mode of operation. Wall mounted controls are also available.

 

Q: What are appropriate applications for a ductless system?

          Replacing an existing zonal heating system: Ductless systems are ideal for replacing or supplementing inefficient electric baseboard, wall or ceiling units, woodstoves and other space heaters such as propane or kerosene. A cost effective electric heat conversion in a small house might consist of single system serving the main area of the house, while leaving existing electric baseboards in bedrooms and bathrooms.

          Room additions: A ductless system can also be implemented when a room is added onto a house or an attic is converted to living space. Rather than extending the homes existing ductwork or pipes, or adding electric resistance heaters, the ductless system can provide efficient heating and cooling.

New construction: New home designs can be adapted to take advantage of a ductless systems many benefits. One or more systems might be installed in various 'zones' of the house to simplify installation and minimize refrigerant line length.

 

 

Q: Are ductless systems efficient?

          Yes! Ductless systems operate using 25% to 50% less energy than electric resistance and forced air systems. Three key factors account for the high efficiency of a ductless system:

         1. Ductless systems allow the user to control each heating/cooling zone independently, eliminating the costly over-heating and cooling common to central air systems. Why pay to heat or cool rooms that are not currently occupied?

         2. While central air systems lose as much as 30% efficiency through air leaks and conduction in the ductwork, ductless systems distribute air directly to each zone, resulting in 25% greater efficiency. Ductless systems use inverter-driven, variable speed compressors that allow the system to maintain constant indoor temperatures by running continuously at higher or lower speeds. Thus, the system can ramp-up or down without great losses in operating efficiency, avoiding the energy intensive on/off cycling common in electric resistance and forced air systems.

         3. Modern ductless systems have ultra-high Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratios (SEER) between 16 and 22, and Heating Seasonal Performance Factors (HSPF) between 8.5 and 11.

 Look for Part II  - DO YOU KNOW DUCTLESS?

For more information visit www.evenflowmechanical.com

Introducing the STAR Lineup of Ductless Air-Conditioning and Heating Units

 

A breakthrough in pure comfort

 We offer more ENERGY STAR systems than ever.

 ENERGY STAR Systems incorporate eco-comfort technology, dual and triple-allergen filtration, and whisper-quiet operation.

New technology revolutionizes the heat pump.

  Space-saving design means easy and unobtrusive installation.

 

We offer more ENERGY STAR systems than ever, and we're the industry leader.

 

 

 

We have Energy Star rated systems with dramatic increases all the way up to 26 SEER. .

Our units incorporate eco-comfort technology, dual and triple-allergen filtration, and are whisper-quiet.

Eco-comfort technology makes these systems smarter in how they use energy and minimizes their impact on the environment. Plus, there are many advanced features like the i-see Sensor, that automatically detects room temperature differences and adjusts for greater comfort. Mitsubishi Electric's advanced multi-stage filtration systems dramatically reduce allergens and help eliminate odors. Our indoor units operate with sound levels starting as low as 19dB(A), quieter than a human whisper.

Mitsubishi Electric offers the most technologically advanced heat pump systems in the world.

Unlike older, inefficient heat pumps, there is no cold air delivery with Mitsubishi Electric's Cooling & Heating systems. The Hot Start^TM system doesn't activate the fan until the desired temperature is reached, so it never blows cold air. Select models use Hyper-Heating INVERTER (H2i) technology that operates effectively down to -13 degrees F. These models give true year-round comfort from a single system.

These units provide easy installation, simple service and longer warranties.
Although, with our industry-leading reliability record, you won't have to worry much about that. Better yet, we've extended our warranties to seven years on compressors and five years on parts.

http://www.mitsubishicomfort.com/en/consumer/product-solutions/product-showcase

 

Why Ductless?

Benefits

   Energy-Efficient Technology

  Quiet Operation

  Allergen Filtration

  Precise Comfort Control

  Environmentally Friendly

  Flexible Indoor Unit Styles

  Wireless Remote Control

 

 

 

 

Which Heating System is Right for Your Home?

You now know the two most common ways to add centralized heat to your home, but which one is right for your home? The answer may depend upon where you live.

Although both heating systems can be used across the country, those in colder climates may want to consider a furnace or a geothermal heat pump. Both work well in sub-freezing temperatures because they draw heat from the relatively constant temperatures in the ground. Geothermal heat pumps are especially recommended for severe cold climates.

In Addition: Tankless water heaters heat water directly without the use of a storage tank. When a hot water tap is turned on, cold water travels through a pipe into the unit. Either a gas burner or an electric element heats the water. As a result, tankless water heaters deliver a constant supply of hot water. You don't need to wait for a storage tank to fill up with enough hot water. However, a tankless water heater's output limits the flow rate.

Typically, tankless water heaters provide hot water at a rate of 2--5 gallons (7.6--15.2 liters) per minute. Gas-fired tankless water heaters produce higher flow rates than electric ones. Sometimes, however, even the largest, gas-fired model cannot supply enough hot water for simultaneous, multiple uses in large households. For example, taking a shower and running the dishwasher at the same time can stretch a tankless water heater to its limit. To overcome this problem, you can install two or more tankless water heaters, connected in parallel for simultaneous demands of hot water. You can also install separate tankless water heaters for appliances -- such as a clothes washer or dishwater -- that use a lot of hot water in your home.

For more information visit www.evenflowmechanical.com

Heating Your Home: The Basics Part II

Advantages for Both Heating Systems

Whether you choose a furnace or a heat pump for your heating system is up to you and your builder,  but both have advantages.

• Gas Furnaces are extremely durable in all types of climate, and with an average lifespan of 20 years, they're a reliable option when it comes to warming your home.

A common problem to look out for with furnace heating, however, is air leakage. Often aging air ducts will begin to leak, allowing substantial heat loss. Proper sizing, tight installation and equal distribution are vital to the efficiency of how duct work is designed to perform. The need to "maintain" heating ducts is something to keep in mind should you choose to purchase a forced air furnace.

Note: A forced-air furnace is one that provides the heating in your house by blowing the air through the duct system. A furnace can be gas fired, electric fired or any other heat generating source.

• Heat Pumps are another common way to heat your home. A heat pump is basically an air conditioner that works in reverse, which means instead of blowing cold air inside and warm air outside, it blows cold air outside and warm air inside.

There are two common varieties of heat pump you can purchase:

Air-Source Heat Pump :  Warms your home by moving air from one place to another.

Ground Source (Geothermal) Heat Pump: Draws warmth from a different source, the ground. Piping loops in the ground draw latent heat to the house in winter. A geothermal heat pump has a higher efficiency rating than most furnaces or air-source heat pumps, but it will cost a bit more to install because of the need to bore into the ground.

For more information visit www.evenflowmechanical.com

Daylight Saving Time 2013: When Does It End & Why?

Here's why we get an extra hour of sleep and an earlier sunset this weekend.

With an extra hour of sleep and an earlier sunset, daylight saving time (also called daylight savings time) ends this weekend.

That means clock confusion is once again ticking away, giving rise to hotly debated questions: Why do we spring forward and fall back? Does daylight saving time (DST) really save energy? Is it bad for your health? Here are some answers from the experts.

When Will Daylight Saving Time End in 2013?

For most Americans daylight saving time will end with a "fall back" to standard time on Sunday, November 3, at 2 a.m. Most states "sprang forward" an hour to begin DST on Sunday, March 10.

But the federal government doesn't require U.S. states or territories to observe daylight saving time, which is why residents of Arizona (except for residents of the Navajo Indian Reservation), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas Islands won't need to change their clocks this weekend.

Around the world the observance of DST remains very much a mixed bag. In Russia, which abolished daylight saving time in 2011, dark mornings are so unpopular that a coalition in the nation's Duma have proposed legislation to reinstate the practice by the end of this year.

Meanwhile in Japan, which hasn't observed DST in over 60 years, some politicians suggest a return could help ease the nation's post-Fukushima energy crunch.

Brazil seems to split the difference. While only parts of the sprawling nation observe daylight saving time, those regions include major cities like Brasilia, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. Brazil's electric utility estimates that DST saves some U.S. $200 million a year, largely by easing urban power demand on hot summer days.

Where it is observed, DST has been known to cause problems.

National surveys by Rasmussen Reports, for example, show that 83 percent of respondents knew when to move their clocks ahead in spring 2010. Twenty-seven percent, though, admitted they'd been an hour early or late at least once in their lives because they hadn't changed their clocks correctly.

So why do we use daylight saving time in the first place?

How and When Did Daylight Saving Time Start?

Ben Franklin, of "early to bed and early to rise" fame was apparently the first person to suggest the concept of daylight saving time, according to computer scientist David Prerau, author of the book Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time.

While serving as U.S. ambassador to France in Paris, Franklin wrote of being awakened at 6 a.m. and realizing, to his surprise, that the sun rose far earlier than he usually did. Imagine the resources that might be saved if he and others rose before noon and burned less midnight oil, Franklin, tongue half in cheek, wrote to a newspaper.

"Franklin seriously realized it would be beneficial to make better use of daylight, but he didn't really know how to implement it," Prerau said.

It wasn't until World War I that daylight savings were realized on a grand scale. Germany was the first state to adopt the time changes, to reduce artificial lighting and thereby save coal for the war effort. Friends and foes soon followed suit.

In the U.S. a federal law standardized the yearly start and end of daylight saving time in 1918 for the states that chose to observe it.

During World War II the U.S. made daylight saving time mandatory for the whole country, as a way to save wartime resources. Between February 9, 1942, and September 30, 1945, the government took it a step further. During this period DST was observed year-round, essentially making it the new standard time, if only for a few years.

Since the end of World War II, though, daylight saving time has always been optional for U.S. states. But its beginning and end have shifted and occasionally disappeared.

During the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, the U.S. once again extended daylight saving time through the winter, resulting in a one percent decrease in the country's electrical load, according to federal studies cited by Prerau.

Thirty years later the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was enacted, mandating a controversial month-long extension of daylight saving time, starting in 2007.

But does daylight saving time really save any energy?

Daylight Saving Time: Energy Saver or Just Time Sink?

In recent years several studies have suggested that daylight saving time doesn't actually save energy and might even result in a net loss.

Environmental economist Hendrik Wolff, of the University of Washington, co-authored a paper that studied Australian power-use data when parts of the country extended daylight saving time for the 2000 Sydney Olympics and other parts did not. The researchers found that the practice reduced lighting and electricity consumption in the evening but increased energy use in the now-dark mornings, wiping out the evening gains.

Likewise, Matthew Kotchen, an environmental economist at Yale, saw in Indiana a situation ripe for study.

Prior to 2006 only 15 of the state's 92 counties observed daylight saving time. So when the whole state adopted DST, it became possible to compare before-and-after energy use. While use of artificial lights dropped, increased air-conditioning use more than offset any energy gains, according to the daylight saving time research Kotchen led for the National Bureau of Economic Research in 2008.

That's because the extra hour that daylight saving time adds in the evening is a hotter hour. "So if people get home an hour earlier in a warmer house, they turn on their air conditioning," the University of Washington's Wolff said in 2011.

In fact, Hoosier consumers paid more on their electric bills than before they made the annual switch to daylight saving time, the study found. (Related: "Extended Daylight Saving Time Not an Energy Saver?")

But other studies do show energy gains.

In an October 2008 report to Congress, mandated by the same 2005 energy act that extended daylight saving time, the U.S. Department of Energy asserted that springing forward does save energy.

Extended daylight saving time saved 1.3 terawatt hours of electricity. That figure suggests that the practice reduces annual U.S. electricity consumption by 0.03 percent and overall energy consumption by 0.02 percent.

While those percentages seem small, they could represent significant savings because of the nation's enormous total energy use.

What's more, savings in some regions are apparently greater than in others.

California, for instance, appears to benefit most from daylight saving time, perhaps because its relatively mild weather encourages people to stay outdoors later. The Energy Department report found that DST resulted in an energy savings of one percent daily in the state.

But Wolff, one of many scholars who contributed to the federal report, suggested that the numbers were subject to statistical variability and shouldn't be taken as hard facts.

And DST's energy gains in the U.S. largely depend on your location in relation to the Mason-Dixon Line, Wolff said.

"The North might be a slight winner because the North doesn't have as much air conditioning," he said. "But the South is a definite loser in terms of energy consumption. The South has more energy consumption under daylight saving."

(See in-depth energy coverage from National Geographic News.)

Daylight Saving Time: Healthy or Harmful?

For decades advocates of daylight saving time have argued that, energy savings or no, the practice boosts health by encouraging active lifestyles—a claim Wolff and colleagues have put to the test.

"In a nationwide American time-use study, we're clearly seeing that, at the time of daylight saving time extension in the spring, television watching is substantially reduced and outdoor behaviors like jogging, walking, or going to the park are substantially increased," Wolff said. "That's remarkable, because of course the total amount of daylight in a given day is the same."

But others warn of ill effects.

Till Roenneberg, a chronobiologist at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, said in 2010 his studies show that our circadian body clocks set by light and darkness, never adjust to gaining an "extra" hour of sunlight at the end of the day during daylight saving time.

"The consequence of that is that the majority of the population has drastically decreased productivity, decreased quality of life, increasing susceptibility to illness, and is just plain tired," Roenneberg said.

One reason so many people in the developed world are chronically overtired, he said, is that they suffer from "social jet lag." In other words, their optimal circadian sleep periods are out of whack with their actual sleep schedules.

Shifting daylight from morning to evening only increases this lag, he said.

"Light doesn't do the same things to the body in the morning and the evening. More light in the morning would advance the body clock, and that would be good. But more light in the evening would even further delay the body clock."

Other research hints at even more serious health risks.

A 2008 study in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that, at least in Sweden, the risk of having heart attack goes up in the days just after the spring time change. "The most likely explanation to our findings are disturbed sleep and disruption of biological rhythms," lead author Imre Janszky, of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said in 2010. (Related: "Leap Year: How the World Makes Up for Lost Time.")

Daylight Savings Lovers, Haters

With verdicts on the benefits and costs of daylight saving time so split, it may be no surprise that the yearly time changes inspire polarized reactions.

In the U.K., for instance, the Lighter Later movement part of 10:10, a group that advocates cutting carbon emissions argues for a sort of extreme daylight saving time. First, they say, move standard time forward an hour; then keep observing DST as usual, adding two hours of evening daylight to what we currently consider standard time.

The folks behind StandardTime.com, on the other hand, want to abolish daylight saving time altogether. Calling energy-efficiency claims "unproven," they write: "If we are saving energy let's go year round with Daylight Saving Time. If we are not saving energy let's drop Daylight Saving Time!"

But don't most people enjoy that extra evening sun every summer? Even that remains in doubt.

National telephone surveys by Rasmussen Reports from spring 2010 and fall 2009 deliver the same answer. Most people just "don't think the time change is worth the hassle." Forty-seven percent agreed with that statement, while only 40 percent disagreed.

Seize the Daylight author Prerau said his own research on daylight saving time suggests most people are fond of it.

"I think the first day of daylight saving time is really like the first day of spring for a lot of people," Prerau said. "It's the first time that they have some time after work to make use of the springtime weather.

"I think if you ask most people if they enjoy having an extra hour of daylight in the evening eight months a year, the response would be pretty positive."

Source:

Brian Handwerk

National Geographic

Published October 28, 2013

For more information visit www.evenflowmechanical.com