Do Mini Splits Use Gas?
If you have a furnace installed in the basement of your home, it uses one of three power sources: electricity, gas, or induction, which is an electricity-based source of heating that also involves metal. Older furnaces will run on gas, which is disadvantageous for several reasons.
For one, gas heating is no longer the most efficient means of heating and hasn’t been for a while. Second, a gas furnace increases your risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, which can be deadly. Unless you have a carbon monoxide detector in your home, you’d have no way of knowing you’re breathing in this gas since it lacks color and smell.
You’ve been wanting to get rid of your old furnace anyway for a few other reasons, mostly since it costs you so much on your monthly utility bills. You were thinking of making the move to a ductless mini split system, but you’re concerned these units use gas as well. Is that the case?
No, it isn’t. Instead of relying on the old standby that is gas, ductless mini split systems use electricity instead. This is a lot safer for yourself and other members of your household, as electricity cannot cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
You’ll also like the energy efficiency of a ductless mini split. The outdoor compressor unit takes refrigerant, sends it through pipes connecting it to the indoor air-handling unit, and the air changes temperature midway through. If the air being pulled through the condensing unit is cold, the outdoor unit will remove heat from the outside air and bring it inside through the refrigerant, so you stay toasty in the winter. In the summertime, the refrigerant the heat from the inside of the house and take it outside so you can stay cool.
As if that wasn’t great enough, ductless mini splits are efficient because they’re ductless by nature. Air ducts can have very small slits, leaks, and other openings that allow air to leech out. This heat loss causes you to be more reliant on the unit, driving up usage costs. You’re also straining the unit, so it may not last as long as it could otherwise.
Since ductless mini splits lack ducts, there’s no heat loss to worry about. Similarly, in the summer, your cool air will go straight to your home or commercial building.
You’ll appreciate the consistency in heating and cooling compared to an old furnace or air conditioning system. With those HVAC units, when you turn on the heater or AC, the air goes through the entire house or wherever there are return vents, right? Yet heat rises, so the upstairs rooms might be warmer than the downstairs rooms. You wouldn’t want as much heat upstairs as you do downstairs.
Ductless mini split systems are zoned. Each zone–which can be a specific room but doesn’t have to be–can be set to different temperatures. Now your upstairs rooms can get less heat than the downstairs rooms. In the summer, when you need more AC upstairs than down, you can do that as well!
If this is the year that you’re ready to say goodbye to your old gas furnace, make sure you call us at PowerSave AC today!
Sources:
https://ecoperformancebuilders.com/mini-split-systems-better-choice/
