Ductless Heating and Cooling System (furnace, air conditioning, install, natural gas)

[MomOfToo]

Hi everyone! I am not sure if this is where I should be posting this but we are having an issue with our furnace. It isn't that old but it has a leak and will have to be replaced soon. We were thinking of going ductless so this way we can use it for heat and central air. It is supposed to be energy efficient better air quality and you get a tax credit from the state. Since we do need central air we are thinking this might be the cheapest way to go than having a new furnace that we use oil for or going propane. SO my question is if anyone has this or knows about it if you can post some info or advice on going this route. We have a raised ranch so two floors. The one we were looking at is called Daiken Quaternity Single Split Systems. Thanks in advance!

[Threerun]

I have been doing a bit if research on the ductless systems, especially in cold climates, but as of yet I'm not convinced that their heating capability is quite what they are touted to be. Mitsubishi Mr. Slim ductless with the hyper heating capacity touts being capable of providing usable heat (70% some efficiency) at 10deg or lower, however I just haven't seen any real, credible in the field evidence supporting this claim.

I would install mini-split ductless in my current home in a heartbeat if there was substantial evidence supporting this- my house in Montana is EBB and propane stand-alone as a back-up heat = EXPENSIVE.

I'm curious too if any others have some real world performance data..

[MomOfToo]

The one we are looking into works for -4 below temps it says...we are in CT so not sure if we will ever see that temperature here. Hopefully we can get someone to post their experience soon. Our furnace is leaking water.....not a lot but the oil company says it can't be fixed. Not sure how true that is or how long our current furnace can last.

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by MomOfToo

Our furnace is leaking water.....not a lot but the oil company says it can't be fixed. Not sure how true that is or how long our current furnace can last.

Get another opinion on the current furnace first.


Since it's leaking water I'm assuming it's a boiler and hydronic baseboard system? Most people want hydronic baseboard because it provides a much more even and comfortable heat, they opt for duct systems because they are cheaper to install. If you have it now I'd stick with it. Look into a natural gas boiler if you have lines from the street, natural gas for most people is very cheap now and for the most part has always been much cheaper than oil.

Since you're in Connecticut an anthracite coal boiler is also a possibility if you don't mind the trade off for huge savings for a little work.

More here on the coal: https://www.city-data.com/forum/house...ers-guide.html

[MomOfToo]

Thank you coal man! Someone from the ductless company mentioned the coal system but we want something that can provide heat and air conditioning. We had electric in our condo and we were happy With it but I am not liking the oil furnace too much. We suffer from allergy and sinus issues and it dries us out! The ductless is supposed to be better as far as that goes. We are having our company that we use to service our furnace come in to give us a quote and someone from the ductless heat and cooling company. Just wanted more feedback on how happy people with ductless are with it. My husband wants to look into geothermal as well. We Need central air too so we are trying to come up with a solution that will take care of both. Thank you for the info on coal!

[MomOfToo]

Oh and yes we have a guy coming out to look at our current furnace too to see how true it is if it needs to be changed....because believe me if we can save it for now I will. It's 12 years old so we were n ot expecting this at all!