My husband and I recently remodeled an enclosed porch, turning it into a guest bedroom. We removed all of the screens, closed in the walls and installed windows. We extended the electrical wires of the home to provide outlets and an overhead light fixture. We added insulation in the walls to prevent energy waste and enhance comfort, and planned to put down carpet. Our biggest challenge was figuring out how to heat and cool the space. The room would only be used when we had company, typically over the holidays. We certainly didn’t want to invest a fortune into heating and cooling. We looked into extending the existing duct system to include the new guest bedroom, but this simply wasn’t feasible. Adding on to the ductwork was far too expensive and required too much space in an already small bedroom. Plus, we doubted our current furnace and air conditioner could handle the larger demand. After consulting with a local HVAC contractor, we decided on a ductless mini split. The ductless system is permanently installed and combines both heating and cooling capacity. There is a small outdoor compressor which is linked to slim and lightweight indoor air handler. The connecting conduit required only a three-inch hole in an exterior wall. The indoor air handler mounted up high on the wall, where it is never in the way of furniture. The ductless unit features inverter technology, allowing it to adapt speed to current demand. Because of this, the ductless unit is wonderfully quiet and energy efficient. It is powerful enough to quickly heat up or cool down the space, and maintains a very even temperature.
The different types of thermostats