Several years ago, Goodco Mechanical became a Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating Diamond Contractor. Over those past 3-4 years, our sales of the ductless heat pumps have increased dramatically year to year and we are now one of the largest Mitsubishi installers in the Northeast. Quite honestly, I love this product and will be installing several systems in a new home my wife and I are building next year.
However, I am aware there are still a lot of folks who are either unfamiliar with the product or have preconceived notions that require some education. Over the next few posts, I will be addressing several of the myths about this product and how it can be used. Once you get a better understanding, you’ll see how versatile the Mitsubishi units can be.
Myth #1 – I don’t have any space on a wall so I can’t use them.
Answer – There are several different types of inside units or “heads” as they are often referred. In addition to the wall mounted unit, there are floor mounted, ceiling recessed and above-ceiling ducted units. Below are pictures of each.
Each of these units has specific uses and can they can be mixed and matched in a home. The ducted unit is usually placed in an accessible attic and is ducted into several rooms utizing insulated flex duct and a ceiling diffuser in each ceiling. The limitations are that the unit may not be individually zoned for each room it services. This works well in an upstairs area with several bedroom that are not used regularly. Each head can be controlled independently for maximum comfort and efficiency.
Myth #2 – I already have electric ceiling cable or baseboard heat. It’s not compatable with these.
Answer – In actualilty, homes with electric heat are an excellent fit for the Mitsubishi Electric ductless heat pumps. Electric cable and baseboard tend to consume a lot of electricity and the heat generated from the ductless heatpump is much less costly and more comfortable. The new “Hyper heat” units with inverter-technology can provide nearly full heating capacity down to 5 degrees outside air temperature. This practically eliminates the need for the supplemental electric resistance heat. The one limitation with the electric ceiling cable heat is that you cannot penetrate the ceiling to install the heat pumps to avoid damaging the cable. This eliminates the recessed ceiling and ducted units as choices and also requires that outside walls be utilized for the condensate drains. Other than that, no issues. In fact, we find that some of our happiest customers are those that have replaced or supplemented their electric systems with the Mitsubishi Electric ductless heat pumps. Oh yeah, and it air conditions too. Try doing that with electric baseboard.
Next time…More myth busting.