How To Save Energy When You Zone Your Heating: South Jersey
If you’ve ever felt like you have to choose between being comfortable in your house or conserving energy (and not overpaying on your utility bills), then you’re in the right place! This article is all about how “zoning” your heating system can help you use much less natural gas, propane, or electricity in your South Jersey home.
There’s no big secret or magic formula here. In fact, you may already have this setup. You just never knew there was a name for it.
Or that there might be a better way to do it.
So, we’re going through the basic definition in this article. Then, we’ll compare it to other heating strategies. Finally, we’ll talk about how you can set it up in your home — and what we think is the best way to do it.
Ductless Fixes The Comfort Issues In This Ocean City Duplex
- Zoned Heating: What Does That Mean, Anyway?
- Benefits Of Zoned Heating
- Three Ways To Zone Your Heat
- More Mini Split Benefits
- Ductless Mini Split Installation In South Jersey
We’ll also address some of the specific concerns we see in South Jersey, particularly in Cape May and Atlantic counties. Homes near the shore have crawl spaces and no basements. That makes heating a little different — and storing your HVAC equipment trickier — than inland homes.
With that in mind, we’re also here to answer any questions you have after reading this. Or, if you’re interested in improving your South Jersey home’s heating system, click below or call Broadley’s for a free consultation.
Zoned Heating: What Does That Mean, Anyway?
Simply put, zoned heating is when you warm each part of your home with a different thermostat and device. It’s the opposite of central heating. That’s when you get one thermostat in the house and ductwork reaching every room and heating them all at the same time, the same way.
Benefits Of Zoned Heating
Zoned heating gives you much more customization and flexibility than centralized systems. Sometimes, there’s just that one room that’s always too cold. You can give it a little more attention.
Or, you can set each thermostat differently based on when you use various rooms during the day. For instance, let the bedrooms get a little cooler during the day if you’re downstairs most of the time. Then, warm them up near bedtime.
And, the result is about much more than comfort.
This is an excellent opportunity to reduce your energy use. You don’t need to keep your entire house warm all the time! Instead, you can pick and choose where and when you turn up the temperature.
You also avoid overcompensating. You know, like making the downstairs way too hot just to finally warm up the bedrooms on the second or third floors. Instead, you can reduce your energy usage without sacrificing comfort.
Three Ways To Zone Your Heat
The best way to save energy with zoned heating is with a ductless mini split. You can reduce your energy usage by customizing each part of the house. On top of that, the mini splits use less electricity overall than any other option.
But to put that in perspective, let’s look at three ways to do it:
- Baseboard Heating
- Dual Furnaces
- Ductless Heating And Cooling
Baseboard Heating
Baseboard heating used to be one of the best and easiest ways to zone your heating. With a different unit in each room, you have total control of the temperature in each part of the house. They’re easy to install, they work pretty well, and they’re silent.
However, mini splits do all that and more. You get more customization, better comfort, and ductless systems use way less electricity.
Dual Furnaces
For bigger homes, dual furnaces are a popular option. You get two zones this way: Two heaters and two thermostats. The most common setup is the extra heater for the second floor.
This setup straddles the line between a simple design and full-on flexibility. You don’t get as many options, but you’re not spending as much time tweaking the settings for every room.
However, you’ll use a whole lot of energy with two furnaces going at the same time. And, you don’t get the same customization opportunities as ductless or baseboards.
Ductless Heating And Cooling
With an air handler in every room you want to treat, you get a digital thermostat that you can program any way you want. And, these systems, by design, use a fraction of the energy that a gas furnace or electric baseboard heaters require.
You can read more about their energy efficiency in this article. And, here are some more reasons why mini splits are a great choice today:
Three More Mini Split Benefits
A mini split does much more than offer zoned heating. Three more benefits are:
- Whisper Quiet
- Easy Installation
- Heating And Cooling
Whisper Quiet
Like baseboard heaters — and unlike furnaces — you’ll barely hear a sound from a mini split! With no forced air rushing through the house, the air handlers are barely as loud as leaves rustling in the fall.
Easy Installation
We can install a single-zone mini split (that’s one air handler for a single room) in one day. Even the most extensive multi-zone systems to treat an entire house take about one workweek.
And the installation is easy and non-invasive. There’s no knocking down walls. Or building out big enclosures for ductwork that make the rooms feel smaller.
Read More: How Big Is A Ductless Mini Split?
Instead, we can connect the indoor and outdoor units by running lines through the walls, just like your plumbing and electricity.
Read More: How Much Does A Ductless Mini Split Cost?
Heating And Cooling
With ductless, one system does it all! The heat pump outside acts as an air conditioner in the summer and a heater in the winter. So, one investment gets you year-round comfort while reducing your energy bill no matter how hot or cold it is outside.
Read More: Ductless Cooling Solves AC Problem In Ocean City, NJ Duplex
Ductless Mini Split Installation In South Jersey
So, what makes the ductless mini split the best bet? Two huge factors: Customization and energy efficiency.
With an air handler in every room you want to treat, you get a digital thermostat that you can program any way you want. And, these systems, by design, use a fraction of the energy that a gas furnace or electric baseboard heaters require.
You can read more about their energy efficiency in this article. And, here are some more reasons why mini splits are a great choice today:
Three More Mini Split Benefits
A mini split does much more than offer zoned heating. Three more benefits are:
- Whisper Quiet
- Easy Installation
- Heating And Cooling
Whisper Quiet
Like baseboard heaters — and unlike furnaces — you’ll barely hear a sound from a mini split! With no forced air rushing through the house, the air handlers are barely as loud as leaves rustling in the fall.
Easy Installation
We can install a single-zone mini split (that’s one air handler for a single room) in one day. Even the most extensive multi-zone systems to treat an entire house take about one workweek.
And the installation is easy and non-invasive. There’s no knocking down walls. Or building out big enclosures for ductwork that make the rooms feel smaller.
Read More: How Big Is A Ductless Mini Split?
Instead, we can connect the indoor and outdoor units by running lines through the walls, just like your plumbing and electricity.
Read More: How Much Does A Ductless Mini Split Cost?
Heating And Cooling
With ductless, one system does it all! The heat pump outside acts as an air conditioner in the summer and a heater in the winter. So, one investment gets you year-round comfort while reducing your energy bill no matter how hot or cold it is outside.
Read More: Ductless Cooling Solves AC Problem In Ocean City, NJ Duplex
Ductless Mini Split Installation In South Jersey
Broadley’s Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning has served homes and businesses in Cape May and Atlantic counties for more than a century. Over that time, we’ve stayed on top of the latest and best innovations in the HVAC industry. If you’d like to learn more about a ductless mini split installation for your South Jersey home, click below or call us at (609) 390-3907 for a free installation.