Understanding Ductless Multi-Split Heat Pumps
Watch builder Ian Schwandt and Mitsubishi Electric senior manager Mike Schaefer discuss how a ductless multi-split system was the right fit for FHB House Wisconsin.
Builder and homeowner Ian Schwandt designed FHB House Wisconsin to meet Passive House levels of performance. That goal starts with the building envelope, but after air-sealing and insulation, efficiency, comfort, and healthy indoor-air quality rely on the mechanicals. Installed by local experts from The Theilmann Group, the heart of the home’s heating and cooling system is a Mitsubishi Electric multi-split heat pump.
Senior Manager of Performance Construction at Mitsubishi Electric, Mike Schaefer, joins Ian at his finished home to talk about how multi-splits work and how the team at Mitsubishi Electric has optimized systems to perform and improve IAQ in any home. Together, the building’s tight envelop and a high-performance mechanical system will help produce lower utility costs and improved comfort year-round.
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The one thing never discussed about minisplits is the maintenance! The units must be disassembled annually to be thoroughly cleaned or they can become mold and mildew machines.
This is a question for Ian. In this video you called your radiant heat a backup, but on a recent podcast it sounded like it was your main heat source. Do I have that right? Is radiant your primary? And if so, why the change?
(The reason I ask is that I want to use radiant as the primary heat source, and we're also in climate zone 6.)
Dack,
Thanks for the push for clarification. Radiant in floor heat is the primary/only source of heat for my garage and is ran off the same boiler system as the house. Regarding the house specifically, the Mitsubishi Multi Split System is the main source of heat with the radiant in floor heat boiler system being the back up. We placed the Mitsubishi outdoor unit on the southwest elevation of the house to maximize the sun it gets during the day. This has helped the Mitsubishi Multi Split System keep up on the recent below zero days that we have had here in WI. We have the the thermostat of our boiler set to run the in floor heat twice a day for 2 hours, 4-6am & 4-6pm, to warm up the floor before we get up in the morning and before we get home at night. Happy to give you some more background on the radiant system if it is of specific interest.
Thanks
Ian