Now for the mini splits!

We have been using the fireplace almost exclusively for our heat, and now we want to experiment with the mini splits and see how they work to heat our home.  We have been working with them the past couple of days - as it's been about 4 days since we had a fire in the fireplace.  We finally got out the manual we got with them to look it over real good for the heat mode.  One thing we were reminded of was that there are filters in them that are supposed to be cleaned every two weeks, and another filter that should be cleaned once every 3 months.  I had forgotten all about those!  I don't remember when I found out about them - I'm thinking Troy had to tell me about them, but I had completely forgotten.  You know what that means - those filters were filthy!  YUCK!  Well, they are clean now.  

We have been really spoiled by the fireplace heat - as it gets VERY warm, especially on the main level - and, of course, we aren't going to set our mini splits at 75 degrees!  So, we have them set at 70 degrees.  We are told to set them at one temperature and leave them there.  They will supposedly not use so much power that way.  When we had a furnace, we would vary the temperature according the activity level in the house.  When we were sleeping, we would turn it down to 66.  During the day, we would turn it up to 72, and we still had cool spots in the house.  

The mini splits are set in a central location on each of the two upper levels in the house.  So far, they seem to be holding a constant temperature.  Earlier in the fall, I had set the main level one at 69, but for some reason it kept heating until it was at 73!  I turned it off then.  I don't know what I did to make it keep heating, but that hasn't been a problem this week.  They are heating to the set temperature, and no hotter.  

The other thing that is affecting the temperature in the house is the new puppy.  How, you may ask?!  Well, puppies go outside a LOT to go potty and such!  This means that the front door gets opened up frequently, and it is bitter cold this week - ranging from negative digits to about 14 degrees!  The frequent opening of the door allows that bitter cold air into the house.  Upstairs the temperature is staying more constant, as it isn't as affected by the frequent opening of the front door.  

Another thing that affects the temperature inside is whether or not the sun is out.  We are experiencing the cloudy days of winter right now, and most of the days in the last month have been cloudy for at least a good portion of the day.  And, the sunny part of the day is soooooooo short!  I'm very grateful to be on the other side of the winter solstice!  When the sun IS out, it really helps to warm up the house.  It doesn't raise the air temperature by 10 degrees, but it does offer some warmth right in the sunlight, and it just LOOKS warmer in here!  It's so much easier to get moving when the sun is shining, don't you agree?!

Our electric usage while using the mini splits exclusively has ranged from 164 to 212 KWH per day.  This is about 4-5 times the KWH we used per day in the summer.  Back then I thought a day of 60 KWH was so high!  This power bill is going to be painful.  Even with the fireplace going, we have not used less than 90 KWH in a long time.  Our power bills in the summer were a bit lower than we had experienced in our previous home, but this winter, they have been quite a bit higher.  This home is over twice as big as the other home, and so there is a lot more space to heat and cool (can't hardly think about COOL right now!).  

We will keep experimenting with the systems in the house, and report our results to you!  Meanwhile - stay warm and enjoy this season of the year - these cold months make spring that much better!

Comments

[Jason Hark]

Sue,
I might recommend letting the puppy out through the Garage door (Side door), this will create an air lock of sorts, the Garage is probably a good 20-40 degrees warmer than the out side air. by doing this you are significantly modifying the air the house has to reheat. It also removes that cold blast you get when you open the front door and helps maintain the envelope.

Jason Hark

[Sue Pruett]

Jason,

We had considered that option. The difficulty comes in navigating two doors with a wiggly puppy in your hands, especially for the children! Also, the garage is actually only a few degrees warmer than outside - I accidentally froze a 2 liter of soda in the garage, when it went down to about 20 degrees outside. I also thought that since the front door is closer to the heater (mini split), it would recover quicker. What do you think?

She's only in the house for a few more weeks, but it's good to flesh out what is best, for the benefit of our readers!

[Jason Hark]

Sue,
The garage unless the outside door is open could be considered a dead air space. Otherwise no cold air forcing its way into the home. Give it a shot. Open the front door, then try the Garage door, see how the room recovers.

Jason

[Sue]

Jason,

We have been trying it the last day and a half, and it does make a difference in the living room. The cold blast doesn't come in the front door. The wind is also coming from the north, and our door faces south, so that helps! The air doesn't force itself in so much into the dining room, but it doesn't recover very quick, as the heat is in the living room. We have also started using the fireplace again. It was just too cold, and we couldn't run the mini splits any warmer - our KWH usage went above 200 for the day. YIKES! We are just using them as back up, now. They haven't kicked on since starting the fireplace up yesterday.

Thanks for your interest, and helpful words!