The homeowners of this multi-family home in Somerville, MA had a big problem. The home was built in the 1920's and, unlike many homes this age, they had a gas forced hot air and central air conditioning system. The system was outdated needed to be replaced.

The homeowners contacted NETR to explore options that would allow them to create separate zones of heating and cooling throughout the home, while still providing the same comfort they got from a traditional heating and air conditioning system.

Problem: The lovely multi-family home in Somerville needed a more efficient heating and cooling system. The existing forced hot air heating and central air needed to be replaced and the owners wanted an option that would help them save money on utility bills but still provide year-round comfort.

Solution: We installed a five-zone Mitsubishi ductless Hyper-Heating system that will provide the heating and cooling they expect, with increased efficiency, lowering energy bills.

When we saw the home, we knew that a ductless HVAC system would work well to create the zones of comfort the homeowners were looking for. Mitsubishi's Hyper-Heating ductless system relies on an outdoor heat pump, which can be connected to up to eight indoor units, providing the heating and cooling you want, right where you need it most.

Forced hot air is a common way to heat a home, but it does have its downsides. Primarily, the heat run through ductwork is a very dry heat and the lack of humidity in the air dries out nasal passages, skin, and even furniture. This dry air can make people more susceptible to catching colds and even aggravate breathing issues. Furniture and floorboards can dry out and crack, and wallpaper can shrink from the lack of humidity. While you can try to combat this by adding a humidifier, you then must balance it carefully or it can lead to mold if the levels get too high when the weather changes.

In contrast, Mitsubishi ductless units can act as both heaters and air conditioners in a room. They monitor the temperature and humidity and adjust it so that you get the perfect comfort you want. These ductless units are highly efficient at distributing the hot or cool air throughout a room, eliminating the hot and cold spots you can easily get with other forms of HVAC.

For this home, and like many homes of this age, the rooms on the top floor are often the hardest to heat and cool. The master bedroom was located on the third floorand we installed a wall unit there that will be able to provide just the amount of heat or cooling the owners need. Each of the indoor units can be controlled independently, so they will also be able to turn the unit off when the room isn't in use, which can save substantially on energy bills.  Best of all, Mitsubishi ductless units operate at only 22db- whisper-quiet! This means that the homeowners will be able to get a great night's sleep, every day of the year.

We installed ductless wall ACs in the study, living room, dining room, and kitchen. The wall units are hung up, out of the way, and with the even distribution of hot or cool air as needed, each room will be perfectly comfortable throughout the year. Just like the master bedroom, the units can be adjusted independently with a remote control, or even turned off. So, if Dad is working in the study and wants to be toasty warm, but Mom is starting dinner and needs the kitchen cool, each person can adjust the temperature to suit their needs.

Best of all, Mitsubishi ductless units are incredibly efficient in delivering the comfort you want while using very little energy. The units employ inverter technology, which constantly monitors the temperature and makes small adjustments as needed to use the minimum amount of energy to deliver the comfort you want and maintain that comfort level consistently.

Ductless Savings

In fact, this technology is so efficient, Mitsubishi ductless units qualify for rebates for energy efficiency under two programs- Mass Save and Mass CEC. Our homeowners in Somerville qualified for a $500 rebate from the Mass Save program and $2,500 under Mass CEC, giving them $3,000 in rebates, and helping make this upgrade in comfort and efficiency to their home even more affordable.

We were happy to make our Somerville homeowners more comfortable throughout their home while adding efficiency that will drop their energy bills. If you are looking to lower your monthly energy bills while significantly upgrading your year-round comfort, give us a call at NETR and we can show you how Mitsubishi ductless can work for your home, wherever its located throughout the area! 

In the video above, Mike from N.E.T.R., Inc. and Cindy from The First Baptist Church of Sudbury discuss why they needed to update the church's inefficient heating and cooling system and how Mitsubishi ductless will cost them less money while keeping them more comfortable year-round.

Below is their discussion:

Cindy: We had these terribly inefficient, quite dangerous heat panels in our ceiling. But, when you've got heat coming from the ceiling and you're trying to keep your pipes from freezing in the winter you have to run the heat really, really high, so we have this inefficient expensive heat.

Mike: You had electric bills of five thousand dollars.

Cindy: Yeah, last January.

So, we started investigating what would be appropriate and one of the challenges of this building is - we have no basement we have no attics. So, we can't run ducts, we can't run piping; so, it looked like mini-splits would be the technology.

I just started looking for mini splits appropriate for cold weather and other things, and I came across N.E.T.R.’s website, where it did talk about the fact that there are units that can handle lower temperatures. So, I just did the, you know, please contact me and then Mike contacted me and, then he came out and he just has been really easy to work with. 

When I contacted you, you were like, “Look, you need architectural drawings and we need a heating engineer."

Mike: To go to Mass CEC to do what we needed to do to get their $19,500 in rebates we needed to take out the existing electric heat, but to do that we needed to create a set of detailed engineering and electrical drawings.

Cindy: As a steward of other people's money, I wouldn't be comfortable spending the amount of money she would be spending on this project without a plan, kind of hoping she was doing the right thing.

The church and its facilities do not operate quite like a traditional office building. They don't have people coming in and out all day. They either have a lot of people or nobody and that's what they needed to heat and cool for and, really felt like a problem that we need to work together as a team to fix.

The amount of money we were spending on heat and cooling, it was stupid.

Now with our new ductless mini-split HVAC system, we can actually keep our building warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer and spend less money

If you have a complicated commercial situation like this and you’d like to know if ductless minis-splits from Mitsubishi Electric might be a good solution for your needs, please give us a call at 781-933-6387 or, visit us on the web at netrinc.com.

This beautifully converted barn in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA is a unique addition that perfectly fits into this picturesque tiny little town on the north shore of Massachusetts Bay. The only problem is one that can't be seen but can be felt: Climate control.

Sometime in the 1960s, the original homeowner converted this barn into a three-bedroom house. Residents and visitors suffered through cold winters and hot summers due to the extremely outdated HVAC system. The original forced hot water radiators didn’t always warm the home properly, and no air conditioning system was ever installed. Until now. With modern advances in HVAC technology, a new ductless heat and cooling system resolved the climate control issues so the owners can live comfortably within their home.

Problem: A barn converted into a living space experienced uneven heating and no air conditioning due to the outdated forced hot water radiator system.

Solution: The HVAC specialists at N.E.T.R., Inc. installed a Mitsubishi ductless heat and cooling system, which includes two outdoor condensers and five indoor units.

HVAC Challenges in a Unique Home

It's typically tricky to add a new HVAC system to an old house. Often, the home has outdated systems and a lack of space, which requires significant changes when adding something new. With this Manchester-by-the-Sea home, the big problem is that it wasn’t designed for climate control.

For starters, check out these really high, steeped ceilings. The design is amazing and makes the house feel more spacious. However, these high ceilings make the house too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

Hot air is less dense than cold air, so it rises. This means that in the winter, all of the home's warmth is rising to the ceiling, leaving the residents chilly as they occupy the space toward the floor.

Of course, feeling comfortable in the home is not as big of an issue in the summer when the hot air collects overhead. But, the hot air is still there, and the air conditioning system is forced to work harder to get rid of it.

The next issue with climate control in this home is the expanse of living spaces. Not only are there a lot of room, but many of them are oddly shaped toward the ceiling, decreasing the opportunity for natural airflow. This is what is known as uneven heating.

Even with the radiators on, the temperature isn't the same in every room. While this problem is typical with radiators because they slowly treat a room and cold spots can occur, it was an even bigger issue in this home.

The final challenge with this home was the owner's desire for central air. However, the house was built before air conditioning was considered standard in home, so there is no set-up to accommodate a traditional air conditioning system. Typically, our team of experts will simply tap into the existing ductwork. Since this home was filled with radiators and pipes, we could not do that.

Ductless Heating and Cooling in a Converted Barn

Adding a ductless system was the obvious choice for this converted barn. This way, we could:

• Supplement the radiator heat
• Add air conditioning to the entire home
• Create even temperatures among all of the rooms

The trick to eliminating uneven temperatures is using a zoned HVAC approach. In basic terms, this means that there is no single system controlling the entire house. Instead, each room, or zone, gets a separate system.

The new system uses units, or air handlers, to distribute the hot or cold air, a system that is similar to air vents in each room. One unit is mounted in a high, out-of-the-way location in every room, so they are barely noticed. In this house, we installed the units in areas above the windows where the ceiling narrowed. Aside from being out of the way, the HVAC units are literally whisper-quiet. At full blast, they’re only as loud as leaves rustling.

For this house, we installed five ductless wall units: one in each bedroom, one in the kitchen and another in the living room. Outside, we installed two condensers to generate the warmth and air conditioning.

Instead of ductwork, thin plastic tubing connects the outdoor units to the indoor units. The tubing is run through the walls like electrical wires, which eliminates the need to make any changes to the house.

Each unit has its own thermostat so the homeowner can set the temperature in each room, from warm heat in the winter to cold air in the summer.

This system works in conjunction with the existing radiators. In the winter, an indoor unitturns on when the radiator in that room isn’t generating enough heat to reach the desired temperature. But, another room may already be warm enough, so that room's air handler doesn’t do anything.

Meanwhile, in the summer, each air handler treats the room it is in, which eliminates the common problem of having too-warm upstairs rooms and too-cold downstairs rooms. If an upstairs room is affected by the rising heat, only those air handlers will turn on and engage extra AC if they need it.

Saving Money with Ductless Cooling and Heating

Finally, our homeowner had air conditioning! Additionally, each room was warm enough in the winter. But creating even heating with zoned HVAC is only one benefit of his new system. The other? Saving money.

For starters, the new system is so efficient that the homeowner's utility company actually paid him to install it. It is actually common practice nowadays for utility companies to offer incentives for people to replace old systems with ones that use less energy.

In the Bay State, that comes courtesy of Mass Save. It’s a group of utility companies that work together to promote energy efficiency. We made sure our homeowner applied for a rebate, which earned him $500 off the cost of installation.

What makes this system so good? Simple: It’s Energy Star-certified. That means it uses less energy to produce the same results as ones that use more power. This works thanks to inverter technology, which is like cruise control for your HVAC system. It helps the system use less energy while also avoiding wear and tear.

Older systems have two modes: On and off. So, they’re continually firing up and shutting off when the temperature changes. Our homeowner’s new system has a better way of doing it.

Most of the time, it runs on a low, power-saver mode. This keeps the temperature constant without using much energy. Then, when it needs to, it goes into a more powerful mode to course correct the climate control.

There’s also another benefit. Since it is more efficient than the radiators, it costs less to run. And, now our homeowner uses the old forced water system less, instead opting to use the units when it’s only slightly chilly outside. In the past, he fired up the radiators in the early fall. Now, he waits until the temperature really dips to do so.

As a result, the homeowner of the converted barn has lower energy bills in the fall and spring. By using the more efficient ductless HVAC system, he uses less energy for even better results.

Do you need better heating and cooling for a converted barn? Contact us, and we’ll design a system that’s perfect for your home.

The owner of a ranch home in Methuen, MA wanted to upgrade his hvac system. He had oil heat but no air conditioning. In the winter, some rooms were colder than others. In the summer, the whole place was too hot. What he needed was a Mitsubishi ductless system.

Our homeowner had heard about these and wanted to learn more. He contacted NETR after reading our excellent customer reviews. He also saw we are the number-one Elite Diamond Dealer in all of New England for Mitsubishi products.

True to our reputation, we quickly got to work on a system that would make his home feel better than ever.

Problem: An older ranch home in Methuen, MA had hot and cold spots in the winter and no air conditioning in the summer.

Solution: Installed a Mitsubishi ductless heat and cooling system. We put in an outdoor condenser unit and air handlers in the master bedroom, living room and basement.

Updating hvac in a ranch home

Ranch homes are a staple of the American suburbs. But, they were around before central air was common in homes. Because of that, it can be tough to add it later on. Our homeowners here were looking to upgrade their hvac for better warmth and finally some cooling.

Ranch homes became popular during the housing boom of the 50s and early 60s. They were affordable houses for people looking to move out of the city. Back then, however, there wasn’t any central air conditioning in homes. At most, you’d find them in large buildings.

Instead, these relied on designs that used cross-ventilation in the summer. Basically, the layout allowed breezes to flow through the house. That may have done the trick 50 years ago. But, it’s not enough today.

The median temperatures in Massachusetts have risen steadily since then. Now, summers are hotter than ever. And, people are just more used to ac everywhere they go.

Meanwhile, Methuen is close to the Merrimack River. That means more humidity which makes it feel even hotter.

At the same time, keeping a ranch warm has always been tricky. The air may flow well with the windows open. But, that’s not always the case when they’re closed.

Hot air tends to collect in weird places in a one-story home. And, that’s made trickier with the bedrooms over the garage. Since the garage isn’t treated, it’s colder than the rest of the house. That means it’s drawing warmth away from the rooms our homeowner wants to keep warm.

Creating zoned hvac with ductless cooling and heat

The solution for this house was to use Mitsubishi ductless cooling and heat to create zoned hvac. Originally, one thermostat controlled the whole house. Now, there’s one in almost every room. This allows us to:

• Create even temperatures across all the rooms in the house

• Allow our homeowner to customize his climate control

• Add air conditioning to the entire home

We’re able to do this thanks to the air handlers that circulate the air. Instead of vents or radiators, the Mitsubishi system uses units in each room to distribute warmth or cold air. Each one has a built-in thermostat.

That’s a big difference from one thermostat handling the whole house. With a central setup, the thermostat is typically in the living room. Then, you get uneven temps.

If the bedrooms are colder than other spots, they never get enough hot air. The system shuts off once the living room is warm enough.

Now, each room is treated separately. Each air handler turns on and shuts off as they’re needed. If the bedrooms need more treatment, those units stay on longer. And, the opposite happens in the summertime.

The system is really easy to install, too. In this home, we put units in the master bedroom, living room and finished basement. Then, we installed a condenser unit outside.

The units and condenser connect thanks to thin, flexible plastic tubing. The air flows through the tubes instead of ductwork. This way, we just run that through the walls without having to do any major work on the house.

Then, we mount each unit high up on the walls. This keeps them mostly out of sight. That’s true even in the living room. Even though the best spot was over the television, it follows the shape of the TV and mantle to blend in.

Our homeowner finally has ac in the summer. And, in the winter, every room is the right temperature. He leaves his old furnace on a lower overall temperature, and the new system picks up the slack and evens out each zone.

Rebates and lower bills with a Mitsubishi system

Now, our homeowner’s new Mitsubishi system does more than just provide even climate control. It also offers energy-efficient hvac. That means it uses less power than other methods. And, using less power means paying less on utility bills.

First of all, the outdoor condenser uses an exchange process. That happens instead of burning fuel for warmth or cooling the air for ac. In the summer, it extracts the warmth from the home and sends the cooled air back in.

The condenser extracts what little warmth there is outside in the winter, amplifies it, and sends it into the house. There’s a good bit of science behind how this happens. But, the long and short of it is that the pump only needs a little bit of power to get it started.

Next, the units use inverter technology to save energy. You figure old systems could only be on or off. Instead, Mitsubishi air handlers have different speeds.

Most of the time, they’re working in a low-energy power saver mode. This does just enough to maintain the temperature. If the room needs more treatment, it kicks up a notch.  

All that has another benefit: Money back. Like plenty of places now, the utility companies in Massachusetts offer rebates for people who install energy-efficient appliances. They do so through the organization Mass Save.

We made sure our homeowner applied for this. They gave him a $300 rebate. Even better was the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. They came through with an additional $2,110. That means he got almost $2,500 off the price!

That’s a huge bonus on his new investment. Now, he has better climate control than ever before. And, he’s paying less than he did with his old system.

Are you looking to improve the heat and add air conditioning to your ranch home? Contact us, and we’ll design a system that’s perfect for your home and budget.

Our homeowners in Beverly, MA love the open floor plan on the first floor of their home. The setup is often called a great room. But, what really made it great is the ductless heat and air conditioning they added to create the climate control they always wanted.

In this house, the living room, dining room and kitchen area are all in one open space. It’s a great way to keep an eye on everyone and get more sunlight. But, it can be challenging to heat and cool properly.

This home had oil-fired forced hot water heat. It circulated warmth using radiators. It did the job for the most part but left hot and cold spots on the first floor.

Meanwhile, the radiator pipes that prevented the homeowners from tapping into existing ductwork for central air. So, they made do for years without an ac.

Our homeowners called NETR after reading our many great customer reviews. And, true to our reputation, we designed a system that would finally treat their great room properly.

Problem: A colonial home in Beverly, MA had forced hot water heat and no cooling system. They wanted to supplement their heating and add air conditioning to their great room.

Solution: Installed a Mitsubishi unit in the great room and connected it to an outdoor condenser. 

Heating and cooling a great room

Great rooms became very popular in the mid-to-late 20th century. More and more homes feature one large space that served as a place to gather, eat or just relax. This open plan meant it was easier to entertain and socialize with everyone usually in eyesight and earshot. But, it presents some challenges when it comes to heating and cooling.

In particular, this home in Beverly, MA had forced hot water heat delivered through radiators. Of course, these were more modern and efficient models than old-fashioned iron ones. But, they still had some drawbacks. These include:

• Hot and cold spots

• No opportunity for central air

• A long wait for a room to heat up

In particular, it took a while for the heat to reach the entire great room. The warm air expels slowly. That results in hot and cold spots throughout the large, open area.

Next, the system doesn’t lend itself well to air conditioning. There’s no central air because there’s no ductwork for an hvac tech to connect it to. Forced hot water uses pipes, not ducts, to circulate warmth. That’s not compatible with ac.

As a result, it was often difficult for our homeowners to get the temperature how they wanted it. And, they didn’t want to use portable or window ac’s to get the job done in the summer. They’re loud, unsightly and expensive to run.

And, they would barely do the job in such a large space. Units such as those are made to treat smaller rooms. In this case, they’d just have colder spots in the area.

Meanwhile, they didn’t need as much extra treatment in the winter. The space just needed a little extra kick to keep it warm.

Ductless heat and air conditioning for a Great Room

The solution for this Beverly, MA home was a ductless heat and air conditioning system. It would add all the cooling this great room would need for the summer. And, it could supplement the existing heating setup when it got cold out.

These are often called mini-splits because they use indoor and outdoor components. A heat pump sits outside the house. It provides the warm or cold air which travels through the house via flexible plastic tubing.

That tubing connects to the back of the units, or air handlers or head. These units circulate the air in the room. We find the spot to mount these where they can work best. The tubing snakes in between the rafters behind the walls and connects to the back of the head.

This creates zoned hvac. Each air handler has a thermostat that works separately from the others. As a result, they create a zoned hvac setup. Here, each air handler treats a different area, or zone, in the house.

For a great room, that’s a significant advantage. Walls don't separate the kitchen, dining room and living room. But, they can still be zoned. This way, each area gets the treatment it needs. And, the air handlers are strong enough not to leave any part of the first floor untouched.

In the summer, that means cooling the entire area evenly. You would expect, for instance, the kitchen to be the hottest area. After all, that’s where the stove is.

Now, the air handler in that area will work more than the others to keep that spot cool. But, it doesn’t freeze out the living or dining areas doing so. Those are handled by other heads.

In the winter, our homeowners set each unit to the same temperature as the radiators. Now, if one area remains too cold, the mini-split picks up the slack.

Ductless air conditioning and heat is energy-efficient

The new mini-split is an energy-efficient hvac solution. For starters, it’s Energy Star-certified. It meets Department of Energy standards showing it uses less energy to provide the same effect as appliances that use more power. And, using less power means paying less on utility bills.

In this case, that means the electric bill goes down in the summer. Now, our homeowners have a much more efficient system than the old energy-guzzling window units. In the winter, they’re using less oil for the hot water in the radiators and more of the efficient mini-split warmth.

The efficiency comes mostly from the design of the new system. For starters, it uses inverter technology to support a variable speed engine. This means it has more speeds than just “off” and “on” like many other hvac solutions.

Now, the units are often in power-saver mode. The engine runs at a low speed when maintaining the temperature. If it starts to fluctuate too much, the engine switches to a higher speed.

It gears up when people enter the room, for instance, or if someone's using the stove. For all the other times, it just runs on low to keep this just right.

The variable speed also adds to the life of the unit. There’s less wear and tear than if it were turning off and on all day.

Next, the units are sealed entirely inside. That’s a difference from window ac’s. With those, a lot of treated air escapes around the temporary mounting system in the window.

And, our homeowners find themselves using the radiators less often. In the fall and early spring, they can use the units on their own without using the oil-fired hot water heat.

The mini-split they installed is strong enough to heat the house when it’s chilly. Now, they use the radiators when it gets really cold. And, even then the more-efficient units shoulder some of that burden in the dead of winter.

Are you looking to finally add even, energy-efficient hvac to your great room? Contact us, and we’ll design a system that’s perfect for your home and your budget.

Our homeowner’s 60-year-old ranch had plenty of retro charm. Unfortunately, the hvac system was one of them. Fortunately, adding ductless air conditioning helped catch it up with the times.

Like most homes built around this time, this one didn’t have central air. That was mostly alright upstairs. Homes like these were designed for cross-ventilation. Just opening windows on either side of the house helped keep it cool.

The basement, however, was a different story. It was partially finished but would get too warm with no ventilation. It also got very humid in the summer.

An ac would address both those concerns. But, traditional setups wouldn’t work down there. So, our homeowners contacted NETR. They read our outstanding customer reviews and saw that we had experience treating tricky areas such as this.

Once they called, we quickly got to work.

Problem: The finished basement in a 60-year-old ranch home in Beverly, MA did not have any ac. It also did not have central air.

Solution: Installed a Mitsubishi ductless air conditioning system with one an outdoor condenser and one indoor unit.

Cooling an older ranch home

Cooling an older ranch home isn’t always easy. Homes built in the 50s and 60s were not made with central air in mind. Therefore, it’s often difficult to cool them properly. And, in this home, we had to add ac to the finished area downstairs. That area, in particular, doesn’t lend itself well to most solutions.

Reasons for this include:

• Outdated design

• Poor insulation

• Small windows

Homes such as this one were built during the suburban housing boom after World War II. One-floor dwellings, in particular, were popular models. Many people turn the cellar into a rec room. It offers more living space in a smaller floor plan.

However, when this home was built, central air was rare in residential buildings. Just 10 percent of homes had them in 1965. What’s more, energy was cheap back then. So, efficiency wasn’t a big concern.

As a result, these homes are often drafty. Also, the windows especially were not well-insulated. They were designed to cool with cross-ventilation. And, on the whole, they were just drafty.

Meanwhile, rooms mostly underground especially are often tricky to cool. Even though they’re usually the coldest room, they’re not always the right temperature in the summer.

But, homeowners are limited as to what they can do down there. Window air conditioners are not really an option. The small vent windows in the cellar aren’t big enough to fit one.

Meanwhile, the ceilings are often too low for a ceiling fan. Besides, it’s difficult to get proper circulation with just the small window there. Here, the cellar is divided into rooms. That would break up the air flow.

Today, a portable air conditioner might be an option. It can vent through a small window. And, unlike a fan, it would decrease humidity. But, those aren’t energy efficient at all. They use a lot of power and costs a lot to run.

Fortunately, we had a better option.

Ductless air conditioning in a basement

Ductless air conditioning is a great way to cool off a basement. It can be installed anywhere in the home. They’re quiet and energy efficient, and will also help manage humidity - a common concern in rooms mostly underground.

These are often called mini-splits because they have outdoor and indoor parts. Outside is a condenser that generates the cool air. Inside are the units, also called air handlers. These circulate the air.

Piping connects the two. That’s narrow, flexible tubing we can run between the rafters of a wall. This way, we can mount the unit anywhere. There’s no worry about being close to a window or building ductwork.

That’s why a system such as this works well in a cellar. It’s just as powerful as central air. But, it’s much more flexible. We don’t need to do any construction to get the unit where it’s needed.

And, we don’t have to use the small window for ventilation. That gives us plenty of options for where to place it. Now, the room stays cool and still gets a little sunlight.

Finally, a mini-split will help manage humidity. That’s especially important in a here. It’s the room that often gets moist as rainwater and other moisture in the ground seeps inside.

Part of an air conditioner’s job is to remove humidity. That helps cool down space. Since this system is just as powerful as a central unit, it takes care of that, too.

In this house, we added just one unit in the finished part of the cellar. This way, it treats only the area that needs it. And, it doesn’t have to be near a window.

Saving money with a mini-split

Our homeowner’s new mini-split provides powerful cooling. It also costs less than other options that do the same job. In this home, we just installed it in the one area. But, it still affects the entire home.

For starters, the system is a certified Energy Star appliance. It meets criteria showing it uses less energy to produce the same effect as ac’s that work just as well. That helped our homeowner save money up front.

That’s thanks to MassSave, a group of utility companies in the Bay State. They offer cash incentives for people to switch to Energy Star appliances. In this case, our homeowner got a $500 rebate on the installation costs.

Next are the monthly savings. Of course, the electric bill for this house will rise slightly. That’s because they added climate control to an area that didn’t have it before. But, it will still be much less than any other solution. Those are not nearly as efficient as what we installed.

And, the cool air in a cellar can help keep the temperature down in the rest of the house. For starters, there’s no less moisture overall n the home. And, it’s got an especially cold foundation. That helps keep the main floor colder.

Now, our homeowner has more living space that’s the right temperature in the summer. And, he’s paying much less for it than he expected.

Are you looking to add efficient climate control to your basement? Contact us, and we’ll design a system that’s perfect for your home!

Our homeowners love their unique deck home. Their specially-designed house features striking angles, open floor plans and large windows for plenty of sunlight. And, once they installed ductless air conditioning, the effect truly felt complete.

The one problem they always had was cooling on the first floor. For most of the summer, that area was too warm. But, the house wasn’t designed with central air in mind. They didn’t have any ductwork for it.

What’s more, the wide-open first floor made climate control a challenge. Whatever the homeowners used would need to cover a large space. But, to work correctly, it would need to treat some spots more than others.

For years, our homeowners relied on window air conditioners in their living room and kitchen. They offered some climate control, but not enough. And, they were loud and unsightly. We offered them a better solution.  

Problem: A homeowner wanted to replace the window air conditioners in the living room and kitchen of his deck-style home. They were loud, expensive and a hassle to move around.

Solution: Installed a Mitsubishi ductless air conditioning system with two indoor air handlers on the first floor. These connect to an outdoor condenser unit.

Problems when cooling with window air conditioners

For decades, window air conditioners were the go-to when central air wasn’t an option. These units are portable. That way, you can put them wherever they’re needed. But, there are plenty of drawbacks as well. These include:

• Operating volume

• Energy efficiency

• Lack of strength

For starters, these are very loud. With some models, it’s difficult to hear a television or have a conversation when it’s running.

Next, they’re not very efficient. These use a lot of energy but provide less cooling than other options. Part of that is due to just outdated hvac technology. But, the other problem is their setup. Since they’re never permanently installed, treated air escapes out the window very easily.

Meanwhile, this home’s unique layout made it especially challenging to cool correctly. It features a mostly open floor plan and many large windows.

Those windows let in plenty of sunlight. It’s nice to look at, but also makes the house hotter. And, they’re too large to support an air conditioner.

Next, the open floor plan means that any hvac unit has to handle a lot of ground. When a floor is divided into rooms, separate vents or units treat each area. That wasn’t possible here.

Instead, our homeowners used a window air conditioner in the two spots they could fit them. They were in the kitchen and living room. But, they weren’t strong enough to reach the entire floor. They also made a lot of noise and used a lot of energy.

Ductless air conditioning vs window units

Our solution for this deck-style home was a ductless air conditioning mini-split system. It offered a zoned hvac setup. This way, we could add units wherever we needed to. We could install components virtually anywhere. And, they were quieter and more efficient than the old window units.

These are called mini-splits because the system uses outdoor and indoor parts. As with central air, there’s an outdoor condenser unit providing the cool air.  In this case, however, the air travels through small, flexible plastic piping rather than ductwork.

On the other end are units, or air handlers. These indoor units are responsible for circulating the air. To install them, we mount the units on the wall and connect the piping to the back.

We can install as few or as many units as we need. And, each one has a thermostat built into it. This creates the zoned aspect that was missing before. Now, each unit handles a different area of the first floor.

This offers many advantages over the window units. First, we were able to install two on the first floor. Since they mount to the wall, the oversized windows were not a concern. In both cases, we found out-of-the-way spots to place them.

Next, each one does a much better job of circulating the air. This way, the entire floor is treated with just two units. That’s a huge leap from just covering the kitchen area.

And, the units are whisper-quiet. That’s much different from the constant dull roar of the old ac. Even at full blast, they produce less than 20 decibels of sound. That’s softer than leaves blowing around outside.

Finally, the outdoor component is well-concealed. We found a good spot for it under the deck. It’s easily accessible. But, it’s not an area where people gather. So, it’s out of sight and mind most of the time.

Ductless air conditioning costs less in the long run

Of course, the mini-split costs more upfront than cheap old window ac’s. But, they not only provide better climate control. They also use less energy to do so. That means it costs less in the long run than what our homeowner previously used.

The new mini-split in this deck home is Energy Star-certified. That means it meets federal guidelines showing that it uses less energy to provide the same cooling as comparable units. And, the less power our homeowners use, the less they pay for.

And, now the family uses each unit less than they did their one window unit. That’s in part because they’re not trying to crank one ac to cover a considerable area. Now, the job is split between two air handlers.

Each one has a thermostat. That means one can work less than the other if the zone it handles cools off quicker. That means not wasting energy and freezing out one area to treat the other.

Next, the units use inverter technology to keep down costs. They variable-speed motors that can run in a few different speeds. It saves money and extends the mini-split’s life.

Most of the time, then, they’re in low-power, energy-saver mode. It maintains the current temperature with very little power. If the temperature begins to rise, it can switch to a higher speed to keep it in check.

This is very different from just turning on a window unit and letting it blast for hours and hours. It’s even better than central air. Those units usually only have two speeds: On and off.

As a result, the temperature often fluctuates. Rooms heat up when the system is off. Then, it roars to life to cool them again. That ends up using more energy than constant climate control. It also causes the unit to break down faster. All that switching on and off results in plenty of wear and tear.

Fortunately, our homeowners don’t have to worry about that. Instead, they have quiet, efficient cooling that works without them even noticing it.

Are you looking for a better hvac solution for your open floor plan home? Contact us, and we’ll design a system that’s perfect for you.

Our homeowners in Beverly, MA never slept quite right in the summer. The master bedroom of their colonial home was always too hot. The couple and their dog would toss and turn. Thanks to ductless air conditioning, now they’ll sleep much easier.

Cooling wasn’t a problem for the rest of this home. Summers often didn’t get too hot. And, ceiling fans kept the first floor and other rooms from overheating. But, the master bedroom just seemed to trap heat.

There were plenty of options. But, they didn’t want to settle for just anything. They wanted a solution that was quiet, and that didn’t impact their electric bills too much.

They came to NETR thanks to our excellent reputation. We’ve got plenty of outstanding reviews and years of expertise with homes just like this one.

Once they contacted us, we looked at the house and made some recommendations.

Problem: The bedroom in this Beverly, MA colonial home was never cool enough. Our homeowners were looking for a quiet, efficient way to cool this room for themselves and their dog.

Solution: Installed a Mitsubishi ductless air conditioning mini-split. It consists of a unit on the left wall of the bedroom.  And an outdoor condenser unit.

Cooling upstairs rooms in a colonial home

Many people deal with uneven heating and cooling on the second floor of their home. This home had many of the common factors that lead to this. It also had some other considerations coming into play. These include:

• Only one thermostat

• Rooms without proper insulation

• Poor air flow

First is a common one: the thermostat is on the first floor. That means the system heats or cools according to that area, not the whole house.

When the second floor is warmer in the summer, it never gets adequately treated. The ac turns off once it cools the first floor.

Next are the rooms hanging over the front porch. That means they’re not as well insulated. And, they don’t have that cool air below them. Instead, the heat rises from the porch and into those rooms.

Finally, the second floor doesn’t lend itself well to air circulation. It’s not just one block on top of the first floor. Instead, there are nooks and crannies where heat can build up.

It also has an attic. These end up being huge heat traps. Hot air rises into it from the rest of the home. And, the sun beating down on it adds more warmth. With no open windows, the temperature rises in there. That affects the rooms below it.

This house doesn’t have central air. That’s fine for the first floor and most rooms on the second. After all, Massachusetts summers aren’t nearly as hot as those in other parts of the country.

But, the master bedroom was a different story. It was always too hot, and it was where the couple and their dog slept. They needed to bring the temperature down.

Ductless air conditioning in a bedroom

Ductless air conditioning was easily the best solution for treating this bedroom. It offers the strength of a central air system with the flexibility of a window air conditioner. But, it’s less expensive and quieter to run than both those options.

The main benefit here was the zoned hvac aspect. That’s when you look at treating each part of the home separately, rather than with one uniform solution. In this case, we had just one zone: The master bedroom.

Installing here was easy. First, we placed a condenser unit outside. It generates the cold air. Next, we added just one unit, or air handler, in the bedroom. We set it over a window. That way, it’s mostly out of sight. And, it’s less noticeable because it follows the flow and contours of the installation below it.

We connected the two with flexible plastic tubing. It runs through the walls, making it out of sight and easy to install. This setup is called a mini-split because it has outdoor and indoor components.

Now, we’ve created the zone. The unit has a built-in thermostat. That means it measures the heat and humidity just in the room it’s treated. And, it circulates air as needed.

To use this, our homeowners set the temperature with the remote control that comes with the mini-split. They can set it manually or program it to get cooler at night and not work as hard during the day.

The unit offers better circulation than central air. That’s thanks in part to the variable speed motor. This way, it can run at a low speed when maintaining the coolness. And, it can ramp up when necessary.

That’s an improvement over being just on or off. This way, the temperature doesn’t fluctuate. And, the unit is whisper-quiet. Even on full blast, the sound is still as soft as leaves rustling.

Better cooling for less money

Thanks to their new system, our homeowners finally have the cooling they’ve always wanted in their master bedroom. And, they’re paying much less for it than they expected.

First, they’re only treating the area that needs it. Even though the mini-split is as strong as central air, they aren’t managing the whole house. They use much less energy this way. And, the less they use, the less they pay for.

Next, the mini-split is exceptionally efficient. It uses less energy than other ac’s offering the same amount of climate control. It’s Energy Star-certified, which means it meets federal standards proving this.

That makes a huge difference. It’s also a big reason why it won out over a window unit or portable ac. Those would have cost much less to purchase and install. But, those units use way more power than the mini-split. Our homeowners’ electric bills would have skyrocketed in the summer.

They also don’t have to worry about cleaning out a window unit or dragging it in and out of storage. The unit is also much quieter and permanently installed. It doesn’t take up window space, blocking out the sun, and it doesn’t require nearly as much care.

Finally, the variable speed motor makes a big difference. We mentioned how it has more options than just “on” or “off.” That means it’s often running in a low, energy-saver mode. This feature maintains the temperature using much less electricity than two-speed appliances.

And, that also extends the life of the mini-split. There’s much less wear and tear than if it were constantly turning on and off. That means our homeowners will get years and years of top-notch cooling from their new unit. And, they won’t pay nearly as much for it as they would have with other solutions.

Is your master bedroom always too hot in the summer? Contact us, and we’ll design a system that’s perfect for you!

The owner of a colonial home in Belmont, MA already knew plenty about the benefits of a ductless heating and cooling, or mini-split, system. After all, he’d had one installed in his home for years. He used it primarily to supplement the natural gas radiator heat already in the house.

However, after 15 years it was time to start looking for a new one. As with any hvac equipment, eventually, even a mini-split like this wears out. For our homeowner, this was an opportunity to enhance his climate control.

Previously, he used this system in just two rooms of his house. After seeing the difference just those two units made, he was ready to expand.

To do so, he chose NETR. He’d read our outstanding customer reviews online. And, he saw that we are the number-one Elite Diamond Dealer for Mitsubishi products in New England. After doing his research, our homeowner was confident we would get the job done right the first time.

And, he was right. Now, his colonial home has even better climate control than before. And, his energy bills have dropped even lower than with his first mini-split.

Problem: An older ductless system that supplemented natural gas heat via radiators needed replacement.

Solution: Installed new Mitsubishi units with additional zones in the kitchen and second-floor office and a new outdoor heat pump

How ductless heating and cooling works

To understand the appeal of ductless heating and cooling, you need to know how it works. In some ways, it’s similar to a traditional furnace or central air conditioner. But, it doesn’t use ductwork and vents, or pipes and radiators.

Instead, treated air travels through narrow, flexible plastic tubing, or piping. The tubes are less than three inches wide. This makes it easy for our installers to place it virtually anywhere in the house.

The piping runs between rafters just like electric wires. We don’t need to rip out any walls or build out any sections along the ceiling to house bigger ductwork.

At the end of the piping is a unit, or air handler. This is the component that circulates the air in a home. It’s a white, rectangular unit that hangs high up on a wall.

On the other end is the outdoor heat pump. This is the unit that generates the cooled air or heat. It uses a heat exchange process to create climate control using relatively little electricity.

Installing these parts is simple and quick. Our techs set up the heat pump outside and drill a small hole for the tubing to fit through. Then, once they run that piping, they fasten it behind the HVAC unit where people can’t see it at all.

The system doesn’t take up much room and is barely noticeable. The units are near the ceiling and whisper-quiet. In all, it only takes a few hours.

Ductless hvac in a colonial home

A mini-split has many benefits for a colonial home. Often, these are older houses with outdated heating and cooling solutions. As a result, it’s usually difficult to upgrade these without doing major work on the house.

In this case, the home has radiator heat. That means there are often hot and cold spots in the house. Heat from radiators enters a room slowly, leaving some areas colder than others. This becomes more noticeable when there isn’t proper air flow to circulate the air.

Also, you can’t add air conditioning to radiator heat. Adding on works with a furnace because the ac can use the same ducts. But, it doesn’t work with pipes.

For this colonial, in particular, common structural factors make climate control a challenge. First is the attic. Heat naturally rises, which means much of the warmth passes both floors and collects up there.

Then, it escapes easily. Attics are commonly not insulated well. The dormer windows here made that even more of a concern. Since heat is attracted to cold, the warm air keeps moving in the winter, leaving the house.

Adding additional hvac zones

We’ve mentioned that our homeowner is adding units in rooms where he didn’t have them before. This is possible because a mini-split takes a zoned, versus central, approach to hvac. As a result, there’s more flexibility in how we can set them up.

Each air handler has a thermostat. Therefore, each one is set independently of the others. Think of this in contrast to a furnace. With central, there’s one thermostat controlling the entire house.

And, that thermostat is usually on the first floor, in the living room. Well, what happens when the bedrooms are colder than downstairs? Often, they remain cold.

That’s because the heat shuts off once the room with the thermostat reaches the desired temperature. It doesn’t account for other areas.

Some radiator systems avoid this problem. They use valves that allow a person to open or close each one separately. But, it’s not nearly as exact as a thermostat. In fact, it’s common to see people regulate a room’s temperature by running the radiator and opening a window.

Both our homeowner’s new and old Mitsubishi systems avoid these problems. Now, he can set each room to the temperature he wants. And, the state-of-the-art air handlers will match it precisely.

If he puts each thermostat at the same setting, he gets even heating throughout the house. If, say, he wants the bedrooms a little warmer, he has that option. Our homeowner can also program the downstairs units to power down in the evening when he’s not using those rooms.

Saving money with Mitsubishi ductless units

Along with improved climate control, ductless costs less to run than other options. For starters, they are Energy Star-certified. That means they meet government standards proving they use their energy efficiently.

First is the way it operates. We mentioned the heat pump uses a heat exchange process. There’s a lot of science behind it. But, the long and short of it is that it doesn’t burn natural resources like gas or oil to create heat.

Instead, it draws in what little heat there is outside in the winter. Then it amplifies that heat and sends it into the house. The system just needs a relatively small amount of electricity to work the cycle.

Next, the piping through which the air travels is airtight. This means no treated air gets wasted along the way. That’s not true of other hvac setups.

Then, the air handlers themselves distribute air evenly and quickly. Our homeowner won’t have cold spots anymore. And, the sooner the room is warm, the sooner the heater can power down.

Finally, he uses the radiators much less. In the spring and fall, our homeowner would turn on the radiators. Now, he just uses the units until it's really cold out. Since it uses less energy, he’s paying less on his heating bills. That’s because he’s not running the less-efficient radiator heat nearly as much as he used to.

With all those benefits, it’s no wonder our homeowner decided to expand the system he’d previously installed.

Do you want a better and more cost-effective and efficient option for heating and cooling your home? Contact us, and we'll design the perfect solution for you!

Summertime in Belmont, MA is a very pleasant time of year. Bordered by the Beaver Brook North Reservation and Menotomy Rocks Park, and dotted with ponds and lakes near the Concourse Turnpike, there’s plenty of natural beauty abound.

However, eventually, even the biggest fresh air enthusiast will want to retreat into the air conditioning. And, for one family, it was time to upgrade their hvac system with Mitsubishi ductless mini-splits.

Our homeowners used window air conditioners and fans to cool their colonial home in the summer. This just about did the trick downstairs. But, upstairs was a different story. The master bedrooms and children’s rooms never got cold enough.

Meanwhile, the parents saw their electric bill skyrocket every summer. The window units used a lot of power. And, they were loud and bulky. In all, they weren’t worth the money our homeowners were spending on them.

Fortunately, there is a way to get the power of a central air system just upstairs without the expense of installing one for the whole house. And, our solution would be more efficient than both a whole-house ac and the window units.

Problem: The master bedroom and children’s rooms in a Belmont, MA colonial home were too hot in the summer. The family used fans and window air conditioners, but they were expensive to run and didn’t cool the rooms enough.

Solution: Installed a Mitsubishi ductless mini-split system with air handlers in each bedroom and an outdoor heat pump air conditioner condenser.

Cooling a colonial home

Our homeowners love the old-fashioned charm of their home. But, what’s less appealing is the challenges that come with cooling it. The home’s layout and age can make installing proper hvac solutions tricky.

First, it’s important to remember that central air conditioning wasn’t an option for homes until the 1970s. And, this home was built a few decades before that.

In many cases, an hvac tech can put in a condenser and run an ac system through the same ductwork the home uses for heating. But, that’s not the case here.

Like many older homes in the Boston suburbs, this one used radiator heat. That means the warmth comes through pipes, not ducts. And, we can’t can’t attach an ac to piping.

Next is a problem common for any home: Hot air rising. Since heat naturally moves upwards, the top floor ends up warmer than those below it. Then, there’s the problem of the attic.

When the sun beats down on the roof, it enters the home. This makes the attic — the top of the house — very hot. Our homeowners used the attic for storage, so there wasn’t a lot of ventilation up there.

As a result, that heat seeps into the second floor. There, it meets the rising hot air. These combine to make the bedrooms especially hot. That’s why our homeowners were most concerned about the second floor.

How ductless HVAC works

A ductless cooling system, or mini-split, works by distributing cool air throughout the house through very small and flexible plastic piping. On one end of the system is an outdoor heat pump. This draws warm air from the home, extracts the heat and sends it back inside.

Inside are the air handlers. These are the indoor air handlers that circulate the air. We mount these permanently on a wall, usually up near the ceiling. Each indoor unit handles a different room or zone in the house.

What’s important here is the installation. It’s quick, easy and doesn’t require a lot of work. We don’t need to design, fabricate and install ductwork. Instead, our installers just place the tubing in between rafters behind the walls.

This way, we don’t need to tear down any walls or do any major work to install the system. With ductwork, we’d wind up taking closet space and building out parts of rooms to fit the ducts. It’s a lot of work and changes the look of the house.

Meanwhile, the tubes connect to the high or low-wall indoor from behind. This way, you don’t see them at all. And, these systems are whisper-quiet. Even when they’re working at full blast, you’ll barely realize they’re there.

This setup also offers our homeowners a lot of flexibility. First, they are only paying to treat the areas of the home that need extra climate control. This way, they’re not wasting power on the whole house.

Every air handler has a thermostat on it. This means our homeowners can set each one independently from the others. If the parents prefer the master bedroom especially cool, they can set theirs at a lower temperature. Meanwhile, the kids’ rooms can stay a little warmer if they prefer.

Or, our homeowners can set them all to the same temperature. This creates even temps throughout the second floor. Now, no one room gets hotter than the others.

Benefits of ductless cooling in a colonial home

A mini-split is especially useful for older homes like colonials. We can install the system without affecting the look or layout of the home. That’s especially important when people want to preserve the old look of their house.

And, the advantages don’t stop there. This setup also costs significantly less to run than portable air conditioners. This occurs for a few reasons.

First, the heat exchange system requires much less electricity than a traditional ac. For the most part, it relies on naturally-occurring heat transfers. Rather than generate cool air, the system just needs a small amount of electricity to start the process.

By contrast, a window air conditioner loses a lot of treated air out the window where it’s mounted. That’s because they’re rarely installed permanently, and so there are plenty of cracks and openings.

Finally, the air handlers themselves circulate air through the room better. And, our installers can mount them anywhere. That gives us the opportunity to find the best spot in each room.

All this adds up to better climate control and lower energy bills for this family.

Do you want a better and more cost-effective and efficient option for heating and cooling your home? Contact us, and we'll design the perfect solution for you!