If you know about ductless heating or how to handle heating situation in bedrooms

[JustMe]

So, I had a ductless system with 2 indoor units put in during the summer. We have mostly used the main unit. There is another unit in my bedroom that is supposed to be for my room and the 2 kids' rooms. We have not used that unit much as it has not been too cold and we like to sleep cooler. Now it is getting colder and I am trying to figure out the best way to manage things. If I leave my bedroom unit on all the time, as is indicated with ductless systems, my room is too hot sleep-wise for me. I can put it on a lower temp, but then it doesn't heat the kids' rooms (it doesn't travel to their rooms if there is not a big enough difference in temperature). The nights I have used it I have been turning it on a few hours before bedtime and then turning it off when I go to bed. It is my understanding that this can actually be more expensive, as it is best to just leave the unit on if you are going to use it. So, do you think its best as far as my heating bill if I

--Do as I have been doing and have the ductless unit in my room turned of a few hours/day and off the rest?

--Just use space heaters to heat the rooms the way we like them before we go to bed (and then turn off when we go to bed)

--Use ceiling heat in the same way as above

Hope this makes sense! I really appreciate any help!

[SnuggleBuggles]

There's no way to move them?
Our house was built in 1920 and the kids rooms don't have heat. There's a radiator in the hall and in the bathroom. The design is that you leave doors open to get heat. (I do check in with the kids regularly because our HVAC people suggested electric baseboard heat for them, which we could have installed whenever the kids want.)


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[JustMe]

There's no way to move them?
Our house was built in 1920 and the kids rooms don't have heat. There's a radiator in the hall and in the bathroom. The design is that you leave doors open to get heat. (I do check in with the kids regularly because our HVAC people suggested electric baseboard heat for them, which we could have installed whenever the kids want.)



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Move what? The kids or the unit? LOL! There is really no ideal place to put the unit.
We all really do need to leave our doors open for this to work too--which is fine during the day, but we all like them closed at night.

So, the question really is --is it more affordable for me to turn the unit on for a few hours, use space heaters, or use ceiling heat for a few hours.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I think you just need to experiment. I'd go with cranking it before bed then turning it off.


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[Zansu]

Your HVAC company many be able to install a damper that will allow you to direct air flow where you need it.

[JustMe]

Your HVAC company many be able to install a damper that will allow you to direct air flow where you need it.

Well, that is interesting. I had numerous conversations with the HVAC company and almost had them uninstall the system and give me a refund. This option was never discussed. I just did a quick search. It seems these are usually installed in ducts? I don't have ducts, so not sure if that is still a possibility.

I really wish I could at least get an idea of what is more expensive--space heaters or having the ductless system on and off...everyone stresses you're not supposed to turn the ductless system on and off but I am not sure if that would imply to situations where you have them on only for a few hours.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Is it too late to uninstall, get a refund and choose a better system now the you know more about how your family interacts with the HVAC system?


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[azzeps]

Dampers go inside the ductwork so that's not a solution to this problem.

Are you able to set the thermostat low, like 66* so that it mostly isn't running, but will also kick on if it gets chilly? What you don't want is wildly swinging temps. It costs more to heat up or cool down a room than it does to maintain that room's temperature. Which is why your HVAC provider is telling you to leave it on. Your unit has to work harder to heat things up than to maintain.

[azzeps]

Sorry. I re-read your post....I'm thinking you need heads in the kids' rooms as well as yours. Or keep all the doors open. But probably more heads would work better.

[JustMe]

It is too late to get a refund. Long story




Dampers go inside the ductwork so that's not a solution to this problem.

Are you able to set the thermostat low, like 66* so that it mostly isn't running, but will also kick on if it gets chilly? What you don't want is wildly swinging temps. It costs more to heat up or cool down a room than it does to maintain that room's temperature. Which is why your HVAC provider is telling you to leave it on. Your unit has to work harder to heat things up than to maintain.


I don't want to put more heads in. The kids like their rooms cool,at night so it's just not worth it. I do think the key may be figuring out a low temp for the unit in my room. We leave the doors open during the day, just not at night. I think that would be okay too, except for the very cold nights when we would just leave them open.

If you like to sleep cooler than the rest of the house, what temp do you keep your bedroom at?

[azzeps]

I think our tstat drops to 66* at night. Kids seem to be hot sleepers, I think. They're always with their covers kicked off. DH sleeps hot, too. If I'm cold, I put on an extra wool blanket on my side of the bed. Maybe they need warmer bedding or extra layers? You said they like it cool, but then you also said that you want the unit in your room to heat their rooms as well. I'm a little confused why anyone needs any heating up at night? If everyone likes it cool? Or maybe ya'll don't want to FREEZE??? :) Maybe some space heaters would do the trick, but they do use a lot of energy. I guess you could try it and see. We have an oil filled one (no accessible heating elements) at our office - your kids are older and won't mess with a heater, so it might be ok!

[bisous]

I have radiant heat in my ceiling. If I remember correctly, that's what you're working with as well. I think my situation is pretty different because we don't need a heater at all since it never gets below 50 here (well, rarely and we just bundle). I set my A/C to 68 year round and that's the perfect sleeping temp for me.

[JustMe]

Thanks so much for the continued replies and sticking with trying to help me figure this out, even though it seems to be harder to explain than I realized.


Maybe they need warmer bedding or extra layers? You said they like it cool, but then you also said that you want the unit in your room to heat their rooms as well. I'm a little confused why anyone needs any heating up at night? If everyone likes it cool? Or maybe ya'll don't want to FREEZE??? :) Maybe some space heaters would do the trick, but they do use a lot of energy. I guess you could try it and see. We have an oil filled one (no accessible heating elements) at our office - your kids are older and won't mess with a heater, so it might be ok!


Okay, so on most winter nights it can be in the 30s or 40s here. So far its still in the 40s. Also, we can get down to ) 0 or some other low temp, but that does not happen often at all. I think we all like it warmer (not 70s, but maybe 60s? Not even sure) when we are going to bed, but than don't want to be too warm once we are all snuggled up and asleep. It may just be something we got used to as it is what we did when we only had the ceiling heat (warm the room up enough for sleep, turn it off, and go to sleep). I know for me, its important that I don't feel cold when I get into bed..and yes, there will be nights when it would be too cold--freezing--without any heat.

So, I think I will try leaving the second unit off completely until the temps dip lower than the 40s at night and see how I do (kids have a higher tolerance for cold when they go to bed than I do). Next strategy would be to find a low, but not too low temp for the unit in my room...

[bisous]

Thanks so much for the continued replies and sticking with trying to help me figure this out, even though it seems to be harder to explain than I realized.




Okay, so on most winter nights it can be in the 30s or 40s here. So far its still in the 40s. Also, we can get down to ) 0 or some other low temp, but that does not happen often at all. I think we all like it warmer (not 70s, but maybe 60s? Not even sure) when we are going to bed, but than don't want to be too warm once we are all snuggled up and asleep. It may just be something we got used to as it is what we did when we only had the ceiling heat (warm the room up enough for sleep, turn it off, and go to sleep). I know for me, its important that I don't feel cold when I get into bed..and yes, there will be nights when it would be too cold--freezing--without any heat.

So, I think I will try leaving the second unit off completely until the temps dip lower than the 40s at night and see how I do (kids have a higher tolerance for cold when they go to bed than I do). Next strategy would be to find a low, but not too low temp for the unit in my room...

If it is ever cold we deal with temp fluctuations by each person having a robe and slippers and scheduling warm showers and baths before bed time. Maybe even little things like electric mattress covers (heard about them hear but never tried them) might make sleep more comfortable and might be less expensive. I've never really done an analysis but it would seem that heating a small area (the individual bed) should be cheaper. Call me weird but I like having little rituals like robes and slippers and warm jammies and bath time. I definitely sleep better when it is cold (which is why my window A/C unit is still installed and it is almost November!)

[khalloc]

We have natural gas with regular baseboard heat. There are 4 zones in our house, one in the finished basement, one for the first floor, and 2 upstairs. Our bedroom is on its own zone, and the other 3 bedrooms share a zone. I keep the 3 bedrooms at about 65 maybe. And our bedroom is at maybe 60. We like our bedroom cold at night. My bedroom door is almost always closed. The other bedrooms are 50/50 with closed or open doors.

[nfowife]

We live in a very old house and our upstairs has the worlds worst air flow. Barely any of our hvac air gets up there- ac or heat. its us and DD2 who are up there and we use window units in summer. For winter we've found the best solution is electric mattress pads. The air stays cool like we prefer but our beds are nice and cozy every night. It's so wonderful and makes a huge difference.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Even if we just crack our doors, the heat gets in the kids' rooms ok. They don't need to be wide open. Is that a compromise?


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[fauve01]

If you like to sleep cooler than the rest of the house, what temp do you keep your bedroom at?

60-62. we all like it pretty cool at night, and set the heat at 60-62, depending on outside temps. Even when DH and I lived in cold suburban Chicago, we set it at 62. DH sleeps "hotter" than I do and uses one fleece blanket no comforter. DD likes a comforter. I like a comforter and a couple blankets because I like the weight of them and I'm colder.

ETA: DH sometimes gets leg cramps and it only seems to happen when his feet/legs get too cold. when he remembers to wear socks to bed, he sleeps much better. maybe experiment with your jammies/socks also, to see if that makes a difference! remember in the old days with the fire in the main room and no heat in the bedroom, people wore stocking caps to bed!

[LBW]

Can you try using fans to help move the heated air from your bedroom to the other rooms? If you don't want a large fan, look at doorway fans. They can be mounted up out of the way (though I think you are stuck leaving your door open).

Another option might be to put in transoms above the doors, if your ceiling is tall enough.

FWIW I keep our house in the mid 60s during the day and low 60s at night. We like it cool! In our old house we had a wood stove that we used for probably 50% of our heat. The hot air would heat up the bedrooms just enough. I'd keep the doors open during the day to maximize the flow of hot air into the BRs, but would always close them at night. It was definitely chilly in the morning, but no one seemed to mind.

[Kestrel]

We have ceiling fan if our master, and it's enough to push the heat to the other upstairs rooms. Was only a few hundred dollars including install, maybe that would work for you?

[JustMe]

Thanks for the suggestions!

There is asbestos in the ceilings, so I don't want to mess with them. Too bad as the ceiling fan idea would be great. I think some kind of fan to get things into the kids rooms during the day would be good, and they can still close them at night.