Zone Heating to Improve Employee Comfort

Finding the perfect temperature for each room in an office building can be challenging. During the winter months, the cold air can creep in and decrease the room temperature. Having a cold office can decrease productivity and lead to unhappy employees.

Using mini split air conditioners simplifies regulating heat in commercial spaces. Mini splits help warm individual rooms and are beneficial in lowering energy costs.

In this blog, we will discuss what a mini split is and how they will help warm your offices.

There are many benefits of using ductless systems in your office. These benefits include easy installation, improved energy efficiency, sizing, and built-in zoning.

Easy Installation

The installation process for ductless systems is simpler than other systems because they do not require ductwork.

MrCool's DIY Series Mini-Splits come with pre-charged lines, cutting out the middleman. Supply heating and cooling in up to 5-zones in any office. Purchase a MrCool DIY Mini Split unit for simple installation with no technician (or labor costs) required!

Improved Energy Efficiency

Ductless mini splits are also energy efficient. These systems have a higher efficiency at distributing heat to individual rooms than traditional conditioning systems. This is helpful because it reduces energy waste and increases energy savings.

Since each zone connects to a thermostat, each area can receive comfort as needed. This saves you money compared to central heat pumps that heat entire floors, even if only one room needs heat.

Look for mini split systems with inverter technology. Units with inverter technology maintain indoor temperature without having to turn the system off and on. This more efficiently uses energy, prolonging the system's lifespan and reduces noise pollution.

Sizing

Mini splits have a compact and flexible design that allows you to place them in many different places for the office. Many models can have up to four indoor air handling units connected to one outdoor unit. This means you can control the temperature of four rooms or areas at once.

Individualized Heat

Ductless systems are also beneficial because they are hvac zoning systems. These zoned systems allow each indoor unit to independently control temperature in individual spaces. You can also program the system to operate on a schedule.

Each indoor unit needs to connect to a thermostat for temperature control. This allows mini split thermostat settings better temperature readings where needed. Smart thermostats integrate with phone apps so you can adjust mini split thermostat settings anywhere.

Finding the most effective way to zone your mini split is very important. Consider a couple of factors before zoning your mini split. The factors to think about are:

• Square footage
• Number of rooms
• BTUs Required
• Distance between Air Handlers and Outdoor Units

Square Footage

The square footage of your office is important to finding the most effective size and power needed for your mini split system. Having a larger office space means you need a more powerful system.

Number of rooms

The number of rooms in your office will determine the size of your mini split. For offices, each room needs its own air handler connected to an outdoor condenser unit. Additionally, the more rooms you need to cover, the more power the system needs.

BTUs (British Thermal Units) Required

The correct number of BTUs your office space requires is another factor for zoning your mini split. The outdoor condenser must have enough power to sustain heat in each room. The total BTUs of all indoor units combined cannot exceed the maximum BTUs of the outdoor condenser.

For example, you can have an outdoor unit with a maximum of 48,000 BTUs. This means that you can have any combination of indoor units as long as they do not exceed the outdoor unit's 48,000 BTUs.

If it exceeds the limit, the system will fail leading to costly repairs.

Distance between air handlers and outdoor units

Consider the distance between each indoor unit and the outdoor condenser. If a room is too far from the outdoor unit, it can reduce airflow and performance. Adding connections or outdoor units will increase initial cost of installation.

Once you figure out all these factors, you will be able to choose the number of mini splits you need to heat your office.

As mentioned before, keeping offices warm can be challenging because of the cold from the outdoors. However, using mini splits strategically will help you keep the office warm and have the employees comfort level high.