Why is Ductless Heating Great for Indoor Air Quality?

Health Risks of Poor Indoor Air Quality

Our state has beautiful forests and rivers, but behind that facade, our environment is suffering from pollution. Particularly around Portland, smog does reach levels deemed by the government to be unhealthy.

This is caused by normal human activity such as driving cars, but natural events like wildfires also impact our indoor air quality.

Studies have shown increased health effects in those who live close to areas where particulate matter pollution is common. While some exposures are enough to cause immediate irritation of your eyes or throat, many times we see long-term effects, such as respiratory diseases that take years to manifest.

You aren’t completely protected from exposure by being indoors unless you take adequate precautions to minimize risk such as regularly cleaning or replacing your air filters. We’ll explain how a ductless mini-split is the best option to heat and cool your home while maintaining healthy indoor air quality.

4 Reasons Why a Ductless System Is Better for Indoor Air Quality than the Alternatives
No Ducts

The primary innovation of a ductless system is that it has no ducts. It sounds obvious, but at the time it was invented and introduced it was difficult to imagine. Ducts were seen as a necessary evil to transport heated air. By placing a smaller system in the rooms you want to be heated or cooled we can avoid that entirely.

Ducts cause a 30% drop in heating efficiency, but they also harm indoor air quality. All of the pollen, dirt, and dust that comes through your furnace accumulates in your ducts. You’ll have air filters, but with ducts, you’re asking them to do a lot. You don’t have to worry about that with a ductless system. Instead, your filters can focus on filtering only the air that’s coming in, instead of months of accumulated dust and pollen deposits.

Separate Subsystem

Ductless systems are great as add-ons to your existing HVAC unit particularly if you are adding to your home or doing a remodel. One great example is your garage. We did a whole blog on this topic, which you can read here. Let’s say you want to transform your garage into a man-cave. Having a separate mini-split just for the garage can filter out smoke, dust, spray paint, pet dander, and whatever else you use your garage for. If you have allergy-sensitive members of your household, getting a separate ductless subsystem can make it much easier to manage.

Humidity Control

Oregon is a fairly humid state, typically between 60% and 80% depending on where in the state you go. Your ductless mini-split can bring this down to a healthy indoor level between 30% and 40%. A furnace can dry out your air too, but what happens if it goes too far. In the winter, you could be running your heating all day. With a modern mini-split, you can humidify your air by cooling for very short periods. You won’t notice the cooling effect because the added humidity will increase the perceived temperature. This ensures that your home stays cozy and not too dry.

Carbon Monoxide Protection

Gas-burning HVAC units are always at risk of causing Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Thousands of families are affected in our country every year. A ductless mini-split doesn’t burn any fuel to create heat. Instead, it moves heat from outside to inside. Therefore, no gas or oil can potentially cause CO poisoning from your ductless mini-split. The same cannot be said for furnaces and boilers.

Are you interested in a mini-split installation? We’ll walk you through it! Just call us at Oregon Ductless Heroes at (503) 755-5332 or fill out an online contact form!