When my husband and I first purchased our home, there was no access to temperature control in the kitchen.
Our house is extremely old and not equipped with conventional ductwork.
A natural gas fireplace provides plenty of heat for the living and dining rooms. The upstairs bedrooms are outfitted with ancient but effective Moore gas heaters. The kitchen was a big problem. With winter weather that lasts around eight months and temperatures well below freezing, we needed to figure out a way to properly warm up the kitchen. For awhile, we ate dinner with an electric space heater sitting on the table. We were forced to wear our winter coats. We then got the idea to install a pellet stove in the kitchen. The stove took up a great deal of space, didn’t look all that attractive and required constant work. The flame often went out and then the stove would blast cold air and make the problem worse. With limited funds, we didn’t have a lot of options to choose from. I finally called a professional HVAC contractor and asked for advice and an estimate. He immediately suggested a ductless mini split. The mini split system is made up of an outdoor air compressor linked by way of a conduit to an indoor air handler. Installation required nothing more than a small hole in an exterior wall, mounting capabilities and access to electricity. The HVAC contractor had our new system up and running within a few hours. The ductless system is a heat pump, which means that it provides both heating and cooling capacity. Although the equipment is super compact, it easily handles the temperature demands of the kitchen and maintains ideal comfort.