Maintaining a rental property is no easy task. In addition to keeping your tenants happy, you also have to keep your bottom line from dropping into the red. Heating and cooling costs can be a significant issue for many homes, and the situation can be even more complicated if you cover some of your tenants’ utility costs.
Mini-split HVAC systems are an option to address many of these concerns. Although mini-split systems may not be as common in the United States, these units are a reliable and trusted option used throughout much of the world. Keep reading to discover just five of the many reasons why a mini-split HVAC system and your rental properties may be a match made in heaven.
1. Easy Installation
If your rental units currently rely on simple window units for air conditioning, then you may think that retrofitting a more modern solution will be too cost-prohibitive. While installing ductwork into older buildings can sometimes cost, mini-split systems require almost no structural modifications. You typically only need a hole large enough to run refrigerant plumbing.
Their straightforward installation procedure means that you don’t have to disrupt the lives of your tenants when upgrading occupied units or leave unoccupied units unavailable for long. In most cases, installing a single mini-split system should only take an experienced contractor a day or two. Since so few modifications are required, you also have little potential for unexpected installation complications.
2. Minimal Maintenance
With traditional central air conditioning, ductwork presents a potential source of long-term maintenance hassles. Not only can ducts become dirty or even fail with age, but improper system use can promote mold growth or other problems. Since you can’t control how your tenants operate your HVAC system, you can’t ensure that they won’t create a potential future maintenance nightmare.
Keep in mind that mini-split systems do still require periodic maintenance. The more central location of the indoor air handling makes routine maintenance much more straightforward, however. In particular, HVAC personnel often have no need to access maintenance closets or basements when performing upkeep on mini-split systems.
3. Flexible Expansion
Mini-split systems offer greater flexibility than many other HVAC options. Like ducted central air conditioning systems, mini-splits use an interior air handler and an outside condenser unit. Unlike these systems, a single condenser can run multiple air handlers. If your property has several rental units, then each can have a separate air handler running from a single condenser.
Mini-split systems also tend to be easy to expand. Not only can you potentially add more air handlers to one condenser, but adding capacity is much easier. Since no ductwork is required, you have almost no work to perform inside your rental units. As long as you have the space on your property to install another condenser, you can easily expand your building’s HVAC capacity.
4. Combined Utility Bills
By choosing a heat pump mini-split system, you can help to simplify utilities for your tenants by combining heating and cooling. Heat pumps act as reversible air conditioners, cooling in the summer and warming in the winter. Since the heat pumps run on electricity, your tenants can take care of all of their HVAC needs without a separate heating bill.
5. Cost-Effective Efficiency
Heat pumps are also highly efficient. Unlike traditional electric heaters, heat pumps do not use waste heat to warm a space. Instead, they efficiently transport heat from one location to another. For particularly cost-conscious tenants, the high efficiency of a heat pump mini-split may be a significant selling point in favor of your property.
Steele Bros Heating, Inc., can handle installations for systems of any size or type. If you have considered mini-splits (or any other HVAC solution) for your properties, then give us a call!
