We’ve bought a mountain house that has only electric-resistance heat (mostly baseboard, and a couple of in-wall blower units).   Imagining electric bills will be horrifying, I’m looking to install at least one minisplit.   The house has a day basement (partially below, partially above grade), a lower floor with bedrooms, and an upper floor with living/dining room, kitchen, and office; each floor is about 850 sq-ft. I believe if I install one minisplit on the upper floor, I will get the most bang for my buck.   Normally you want common/living space to be warmer than bedrooms; also, there are three bedrooms,…

Hello- We own a 1958 brick home in Dallas, TX. We have added spray foam insulation to the attic. We’ve learned our walls do not have any insulation & our rooms get uncomfortably hot in the summers and cold in the winters. We are in the planning phase for a remodel and addition to our home- we’d like to add 2000 sq feet to a 2000sq ft home. We would like to add high R value materials for our new addition. Also, we would like to bring our older half of the home to become more energy efficient. I was…

I have a 1300 square foot ranch home in Metro Denver, which puts me in climate zone 5B.  A few years ago I installed an Energy Efficient Ducted Evaporative Cooler.  It works perfectly, and keeps the house very cool in the summer, even on the hottest of days.  My only concern is the need to have windows open to vent the stale “exhaust air.”  Keeping windows open is a security risk and poses a noise issue as well.   I have seen the Up-Dux barometric damper that allows EC exhaust air to be vented through the ceiling into the attic.  This…