Most of the homes we work on are straightforward. People want comfort, they want to be energy efficient, and they want to work with a company that does the job well, and we are right there to help get that done.
But we also, without a doubt, love to navigate problems and love to solve them like a puzzle, no matter what they bring to the table, but sometimes we come across a project that is different from the norm.
Keith and Susan’s was one of those and we were more than prepared and excited to get to work on it.
The Home
Keith and Susan have a beautiful home built for gathering in Lone Tree, CO. They host events, their kid got married on the property, and they love having family coming through. Over the years they’d converted their garage into a living space, with a secondary dwelling above it, and that space had become an important aspect of their home, from hosting guests to Susan’s own craft studio.
The problem was that the space was never really comfortable. It had an old window unit that was built into the wall and it allowed air out into the garage. This isn’t something you want when comfort in the rooms most important to you is a goal. Since they wanted to host and enjoy this space, they needed a change.
Keith and Susan didn’t want an average HVAC or heat pump installation company either. They wanted a heat pump specialist like us who designs for the space vs simply installing whatever is easiest or standard. So we knew it was time to get to work.
Keith and Susan’s Home (Before) Photos
A few shots of their home and situation before we installed
What Was The Install Like?
The converted garage with a living space above it isn’t like a typical home. There are rooms that are different sizes and used in different ways which means a single system blasting one temperature everywhere was never going to work. This includes an RV (super tall ceiling) garage bay, bedrooms, bathrooms, a crafts studio, and more.
No one likes it when one room ends up stuffy while another stays cold. Susan’s craft studio was a perfect example, it was one of the spaces that felt off.
Our answer was a multi-zone mini-split system. Instead of one output trying to serve the whole space, a multi-zone setup lets us condition each area independently, so the craft studio, the guest space, and all the other spaces can each be set to what is most comfortable. It’s a more involved design, but it’s the right choice for a space like this.
Our first pass came in bigger than it needed to be. Rather than just sell them the larger system, we went back, revisited the design, and switched it to a smaller system that still did everything they needed. We always want to design what is best for the home, and that is what we did
The Equipment
We choose LG RED’s multizone line for many reasons. Of course the efficiency and rebates help, but overall their mini split system is excellent for variability of design to meet the different needs of different ones.
We were able to do 4 different zones, all calculated and designed for different sizes based on each room’s needs. One single heat pump/condenser outdoors powered all four, and provided about 4 tons of heat all the way down to 0-5F and below.
We are “Pro” installers (signed up as taken the trainings and registered for the longest warranty periods) with many manufacturers, but we like to lead with science-first and modeling. From there we move to equipment selection, and are generally brand-agnostic when finding the very best equipment that fits the design modeling and for your individual home. This was indeed one of those cases.
Equipment Used:
- KUMXA421A LG RED 48K cold climate heat pump / condenser
- A mix of 7,000, 12,000, and 18,000 BTU indoor wall mount indoor high efficiency mini split heads.
- The system also required a special branch box to direct and regular the refrigerant to all the individual indoor units.
Keith and Susan’s (After) Install Photos
The LG systems
The Payoff
At the end of the day, Keith and Susan were able to reach their goals, which was to have a converted space that finally works as well as the rest of their home. Susan’s craft studio is comfortable. The spaces they host are comfortable. The family areas are taken care of. No longer do they need to to try enjoy a space that just didn’t feel right
Not every home fits the mold of a typical design and this one didn’t, but that’s exactly why it was the kind of project we love. If your home has a space that’s unusual, hard to condition, or that another company told you was too complicated, that’s our specialty, and we’d love to take it on. Book a discovery call here and let’s figure out how to help you reach whatever goals you have for the comfort of your home.
