My husband and I purchased an older home that needed to be nearly completely gutted to make it liveable. The roof had leaked for quite some time, causing a great deal of water damage to the ceilings, walls and floors. We were faced with crumbling plaster, warped doors, corroded pipes and an electrical system that wouldn’t pass code. The heating and cooling system was not salvageable. Even the ductwork was in such bad shape that it needed to be entirely torn out. This left us with options. We were starting from scratch and could choose any type of temperature control system we wanted. After a lot of debate, we decided on a VRF system. Variable Refrigerant Flow technology involves an air-cooled and refrigerant-based process that uses an outdoor condenser linked to multiple small air handlers. The air handlers can be individually controlled. The main advantage of VRF is the system’s ability to regulate the amount of refrigerant flowing to each of the air handlers.
The compressor detects the precise requirements of each zone and sends the exact amount of refrigerant necessary to maintain ideal comfort. Because of this, the operation minimizes energy uses and is especially efficient and cost-effective. It also maintains very consistent comfort, optimum humidity levels and avoids hot and cold spots. Plus, a VRF system can heat one room while cooling another. It will even repurpose the heat pulled from the air conditioning process and send it to those areas that need heat. Since the air handlers are especially compact and don’t require ducts, the system is a space-saving alternative to conventional heating and cooling equipment.