Room by room
Which zones does your house need?
A zone is one room, or a few rooms that share a setting. Pick a room to see what we look at.
Living room
One head on the longest wall that is not behind a sofa or a bookcase. Open archways let one head reach the dining room. Doors that stay closed make a second zone.
Bedrooms
A head in each bedroom is the simplest plan. Two small bedrooms can share one if the doors stay open. The head goes on the wall furthest from the bed.
Attic or dormer
A ceiling cassette between rafters or a wall head on the gable. We check the insulation first, since a leaky room needs insulation before any unit.
Basement den
A floor-level head keeps the wall clear. The drain is usually simple. A finished den takes its own zone.
Home office
A room you sit in all day should have its own setting. It is usually the easiest zone to justify.
Kitchen and dining
A kitchen heats itself while you cook. An open dining room can share a head with the living room. We usually leave the kitchen to the neighbors.
Hall and stairs
The hall rarely needs a head. A head in an upstairs hall can serve bedrooms with doors open.
Sunroom or porch
We size by the glass. It is usually a good candidate for its own outdoor unit.
Four kinds of indoor unit
The room decides which one. We say which and why.
Wall head
The common one. It mounts high on a wall and needs one hole through it.
Floor-level head
Mounts low, under a window or on a basement wall. Keeps the high wall clear.
Ceiling cassette
Sits flush in a ceiling or between rafters. Good for attics and rooms with no wall to spare.
Slim duct unit
Hides above a ceiling and serves a room through a small vent. It needs more space and more work.
One outdoor unit or several
One outdoor unit for the house, or one per room
Both are common. It depends on how many rooms, how far apart, and what the electrical panel has.
| One unit per room | One multi-zone outdoor unit | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | One unit per roomOne or two rooms, or rooms far apart | One multi-zone outdoor unitThree or more rooms close to one outdoor spot |
| Outdoor equipment | One unit per roomA cabinet for each room served | One multi-zone outdoor unitOne cabinet, one place on the lot |
| If one part fails | One unit per roomOnly that room is affected | One multi-zone outdoor unitThe shared unit serves every head |
| The limit | One unit per roomNone | One multi-zone outdoor unitEach model has a limit on the number and size of heads, written in the proposal |
| Electrical | One unit per roomA circuit for each unit | One multi-zone outdoor unitOne circuit |
Want us to draw your zones?
Send the age of the house and a photo of each room. We will mark your zones on the walkthrough and write them into the proposal.