When my husband and I first got married, our house was the perfect size for the two of us. Over the years, we’ve added four children and two dogs to our family. The house became terribly cramped. We decided the kids needed to each have their own rooms, which necessitated a sizeable addition. The most difficult part of our project was determining how to handle temperature control. In the area where we live, the weather is extreme just about all year round. We need some type of whole-home heating and cooling system. The existing house was already equipped with a forced air furnace and central air conditioner. We considered extending the duct system to the new space but were reluctant to sacrifice square footage and invest so much money. Plus, we worried that the smaller furnace and air conditioner wouldn’t be able to handle the extra demand. We started looking into an option that could be installed without a huge drain on our budget. After some research, I came across ductless systems. A ductless heat pump provides both heating and cooling capacity. A single outdoor compressor links to up to eight individual air handlers. The air handlers are mounted up high on the wall and feature a separate thermostat. This allows the temperature in each room to be customized to personal preference. The ductless heating and cooling system includes inverter technology that automatically adapts speeds to demand. The system is able to run longer at lower speeds, conserving energy and offering more even temperature. The ductless multi-split system provided the ideal solution to the needs of our home addition.