My house was built sometime in the late 1800s.
I love that we still have the original hardwood floors, doors and moldings. The high ceilings, big windows and ornate staircase are just beautiful. Until about a year ago, however, we struggled to keep the living space cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Without conventional ductwork, we were making do with a combination of electric heaters and window air conditioners. We invested into a natural gas fireplace that made a huge difference in the comfort of the living room. With temperatures dropping to the negative twenties in the winter and climbing into the low nineties in the summer, we needed a much more powerful, whole-home heating and cooling system. My husband and I were unwilling to destroy the architectural integrity of the home in order to install ductwork. Tearing down ceilings and walls would have created a giant mess and expense. After some extensive research, I finally came across high-velocity heating and cooling. This type of system is designed specifically to retrofit into older homes without damage. The ductwork consists of mini-pipes that are flexible and only two-inches in diameter. They can be routed through existing walls, around plumbing pipes and electrical outlets. The actual heating/cooling unit is compact enough that we were able to locate it in a closet. The high-velocity system uses a process of aspiration to quickly raise or lower room temperature. It delivers the conditioned air at such a high rate of speed that it creates a gentle suction. Because of the high-velocity system, our whole house is now perfectly comfortable all year round.