It’s that time of year again: back to school. Last year, the pandemic upended the quintessential visions of kids boarding big yellow school buses, lunchbox in hand, while mom and dad waved goodbye before heading off to their jobs. Instead, many schools turned to virtual learning while companies instituted new work-from-home policies.

As restrictions have eased, schools are welcoming students back to in-person learning or introducing a hybrid schedule this fall. 2021’s first day of school may look more like years past for some. Other families are continuing the at-home classroom model, whether by personal choice or by school district mandate. In any case, the homebound lifestyle of the last year and counting has given homeowners reason to evaluate their families’ habits and make changes to accommodate them. If you haven’t already, consider how switching your home to an all-electric HVAC system can help your family through the upcoming school year.

Viewing HVAC through a new lens

Being at home 24/7 is a good reason to want your space to be comfortable. After all, a comfortable learning or working environment leads to better productivity. Studies have shown children retain information better in air-conditioned spaces.

However, having the whole family constantly under one roof can also be a catalyst for a thermostat war. With a conventional heating and air-conditioning system, squabbles over the thermostat are inevitable when families have varied comfort preferences. One person’s perfect temperature might be uncomfortable for the rest of the family. A centralized unit leaves no room for accommodating multiple temperature ideals.

Fortunately, there’s an alternative! If you’re gearing up for another year of virtual learning, it’s time to invest in an improved learning environment for your child with customizable comfort. A Mitsubishi Electric zoned heating and air-conditioning system is the solution!

An A+ for customized comfort

With a zoned system, spend less time worrying about comfort and more time focusing on how to ace math tests or win first prize in the Zoom science fair! One outdoor unit can connect up to eight indoor units for individualized comfort in each zone.

If your children are in for another virtual school year, you can ensure their home classroom is conducive to learning. Say one of your children likes their room chilly and another prefers their room to be warmer, or wants the air turned off altogether. Zoning is the solution. Each unit can be set to the desired temperature set point of the room or zone it serves. Additionally, because our all-electric mini- and multi-split heat pumps use INVERTER compressor technology, they’re running constantly, but only using the precise amount of energy needed to condition a space to its set point. No disruptive on/off cycling here!

If your kiddos are heading back to in-person or a hybrid school/home learning model, zoning also proves to be ideal. Each zone’s temperature can be set back when not in use while occupied spaces stay comfortable.

Higher efficiency, lower costs

Our lives changed in countless ways when the world went virtual, but one of the most immediate impacts many homeowners felt were higher utility bills. Our houses had been sitting empty for 40 hours per week while we went to school and work. Suddenly having the whole family at home all day, every day meant our homes’ utilities were getting significantly more use.

Breaking down energy use into per person, per day numbers, can be tricky, since there are certain elements of the home in near constant use. However, selecting an energy-efficient heating and air-conditioning system is one way to guarantee you’ll see savings on your next electric bill.

Conventional air-conditioning systems operate using an energy-wasting on/off cycle. Once the system reaches your temperature set point, it shuts off, only to turn on again. Our mini- or multi-split heat pump systems run constantly, making them up to 40 percent more efficient than traditional systems, and passing the savings onto you.

From HVAC systems to electricity use, spending extra time indoors has made many of us more observant of how we’re using our homes and the costs associated with our comfort, whether monetary or otherwise.