About a year ago, I lost my job and was unable to find another. Falling behind on my mortgage, health insurance and monthly expenses, I needed to figure out a way to earn a living. I decided to make some changes to my home and create a bed-and-breakfast. While I was stressed over taking out a loan, the renovations were fairly minor and inexpensive. I am fortunate to have a boiler heating system, which adapted well. The boiler pumps heated water through a system of pipes, which are connected to baseboard heaters in each room. The hydronic heating system is wonderfully energy efficient, safe, and clean. It also allows easy zoned control of temperature. With the addition of thermostats in all of the rooms, each space can now be controlled independently. Not only are the guests able to customize temperature to their preference, but I avoid heating unoccupied rooms. Plus, the influx of heat is very gentle, and because no new air is introduced, it avoids an influx of dust and other allergens. I’ve never had a guest complain about the cleanliness, comfort or smell of the rooms. Because the system heats up very quickly, maintains an even temperature, and uses little energy, my monthly costs are kept quite low. Prior to summer, I need to invest in some type of cooling system. I have held off because I wanted to make sure my business plan would work out. I am now planning to install a ductless multi-split air conditioner, which won’t require any major tear down and should perfectly suit my requirements.