A ductless air conditioning system is becoming an extremely popular choice for homeowners who either want to reduce their energy consumption or who are adding onto their home and want to make the space more comfortable. While a ductless system is significantly cheaper than a new central system or even re-routing your current system to your new space, there are some key differences in how they operate that you need to know about. Knowing these differences can help you determine if one of these units is right for you.
Small Systems
One of the big benefits of a ductless system is that they are small, which means they use significantly less electricity while still producing a surprising amount of cool air. However, they’re only really effective in small spaces as a result. They have smaller fans, smaller compressors, smaller expansion chambers, and as a result a much smaller cooling ability. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though: too large of a system in too small of an area can have negative consequences.
How Ductless AC Systems Work
The biggest convenience factor to a ductless system is that their small size means you can pack everything into one smaller unit (or one smaller two-unit package in the case of a ductless mini-split system). This makes them significantly easier to install and equally easy to maintain.
A ductless system has all of the same components as your regular system. They have a compressor, evaporator coil, condenser coil, and an expansion chamber, all of which are necessary to move heat from inside to out. And they even function almost entirely the same, taking warmer air from an intake vent, absorbing the heat from it, and then radiating the heat outside. However, instead of pushing the air out over a series of ducts, the blower fan simply projects the air straight into the room where the unit is found.
There are a few tradeoffs for this. Ductless systems are generally louder than central systems, primarily because the compressor and outdoor blower fan, which make the most noise, are close by and even sometimes within the same unit as the rest of the system. Likewise, their smaller size also means they’re not really capable of cooling more than just a single room.
However, if you’re looking to climate control your garage, basement, or add-on in your home, a ductless mini-split system may be the perfect solution. These systems often feature large blower fans that distribute the cool air they produce quickly across the room, lowering temperatures and removing humidity quickly and effectively.
To learn more about installing a ductless air conditioning unit in your home, contact Homeworks today at (651) 237-2698.