Ductless Air Conditioning in San Diego
When most people think of air conditioning, no doubt one of two things comes to mind: central air or window units. But in our efforts to reduce costs and increase efficiency, many are turning to ductless air conditioning solutions.
What is ductless air conditioning? Well, your typical system requires a large compressor outside your home that pushes air through a series of ducts and vents to reach different rooms of your home.
The energy required for such a few can be tremendous. But ductless systems forgo all of that and cool air on the spot.
To do this, they still use an external compressor, but rather than having a single large air handler (evaporator), ductless air conditioning utilizes many smaller units, called mini-splits, placed throughout the home.
Single Zone vs. Multi-Zone
Single Zone
A single zone system refers to a single mini-split unit that cools a single room or zone. Your only parts include the outdoor compressor an the indoor unit. But it also means you can only cool one room.
Multi-Zone
If your intention is to cool more than a single space, you’ll want a multi-zone system. Let’s say you have six rooms you want cooled. Your multi-zone system includes a single outdoor compressor and up to eight interconnected indoor units.
Types of Mini-Split Ductless Air conditioning
Wall Mount
These are the most standard units. They are placed on the wall and can go wherever you’d like them to be.
Ceiling Mount
Ceiling units are situated in the center of the room and drop down. These are mostly used in commercial environments.
Floor Mount
Floor mounted air conditioners are for areas that can’t accommodate wall or ceiling units.
Choosing the right size
Choosing the right ductless air conditioning system is not as simple as going to the store and buying a window unit. The size of the space you’re trying to cool and the power output of the unit need to be taken into consideration.
This sizing guide from Sylvane will help you out:
Because of the complexity involved in measuring your space, choosing the right size, and installing the unit, it’s best to leave this work to an experienced contractor.
Precision Temperature is San Diego’s trusted air conditioning experts and we’re here to help.
As tempting as it may be to do it yourself, only a licensed professional can ensure proper installation. Because many homeowners skip this step, they find that they’ve voided the manufacturer’s warranty and are left holding the bill if their system breaks down prematurely.
Benefits of a Ductless Air Conditioning System
All this talk about mini-split ductless air conditioning and we still haven’t told you why you’d want one. Whether you choose a mini-split or traditional central air conditioning will depend entirely on your individual home situation.
But regardless of where you live, there are a few overall benefits of ductless air conditioning.
1. Cost Savings
The #1 benefit of a mini-split air conditioning system is the money that you’ll save by having one.
These savings are two-fold. The first is for everyone and involves the reduced electricity required to run. Because mini-splits are installed in each room, you only need to cool the room you’re currently occupying.
This, coupled with a more energy efficient system, will lower your monthly electric bill, keeping everybody happy.
The second aspect of savings is really only for smaller homes. Compared to traditional systems, ductless air conditioning is easier to install and thereby costs less money.
Instead of tearing apart your house to install a full network of ducting, mini-splits mount onto a wall with only a small whole drilled in to run lines to the outside compressor.
The reason why this isn’t as beneficial for larger homes is that mini-split units can be quite costly. If you were to add a unit to four bedrooms, your kitchen, living room, den, and an office, then you could nearly double the installation costs of a traditional system.
If you’re curious about the exact costs to install a ductless air conditioner in San Diego, give us a call to schedule your free quote.
2. More Control & Better comfort
Picture this, you’re sweating in your office so you crank up the A/C. Five minutes later, your wife yells from across the house that she’s freezing, but your room has only just begun to cool down.
This happens because certain parts of your home are warmer than others depending on a variety of factors. With whole-house central air conditioning, you turn on the system and the whole house begins to cool–even if only one room really needs it.
Now you’re faced with a choice. Sweat in your office, or make your wife unhappy. A lose-lose for sure. But with a mini-split air conditioner, there is no dilemma.
3. Quieter Operation
Let’s continue the office illustration. If your office is close to the main vent, anytime the system kicks on creates a bothersome roar. If your system is old–or you only have a window unit–then it can be quite loud, even in standard operation.
Ductless air conditioning is designed with your comfort in mind, and that includes sound. With a mini-split, you won’t need to worry about taking an important conference call, holding that phone interview, or apologizing to a VIP client because of your noisy system.
4. Quicker and Cleaner Installation
If you’ve ever had major work done on your home, then you know about the mess renovation projects can make.
Even if you arrange for repair with your contractor, you’re certain to be living in a demolition zone for a few days. But with most mini-split systems, installation can be completed in a single day with minimal disturbance to the drywall of your home.
5. Heating and Air Conditioning All-in-One
If you’re considering a mini-split system for your home, don’t just go halfway. Why have only air conditioning when you can get heating too?
Choosing a mini-split heat pump instead of just your basic air conditioning unit will double the system’s efficiency and your comfort.
Don’t just use your new system in the summer when you could be using it all year round.
Drawbacks of Mini-Splits
For all their benefits, there are a few drawbacks to ductless air conditioning systems. It’s up to you to determine whether the benefits outweigh the negatives.
1. Visible in your home
While a traditional system is hidden behind the ceilings of your home, a mini-split hangs on the wall for all to see.
For some people, they quickly block it out of mind and don’t even notice. But for others, the mini-split can be an eye sore in an otherwise lovely room.
And you need these bulky units in every room that you want cooled.
2. Constant maintenance
You should be performing regular maintenance even on your whole-house system, but with ductless air conditioning, you’ll need to be diligent about keeping the filter clean in order to get the most out of your unit and keeping it in good working order.
This maintenance is needs to be done on each and every unit in your home. So if you have six units, that’s six filters to clean each month.
Get your free ductless air conditioning quote
Precision Temperature is a licensed and insured heating and air conditioning contractor in San Diego.
Call us today if you have any questions about mini-splits or want to set up an appointment for a free quote.
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