We’ve got a guest post today via our friends at Belyea Brothers, an HVAC contracting firm based in Toronto, Canada. We’ve been meaning to spend some time talking more about ductless air conditioning systems and just haven’t had the time. This provides us a great opportunity to start the conversation.
What are Ductless Air Conditioners?
In the summer time, a central AC can chill you entire home making in a pleasant haven from the sun. However, in older homes, it might not be possible to put in a whole house air conditioning system. In such homes, you will find single unit ACs that do have ducts and are usually connected to single rooms. These are commonly referred to as ductless air conditioners or wall mounted ACs. There are a variety of such units that can be used in a home and they offer several advantages over the conventional central cooling systems that are now used in most homes.
How do Ductless Air Conditioners Work?
The ductless air conditioner is also referred to as the mini – split system AC or as the packaged terminal air conditioner. In this model of AC, there are two separate units that are provided with the AC. One terminal package is the condensing unit which is housed outside the home usually on a wall. This outside unit will contain the compressor, the condenser, and the condenser fan. The unit is connected to another terminal located inside the home with a tube that passes through the wall. The interior unit is referred to as the evaporative unit and it is responsible for venting the cooler air into the home. It will contain the fan, the evaporator coil and the expansion unit. This two unit system is now commonly seen on hotels, small apartments and even in motels as it can effectively chill one to two rooms within fifteen minutes.
Advantages of a Ductless Air Conditioner
- A ductless air conditioner can chill a room completely by keeping the room at a constant temperature. Most units are provided with a remote by which you can automatically adjust temperature for daytime or night-time.
- A single room is chilled efficiently and this is a very effective way of reducing your energy expenditures and your annual energy bill. Most models are also Energy Star rated to ensure that they work much more efficiently on the least energy possible.
- As the unit is attached to the wall, there are no security concerns of open holes in the walls or even open windows in which a window-AC is placed. These units are particularly useful as they are unobtrusive and take up minimum space on a wall.
- A large range of sizes and models are available for large and small rooms. For example, most companies start with models that are about 9,000 BTU and which can chill a room of about 300 – 350 square feet. The indoor units may also be provided in mini sizes for smaller rooms and chilling capacity may increase up to 36,000 BTU for rooms that are about. 1450 – 1500 square feet
- Most modern units are provided with a range of innovative new features which make them very good for a small home. For example, Daikin units are optimized for sound efficiency resulting in a near silent performance cycle. Other brand also offer features like programmable on-off cycles, air filtering to remove biological contaminants, auto-restarts after power outages, automatic on when the AC detects a person in the room and so on.
Disadvantages of a Split AC
- A split AC is more expensive than wall mounted ACs but they are cheaper to install and use as compared to a whole house cooling system.
- A specialized HVAC technician is required to install the AC. Even during the installation of the ductless AC system, the technician will have to make a 3- 4 inch hole through the wall to allow the tubing to pass from the outside of the house to the unit on the inside.
- Once the unit has been installed, it is expensive to remove it from the wall so that it can be shifted to another location. A technician has to be called in to disconnect the tubing and to remove the units safely.
Maintaining your Ductless Air Conditioner
Ductless air conditioners are one of the quietest types of AC’s and the reason is that separate machines are used to operate the whole system. It is very important to maintain it as you will get a smooth running AC that will be quiet for the many years to come. One of the first things you can do is clean or replace the filters. The main purpose of a filter is to keep the inside of your air conditioner clean so make sure you either clean it or replace it every 2-4 weeks. Next you will want to clean the coils located inside your condenser unit. Before doing so make sure the power to the air conditioner is turned off as the coils are very dangerous when the unit has current flowing through it. After the unit is turned off you will need to vacuum from the outside to remove any excess debris then use a brush or spray to clean further in the coils. You can schedule a twice yearly cleaning with your local air conditioning repair company to make sure there is nothing obstructing your condenser.
Average Cost of a Ductless Air Conditioner
Almost every major manufacturer will make different types and models of a ductless ACs for home and commercial use. Major brands like Daikin, Samsung and Panasonic offer a range of different sizes and models. For example, on an average, a mini ductless Panasonic AC will cost about $221 or more. Average rates for different models may vary as much as $200- $1500 or more. This price will depend on the cooling capacity of the model, the brand and the venue that you are purchasing the AC from. However, we do suggest you compare rates online through online forums before finalizing the deal.
About the Author:
Zain writes on behalf of Belyea Brothers who is Toronto’s most reliable air conditioning and heater repair company. They have been in business for over 100 years and they are a community favorite. If you would like to know more about the best Toronto air conditioning repair company look no further and visit http://www.belyeabrothers.com now. You can also contact them at (416) 425-1200 where they are located on 2 Thorncliffe Park Dr., Unit No. 24 Toronto, ON M4H 1H2.
Thank you for writing this article. I always stress to my clients to do maintenance as well, especially simple things such as changing the filters. It really does help keep the home cool (or warm), and ensures proper ventilation for a healthy environment free of germs or other airborne pathogens.
I find that nobody so far has listed a major disadvantage of split systems that you cannot easily heat the same number of rooms unless you leave many doors open.
How about bathrooms? If no separate coil for a bathroom, it can be pretty uncomfortable even with the door open on a very cold or very hot day.
That is a big, big disadvantage. Why haven’t you listed it?
I think you just did Jeff. Thanks for the input. Same issues occurs when cooling. Definitely things to consider when looking at these types of systems.