No Ducts? No Problem! a Look at Ductless Heating and Cooling Systems
July 25, 2023
Central heating and cooling systems are desirable for many reasons. This type of HVAC configuration allows you to heat and cool your home via a single furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump, all controlled through a thermostat interface. However, central HVAC solutions require the installation of ductwork inside your ceilings, floors, and walls; if your home is not already equipped with this network of ducts, adding ducts is possible but costly. In the past, homes without ductwork were forced to use single-room heating and cooling solutions, such as window air conditioners and space heaters, for comfort throughout the year. This solution was both costly and inconvenient, but today, there is a better option—mini-split HVAC systems.
Mini-Split Basics
Mini-split HVAC systems are a great solution for homes without existing ductwork. Rather than move conditioned air through ducts, a mini-split system transfers refrigerant between an outdoor condenser and one or several indoor air handlers, which are mounted in each room. The refrigerant is circulated via a set of cables, which require only a small hole, typically three inches in diameter, to pass through your home’s exterior and into each room where an air handler is installed. A single outdoor unit can provide enough heating and cooling for four to six indoor air handling units, allowing you to heat or cool numerous rooms at once if you wish. Multiple outdoor condensers can be added to accommodate enough air handlers for complete home heating and cooling. Each indoor air handler is controlled via either manual input or a remote to adjust the temperature in the room. Mini-split air conditioners provide cooling only, while mini-split heat pumps can provide both heating and cooling for your indoor spaces.
Mini-Split Advantages
Mini-split HVAC systems offer several advantages if you’re looking for a home heating or cooling solution but your home doesn’t currently have ducts. Installing a mini-split system is a much smaller and less costly project than installing ducts, but can provide the same multi-room heating and cooling as a central forced air system. Mini-split HVAC systems offer automatic HVAC zoning capabilities without the problems associated with zoning a central forced air system, letting you choose to heat and cool only the spaces you are currently using to reduce energy consumption and keep your monthly bills as low as possible. The air handlers associated with your mini-split system can be installed in a variety of locations, including ceilings and walls, allowing for a versatile heating and cooling solution that can be tailored to each space in your home for the utmost convenience. These systems are quiet, unobtrusive, and won’t suffer from duct losses, which can rob a central HVAC system of efficiency over time. Over the years, most mini-split HVAC systems will lose less than 5% efficiency due to wear and tear, as opposed to duct losses that can rise as high as 40% if interior ductwork is not cleaned and repaired periodically.
If you’re ready to consider a mini-split HVAC system for your Columbus home, our home heating and cooling experts are here to help. You can explore all our heating and cooling options when you click through our comprehensive website, where you can also reach us to schedule a home assessment or HVAC service visit. If you’d like to learn even more about your home heating and cooling options, take a look through our blog archive for further news and information.