Ductless air conditioners have become a popular option for many homeowners, but there are still a number of people who don’t quite understand how these systems provide whole-home cooling. The name can be confusing – after all, up until the last 10 years or so you had to have ductwork in order to have whole-home cooling. The truth is that ductless systems don’t operate very differently from traditional split systems, as we’ll explain below.
The Components
Ductless systems are comprised of an outdoor unit that, as with a traditional air conditioning system, houses the compressor and the condenser. The difference comes with the indoor equipment: the delivery system for the cool air consists of individual indoor blowers. The blowers are about 3 feet long and contain a small air filter, small set of coils and a small fan.
The indoor blowers connect to the outdoor unit via a conduit placed in an exterior wall; this conduit contains a power cord, refrigerant line and condensate line. Blowers can be mounted flush against walls or hung from ceilings, and a single outdoor unit can support up to 4 blowers.
How It Works
The blowers operate individually, so when you turn on a single blower, it starts the air conditioning process. Refrigerant flows between the blower and outdoor unit, and cool air is delivered directly from the blower into the space in which it resides. The cooling process is the same as with a traditional split-system AC: warm air is removed from your living space and released outdoors and cool air is blown back in. You can turn on all your blowers at once, or turn on only the ones you need.
Repair and maintenance for a ductless system is very similar to that of a traditional AC system, with the exception of the indoor blowers, and the system has the same average lifespan of a traditional split system, which ranges from 15-20 years.
Ductless ACs can offer your home customized comfort, easy expansion (if needed) and the ability to have whole-home cooling without needing ductwork. If you are interested to see if ductless air conditioning is a fit for your home in Angel Fire, call us today!
