Ductless heating and cooling systems have become a very popular HVAC choice for homeowners throughout Santa Fe and beyond. Rather than operating through a network of air ducts connect to an indoor air handler and evaporator unit, ductless mini splits break up the indoor unit and blower fans, and distribute air handlers, mounted on the wall, throughout the home.
If you’ve ever considered this type of system, chances are you’d benefit from it a lot! But we do need to mention just how important it is that you have yours professionally installed. Forgoing professional HVAC installation will lead to a number of problems, which we will touch on below.
This isn’t to say there is a downside to choosing to go ductless. Ductless systems are the optimal choice for climates like ours, with hot summers and relatively mild winters, and most ideal for homes with multiple stories and/or multiple rooms. But without a trained and experienced HVAC professional on your side, your ductless system and home can suffer from:
Water Leaks behind the Air Handlers
Each wall-mounted air handler has a series of connections routed through a hold behind it. This is called a conduit, and it consists of a power line, refrigerant line, and a condensate line—the condensate line removes moisture from the cooling process so it doesn’t enter your home, instead.
But, these lines can leak! If this happens, water starts to collect between the back of the air handler and the wall. What eventually happens is the wall material weakens, and the air handler will rip away and fall off. This damages the wall and almost certainly breaks the air handler!
If you already have a ductless system in place and notice signs of water damage around the air handler, be sure to call for repairs right away.
Broken Air Handlers
There’s a little bit of a benefit hidden in this repair need. If a single air handler of your ductless system breaks due to a failed motor or some other problem, the rest of the air handlers throughout your home will continue to operate.
The only part of your home that loses cooling or heating is the one with the broken air handler. When one of the units stops working, you need only to call for repairs and then go hand out in another room or area of your home until the problem is fixed!
Leaking Refrigerant Lines
A refrigerant leak is not something that is unique to only ductless systems, but the problems it creates are greater for ductless units. Since refrigerant lines run through a conduit behind your wall, a refrigerant leak could mean that the refrigerant will actually enter your home, which could be harmful.
Refrigerant loss on its own is detrimental to the performance of your HVAC system, ductless or not. It doesn’t allow the system to properly do its job, and will lead to system breakdown.
If you do need ductless heating repair in Santa Fe, NM, don’t hesitate to contact the pros at Roadrunner Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration.
