How Exactly Does Ductless Air Conditioning Work?

Ductless air conditioning is an increasingly popular choice for homeowners who want a more affordable HVAC system that doesn’t require ductwork to be installed. It’s long been popular in older homes that only have baseboard or radiator heating, but it’s becoming more common in new builds as well. However, many people still aren’t sure exactly what a ductless air conditioner is.

The main components in a ductless split system

One of the advantages of a ductless system is that it takes up very little room inside your house. There are two main components:

• An indoor unit that includes a fan and is typically installed close to the ceiling on an exterior wall directly in the area that you’re cooling.
• A compressor unit is installed on the exterior of your home on a slab of concrete.

The units are then connected via copper refrigerant lines. Small holes are drilled into the wall for the lines to run through and the indoor unit from the outdoor unit, so you don’t need to add wiring in the room or area you’re cooling.

How exactly is the room cooled?

When you turn the ductless air conditioner on, it works similarly to the way a regular central A/C unit works. The main difference is that it doesn’t require the ductwork or extra equipment that you’d need if you were to install central air conditioning.

The unit that’s installed outside does the work of pumping and cooling and then moves the refrigerant through the copper lines right to the indoor unit. Inside that unit, a fan works to distribute cool air. Remember that cold air has more weight than warm air, which is why the cooled air drops down and the hot air rises up. The indoor unit then removes that hot air, along with condensation, and moves it back to the compressor through those same lines.

There are a lot of advantages to this type of system

A ductless mini-split system has a ton of advantages and allows you to:

• Keep a consistent temperature in the rooms you’re cooling with your system.
• Deal with less noise and use less electricity than you would with central air.
• Install several units so you can only cool specific rooms or areas within your house.
• Increase the quality of the air within your house.

If you’re thinking about making the switch to a ductless system, then your next call should be to AC-World.