Sometimes you need air conditioning or heat in a home without attic or basement space to run ducts. A ductless mini-split unit may be your best answer in those situations. What is a ductless mini-split, and is it the right solution for you?
HVAC without ducts
A ductless mini-split is a heating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system that blows into a room directly from the equipment. There are no ducts running through an attic, basement or closet, and no duct supply rooms. The blower-air handler is mounted on the wall about eight feet up in the room you want to heat and cool, and the condenser-compressor unit is outside the house.
When to use ductless mini-splits
Ductless mini-splits are a good solution when you’re adding a room or converting a garage or a basement to a living space, and structurally there is no place to run ducts. They’re also appropriate when you have an outbuilding, cabin, or guest cottage that’s too small to justify a complete HVAC system or in older buildings heated with radiators and space heaters with no interior wall, ceiling, or floor spaces for running ducts. A wall-mounted ductless unit connects to the outdoor compressor-condenser unit via a three-inch hole drilled through the structure’s outside wall.
Mini-splits vs. window units
Window air conditioning does a fine job of cooling and heating a small space. But it takes up a window, creating an opportunity for intruders to enter your home. And in a basement, you may not have an adequate window for a unit.
Advantages
Mini-splits are easy to install. There is no expensive and intrusive running of ducts from room to room.
Mini-splits are more energy efficient than traditional HVAC, since duct systems often leak treated air into attic, basement or wall spaces.
Mini-splits are great for zoned air treatment. You can cool or heat one room but omit the next if needed.
They can be cost effective for additions, remodels and buildings that are separate from a main house.
Disadvantages
Mini-splits are affordable if you need to treat only one or two rooms but become expensive when used in multiple rooms.
You may dislike the appearance of the wall-mounted unit.
Mini-split filters are thinner than those in traditional systems and require cleaning every month.
Ductless mini-splits don’t perform well in extreme temperatures. When outside temperatures are 20 or more degrees higher or lower than you want a room to be, a mini-split system will struggle to perform.
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