What is a Ductless Mini-Split Air Conditioner And How Does it Work?

Ductless air conditioning systems are a flexible method of heating and cooling individual rooms in your home. With a mini-split, you’re doing away with expensive HVAC work to take finer control over the temperature and humidity in your home. It’s more efficient, quieter, and a lot easier to adjust each part of your home, but is it right for you?

Let’s find out! In this article we’re going over exactly what a ductless air conditioning system is, how it works, and its benefits. Once we’re through, you’ll be able to judge whether this heating and cooling solution will fit your family’s needs.

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What Is A Ductless Mini-Split System?

A ductless mini-split is an air conditioning system consisting of one or more wall-mounted air handlers and an outdoor compressor that work together to cool (and potentially heat) your home in distinct, usually single-room zones. It relies on refrigerant to warm and cool air, and it’s very effective at both – with the capability of chilling rooms down to 5°F. Call it a mini-split or a ductless AC unit for short – both work. It’s more permanent than a window AC unit but less involved than an HVAC-based central air system, and it is a whole lot quieter and more efficient to run than both.

How Do Ductless Mini-Split AC Units Work?

Rather than piping air from one central unit to ducts installed throughout your home, the mini-split consists of just two main components: the compressor, or outdoor unit, which is installed outside your home, and the air handler, or indoor unit, which is mounted on a wall, the floor, or recessed into the ceiling of the room you want to cool. The two units are connected by a number of refrigerant lines, tubing, and power cords, made by drilling a single hole in the wall. The air handler and compressor utilize refrigerant and electricity when it needs to be heated or cooled, pulling in air and pumping it over evaporator coils to cool it, and then sending the refrigerant to the compressor to be condensed from gas back into liquid form. The process repeats, bringing the temperature in your room down.

How do you control it? Almost all mini-splits come with a remote control for each air handler. Some models, like the MRCOOL DIY Mini-Split, have connected features like compatibility with Alexa, Siri, and Google Home and apps for your phone or tablet, letting you set your home’s temperature wherever you are. One of the biggest benefits of a mini-split over traditional HVAC is fine climate control. Each room with an air handler can be a different temperature, because each individual air handler does the heating and cooling itself. This lets you customize individual rooms, provided there are air handlers installed in each one.

Benefits of a Ductless Mini-Split System

Let’s take a look at some of the other features of a mini-split system.

• High SEER Rating: The SEER rating is a measure of the maximum heating and cooling energy efficiency for an air conditioning unit. Ductless mini-splits can have SEER ratings up to 30, which is incredibly high when you consider that whole-home AC units typically rate at about 22 – 23 SEER. High efficiency means bigger savings when your unit is running and less impact on the environment.

• High efficiency overall: Working ductless systems leak air less than traditional HVAC systems. They’re about 20 – 30% more efficient than duct-based systems overall.

• Quiet: Mini-split systems are some of the most quiet AC units you can get, averaging about 32 decibels – quieter than a library. Traditional units can range from 50 – 72 decibels. If noise is an issue for you, you’ll love ductless heating and cooling.

• Humidity control: If properly sized for the room it’s installed in, a mini-split can manage humidity in the installed space.
• Air filtration: Mini-splits utilize filtration cartridges to improve air quality in the space they’re cooling. Those filters do need regular monthly cleaning though to keep things running efficiently!
• Affordable running cost: Though potentially pricier to install depending on how much ductwork is needed for a traditional cooling system, a ductless mini-split is cheaper to run than both traditional HVAC and window AC units.

HVAC versus Ductless Mini-Split

Ductless mini-splits serve best in homes that don’t have all the ductwork necessary for a central heating/cooling system. Older homes, condos or smaller homes without central AC would find a ductless mini split a great fit. If your home is already fully equipped with HVAC ductwork, a mini-split may still help around the house.

Here are some places a ductless mini-split can help cool/heat the air:

• • Garages can benefit from a mini-split system specifically because safety regulations prohibit ductwork being installed in them. If your garage doubles as a workshop, apartment, or you otherwise use it frequently, a mini-split will make it much more comfortable in the summer and winter months.
  • Room additions and finished basements and attics can utilize a mini-split for climate control in lieu of expensive and invasive HVAC ductwork installs.
  • Adding AC to houses with no ductwork. You’ll spare yourself the stress of getting HVAC installed.
  • If your home or office has multiple temperature needs, a mini-split can help. Because each air handler manages the temperature in its zone, every room with one can be set to a different temperature. Whether you need a library or server room to stay cool, or your family just has different heat preferences, a mini-split makes fine tuning temperatures easy.
  • Mini-splits can help in rooms with certain heating or cooling issues. While they won’t be much help if you have windows that aren’t sealed or large gaps at the bottom of your door, a mini-split can help in a space that, for example, heats up quick in the summer because large windows take in so much sun.

What Size Should I Buy?

So, you’re interested in getting a mini-split, but aren’t sure what size to buy? It’s time to do some math. Mini-split system delivery capacity is measured in BTUs, and to figure out how many BTUs you need your system to have, you need to know the size of the rooms you want to cool.

Calculate the square feet of the room you want to cool. Include closets in the total. Once you have that number, you’ll have a good idea of the capacity you’ll need.

The 12 BTU can cool and heat 500 square feet : See more features of the 12 BTU

The 18 BTU can cool and heat 750 square feet: See more features of the 18 BTU

The 24 BTU can cool and heat  1000 square feet: See more features of the 24 BTU

Another thing to consider is how well insulated your rooms are. Are there any gaps around doors or windows? Cracks or holes in the walls or ceiling? This will affect how hard your AC unit needs to work as cold air and warm air escape. You could opt for a bigger model, but you’ll save yourself more money in the long run by tracking down those air leaks and patching them up first.

Picking a mini-split that is a good fit for your space needs ensures that your system will run efficiently. A too big unit will wear down more quickly because it will cycle more often, significantly shortening what should be a lengthy lifespan. A too small unit will struggle to properly cool the room, overworking itself, and potentially failing to properly remove humidity or filter air.

Wrapping Up

Ductless mini-splits offer you a high efficiency solution to your heating and cooling needs – they even come with DIY options! Now that you know how they work and where they work best, you can decide whether a ductless system or traditional HVAC system is right for you. Whether you’re ready to purchase your own ductless system or just looking for more tips and tutorials, keep AppliancePartsPros.com in mind. Our friendly staff is happy to help you with your home appliance needs – whether it’s installing a mini-split or finding the right replacement part for a repair.