A split ductless air conditioning system is slowly becoming more and more popular, but for the most part people have no idea what they are or what separates them from their duct counterparts.  Generally speaking these much simpler, easier to install split ductless air conditioning systems are becoming popular because they are cheaper to set up and maintain.

Components Of A Split Ductless Air Conditioning System

There are two main components the make up a split ductless air conditioning system.  The reason it is called split is because these two parts are usually separated, with one being inside and the other being outside.

The inside unit usually is made up of the evaporator and blowers for moving the air inside the house.  This unit is generally set up high inside the home on an upper floor to best take advantage of the natural method of cooling in a split ductless air conditioning system.

The ductless air conditioning installation for this part is not something that most people can complete on their own; however most of the initial steps are pretty easy.  You will need to have a professional plumber and electrician install and connect the inner part to the other piece, the outer part.

This piece connects to the inner piece and houses the compressor and most of the heavy machinery for the operation of the split ductless air conditioning system.  It needs to be set up on a flat and perfectly level spot at least one foot away from the house.

The reason for this is that the system can generate a considerable amount of heat, especially in the summer, and it is best to have this as far away from the house as possible.  In addition to that it is very noisy so the farther away the better it is.  This is in complete contradiction to the inside unit which is far quieter then a normal duct air conditioning system.

Coolant is cooled in the outside portion and then sent, usually via copper tubing, to the inside unit where it is passed through a system that looks very similar to a radiator.  The air is then blown out from there into the home where it will go from the top of the house to the bottom.

By continually taking the hot air that rises and cooling it at the top, the home will stay continually cool.   This gravity effect is what makes split ductless air conditioning systems different.

Have you ever thought that adding air conditioning to and older home was impossible, I am here to tell you that it is very possible by installing a ductless air conditioning unit.  A ductless air conditioning unit has many benefits over a ducted unit.  The first benefit is the ease of set up for the split ductless air conditioning system.

Benefits Of Ductless Air Conditioning Unit

The first and most important benefit is how easy it is to set up and install.  There is no duct work or invasive components to install, you simply need the internal and external units set up according to the manufacturers recommendations.  These should be included with the material that came with the ductless air conditioning unit, but if not you can usually get the documents online from the manufacturers website.

In addition to this a ductless air conditioning unit is far better on energy costs then a duct unit.  The reason for this is simple physics.  It is a lot easier to let gravity move the air from top to bottom then to pump the air from up to down. In a normal duct air conditioning system the evaporator will be in the basement and it will be harder to take that air from down there and bring it up into the house then to make it cold at the top and let it drop.

The other great thing about ductless air conditioning units is how reliable they are.  Generally speaking there will be less moving parts and components to a ductless system then one that has to use ducts.  By making it easier to work on and maintain, this lowers the overall cost of ownership for a ductless air conditioner unit.  Cost per hour of operation for a ductless air conditioning system is far less then a duct one for all of these reasons.

While a ductless system may not be appropriate for everyone if you are looking to add affordable and easy to install air conditioning into an older or new home, a ductless system may be the way to go.  There are many other benefits, but for most of us cost is the number one and for this the ductless system will win outright.

Take some time to talk to a local installation company if you do not want to install the system yourself, but in most cases the systems are simple to install and you only need an electrician and plumber at the end to do the final hookup.  Again far cheaper then a duct system.