What Are Ductless Units?
Unlike traditional forced-air heating and cooling systems, ductless systems require no ductwork to move air. They simply use a small outdoor unit and one or more indoor units which mount to a fixed surface, and run off nothing more than electricity. They can be installed in new construction, home additions, existing homes, apartments, and businesses for a variety of purposes: whether to replace an entire heating and cooling system or simply to provide extra comfort in a particular room, many advantages come with owning a ductless unit.
Increased Comfort
Your home is filled with tiny particles that can easily get circulated through your forced air heating and cooling systems. These particles can include any combination of dirt, dust, pet hair, dander, and other debris you could be inhaling. All of these can make your home air feel and smell less than fresh while also having the potential to make you and your loved ones sick. Ductless systems use advanced filtration systems capable of removing a substantial amount of these irritants from the air you breathe and keep your home a fresh and comfortable feeling place to be.
Lowered Utility Costs With Better Energy Efficiency
The biggest advantage of investing in a ductless unit is cost. Lately, utility costs across the country have done nothing but gone up. What makes matters worse is when you have an inefficient system regulating the climate of your home. Ductless systems rely on very little power—they are smaller than traditional forced-air systems, and because the temperature-controlled air is delivered directly into a room, there is no loss in efficiency. Multi-split systems also allow homeowners to create “zones” in their homes, which means they no longer have to cool or heat rooms that aren’t occupied.
Indoor Air Quality
With traditional HVAC systems, air from every room is circulated to a central filter, which gets dirty fast, and needs replaced right away to maintain efficiency. Ductless systems offer multi-stage filtration systems for every room they’re installed, leaving your air with less dust, bacteria, allergens, or other particulates.
Quietness
How quiet are Ductless systems? Some are no louder than 20 decibels, even on days when they work the most! To put that number in perspective, a whisper is around 30 decibels—which means ductless systems are quieter than a whisper!
Quick Installation
Installations are painless and straightforward. Depending on the number of indoor and outdoor units required, they can be up and fully functional in as little as a day. Multi-split systems need small pipes requiring a mere 2.5” inch hole, which means less debris and no rebuilding walls or ceilings around ductwork. You can even easily take them with you if you move and install them in your next residence place.
Installation Options
Ductless mini-split heating & cooling systems have two parts. An indoor unit, or air handler, that consists of directional fins and a fan. And an outdoor component that houses the system’s condenser. With the indoor portion of the ductless unit, you have many options for installation. A ductless indoor unit can be wall-mounted or suspended from your ceiling. They can also be discreetly hidden in the rooms you have them installed with the option of a ceiling cassette or floor cassette ductless installation. This gives you much flexibility to enhance your comfort without jeopardizing the aesthetic appeal of your home’s design when you choose a ductless mini-split.
Increase Your Home’s Value
A great selling feature for a home is promoting the lower energy bills gained from installing a ductless heating and cooling system. Energy use is optimized with ductless systems due to their ability to only cool or warm the rooms of a home that are being used. Not to mention that ductless systems noticeably increase climate control and comfort with their handy wireless features and powerful ability to quickly shift a room’s temperature in less than 15 minutes.
Another exciting consideration for installing ductless is their ability to increase your home’s square footage. Spare rooms or outdoor spaces that are not climate controlled, such as basements, garages, and sheds, cannot be added to your home’s real estate listing specification due to not being livable spaces. With the addition of a ductless heating and cooling system to these spaces, you can claim the square footage of the space you install them when listing your home’s real estate features.
Making the Switch to Ductless
Making the switch to a ductless system is very easy thanks to the simplicity and minimal construction necessary to have them installed. Even better, you don’t have to replace your entire HVAC system if you have one already. Your ductless system can be used in conjunction with your current central air heating and cooling system to increase efficiency. Installing ductless in the rooms you use most will allow you to use much less energy to keep your whole home reasonably comfortable while maintaining ultimate comfort for your favorite rooms.
