Now more than ever, homeowners are incredibly mindful of their ever-increasing home utility costs. At the same time, we are in the 21st century of “green” living where our environment requires extra ecological considerations. Being energy efficient serves homeowners by saving on utility bills while also preserving our planet for future generations.
Having an efficient AC system is one of the best ways to serve both these needs. You want to find an AC system that will not only help conserve energy with daily and weekly chores like cooking, washing clothes, and heating your home; but allow you to see a real benefit in lowering your utility bill. Ductless AC systems can do all this for you and more.
A big problem in many multi-family homes is that more than one person in the house will have conflicting thermostat temperature setting comfort needs. Unlike traditional air conditioners, you can customize ductless AC systems to suit the individual needs of specific rooms in your home. This is one of the many reasons ductless air conditioners are a significantly more efficient and comfortable home cooling option than traditional AC systems.
How Does a Ductless AC System Help the Environment?
Being mindful of minimizing your carbon footprint is critical when choosing an energy-efficient cooling system for your home. Eco-friendly ductless AC systems allow you to better control your energy use by allowing you to customize each room’s temperature in your home to suit when and how often you use them. Ductless AC systems are designed with the most recent technological innovations that surpass the traditional AC system’s function and operation. As opposed to conventional air conditioners, ductless AC technology reduces the pollutants emitted from the cooling system by implementing an environmentally-friendly refrigerant, R410A, which protects the environment from ozone depletion.
Will it Lower Your Monthly Utility Bill?
A traditional AC system uses approximately 10,000 to 20,000 BTU’s, which is the number of thermal units to heat or cool your home. Many older traditional AC systems can use up to 40,000 BTUs. Newer homes designed with better insulation can significantly reduce utility bills by installing a high-efficiency ductless AC system. With their zoning capabilities, ductless air conditioners can raise or lower temperatures in several areas of your home at one time. The typical output you can expect using the customizable zoning functions of a ductless AC system are as follows:
- 250 to 300 sq. feet 6,000 BTUs
- 300 to 350 sq. feet 7,000 BTUs
- 350 to 400 sq. feet 8,000 BTUs
- 400 to 450 sq. feet 9,000 BTUs
Upgrading your traditional AC to a ductless system, or installing one in a brand new home, makes sense if saving on your utility bill is a priority for you.
Can You Qualify For Local and Federal Tax Rebates?
In 2018, the federal government agreed to uphold the 25C tax credit to any homeowner that installed what is considered a high-efficiency heating and cooling system. This tax credit falls under a federal incentive program umbrella of home improvements. This applies to homeowners with an existing heating and cooling system that they choose to replace with a more efficient model. The good news is that ductless AC systems qualify under federal as well as local tax guidelines.
You are eligible for a tax rebate under the following specifications:
- Up to $300 tax credit for AC systems including ductless AC models (specifically mini-split systems)
- The AC system can only be installed in an existing residence and be owned by the resident; rentals and new homes do not qualify.
- If home improvements were done between 2012-2017 and you claimed up to $500 for a tax credit, you are still eligible for an AC system tax rebate.
Is it Easy to Install?
Unlike traditional AC systems that involve days and even weeks of ductwork being installed throughout your home, an HVAC contractor will only need to drill a hole into a wall of your house that is less than a few diameters. A wall unit will then be installed and connected to an outside compressor unit by small cables and a single refrigerant line. The ductless AC systems are also far more adaptable to different home designs since they can be installed on a wall or even on the ceiling in any room that you choose.
Traditional AC systems, with their intricate design, require a multitude of invasive constructs to walls and ceilings in your home. The minimal hole size used for ductless AC system installation offers the benefits of lower potential for air leaks and less vulnerability to common issues that can occur with the extensive ductwork necessary for installing a traditional AC system.
What Makes a Ductless AC System Better for You?
Typically, each homeowner that has a traditional AC system loses upwards to 25% of their energy through ductwork systems. By merely replacing existing duct AC with a ductless AC system, you can alleviate this issue. With its innovative design and inverter-driven compressor technology, the overall ductless function can automatically adjust itself to your home’s internal needs instead of completely shutting off and on as a traditional AC system does.
This is an automatic energy saver since it takes far more energy to begin the process of cooling a home from scratch with a traditional AC compressor system than it would for a ductless AC system to maintain the same temperature throughout the day. Some other benefits to consider are the following:
- If your home is newly built without existing ductwork, ductless is a much more affordable alternative that does not require this extra installation cost.
- It is an excellent alternative to low-efficiency window AC units with limited cooling area capabilities
- It easily connects the indoor wall unit to a single outdoor attachment.
- When choosing installation locations, ductless AC units are capable of being easily hidden.
- They are customizable to single areas in your home.
- When adding additional rooms to your home, ductless is an easy installation air conditioning option for keeping these new home areas cool.
Silence is Golden
One of the most significant differences between a traditional AC system and ductless air conditioning is that if there are no ducts, then there isn’t any noise! The constant sound that traditional AC systems make is from the air flowing throughout the home’s ductwork. Ductless systems create cool air and immediately circulate it directly to the rooms needed without using the noisy fans found in traditional HVAC systems. Additionally, the ductless AC system’s outdoor compressor is insulated for noise reduction and includes vibration dampeners to ensure a noiseless operating system.
Multi-stage Filtration for Air Quality
Most importantly, ductless AC systems drastically improve air quality in your home by utilizing a multi-stage filtration system for better air quality. Traditional AC systems need to be cleaned regularly to remove the pollutants being filtered through the system every time it turns on and off. This means that dust and a multitude of allergens are being circulated regularly throughout your home. The multi-stage filtration in a ductless AC system reduces these pollutants to nearly zero. It does so by acting as a type of air purifier, even eliminating odors, as it pumps the air back into the room through an anti-allergen filter. The filter is designed with a blue enzyme component that can kill bacteria and viruses in the air it uses for your home’s climate control. Allergy sufferers are particularly helped by a ductless AC system for this reason.
