Could a ductless heater and air conditioner be right for you?

Many a times we get too hot or too cold, and we look for a way to make ourselves comfortable. Some people buy fans, some people bundle up with more clothes, while others have a mini split!

living room with a mini split

What is a mini split?

A mini split is a miniuarture heat pump that is capable of both heating and cooling. Some people may call them ductless heaters or ductless air conditioners. These unique systems are measured in tons of cooling. The term ton refers to the amount of energy needed to melt one ton of ice in a 24 hour period. This number is 12,000 btus which 1 btu is the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1°F. There have been mixed things about how much sq ft one ton can cover; there's been some that say 440sqft, 500sqft, and even 600sqft. A good rule to follow is 500sqft because systems back then were less efficient which is why it was 440sqft. Nowadays with how much we're advancing, some high end systems can cover 600sqft per ton.

What are the ups and downs with mini splits?

The ups are that they can be placed virtually anywhere you want. They're quite modular all you need is one central outdoor unit, and you can place many head units wherever you'd like. A standard system will either go full cooling or heating for all of your spaces when it comes on. Mini splits give you more precise control by having the ability to place them in different spaces, and only cool or heat those spaces as needed. One person could have a sauna in one room, while the other could be in the frigid cold. Mini splits are also great energy savers because instead of using AC electricity, they use DC electricity, the same type of electricity that runs your car or your smart phone. This causes the unit to use less power to provide the same amount of cooling that your standard central air conditioner can do. Another plus is that they are way quieter than a standard system. The fans all modulate as per your needs; sometimes you won't even know if the system is on or not because of how quiet it is. If you have solar panels, these are a great option because you can easily take advantage of the low cost of electricity you'll receive from your panels. Another great thing about them is that they're highly serviceable. Most units don't have many moving parts, or have all-in-one parts which means they limit the amount of things that would need to be replaced when something fails. Maintenance is a breeze with washable filters, and easy access to both the indoor, and outdoor units.

mitsubishi condenser

The downs are that it is a heat pump. Heat pumps don't fare well in cold climates. Our process of creating cooling is by simply removing heat from inside a space, and placing it somewhere else. In most cases, that means sending it from inside your home to the outside. Heat pumps have the capability to work in reverse, instead of pulling the heat out from inside your home, they can pull heat from outside, and migrate it inside. How is this a problem you might ask? Water freezes below 32°F, the moment it gets below about 50°F outside, the outdoor unit will become a gigantic ice ball insulating the unit. This happens because the unit is absorbing heat which causes the outdoor unit's temperature to go below 32°F triggering dew point. Dew point is when something has reached a temperature so cold than its space temperature that it starts pulling water out of the air. The best example I can give of this in action, next time you decide to take an ice cold soda out of the fridge, watch what happens. The can will start, what we call, sweating. When this happens outside to the unit, and it starts pulling water out of the air to something that's below 32°F, it freezes it little by little until the giant ice ball has formed. Once that happens, the unit won't be able to absorb anymore heat until the ice has melted away. Some systems, the unit will flip the switch when it detects there's ice, and starts sending heat back outside to melt the ice off. Other systems, they ignore the ice ball, and have electrical heaters that provide heating inside until the ice outside has melted on its own. Another point is that mini splits have a mesh screen that works as a filter for the indoor units, but the mesh screen when compared to a standard system's air filter, is far less efficient at providing clean air. Filters are rated in MERVs, meaning that the lower the MERV rating, the less effective the filter is at cleaning the air. Mini splits are mainly used to condition the air in a space, but not properly filter it.

What is the price of a mini split?

They're definitely budget friendly because they're designed to control a room. Normally, depending on the tonnage, you can expect prices of about $1000 ~ $1400 per ton. Of course the more square footage you need conditioned, the more the cost will increase. This also applies when you choose a low end system vs. a high end system. Luckily though, these units can be ordered to perfect fit because they are also available in half tons.

If you're interested in learning more about if a mini split is right for you, please feel free to give us a text at (669) 696 - 7252, email info@nghdengs.com, or you can use the contact form below. We'd be more than happy to help!

-Donaciano C. Sandoval