Ductless mini-splits are versatile and energy-efficient indoor climate comfort systems. Nevertheless, a great deal of misinformation circulates about them in Knoxville, TN. Let’s dispel a few myths about ductless heating and air conditioning systems so you can decide about investing in an installation.
They’ll Heat or Cool Your Home Unevenly
Traditional HVAC systems use ducts to distribute treated air through a building. Since ductless systems don’t use this method, you may wonder how they can ensure there won’t be any strange hot or cold spots in your home.
A ductless mini-split system has a group of indoor air handler units, each of which deals with a particular heating or cooling zone in your home. A zone can be a room, a hallway, a single room, a cluster of rooms or a garage.
When your system is in heating mode, it takes air from outdoors and uses refrigerant to absorb heat from that air. After moving the refrigerant to the compressor and further increasing its heat and pressure, the system transfers the refrigerant to the coils in the air handler units. Then, the refrigerant condenses and releases its heat, allowing the fans in each unit to blow warm air into the living space.
When the system is in cooling mode, this same process functions in reverse. Having multiple air handlers allows you to set a different heating or cooling regimen for each zone in your home. Thus, if you want your entire home to have the same temperature, all the air handlers can work together to create an even and uniform temperature distribution.
They’re Difficult to Maintain
Given their intricacy and small size, you may get the idea that mini-splits are difficult to maintain. Fortunately, this isn’t true. Because of the placement location of both the indoor and outdoor portions of a ductless mini-split system, service technicians can perform regular tuneups easily.
They’re Only for New Homes
Since it may be extremely difficult to remove the ductwork that goes with your old system, you might worry that you won’t be able to install a new ductless system at all in an older home. Concerns about how to situate air handlers around old ductwork may lead you to believe that you can only install mini-splits in new homes. Installing the indoor air handler units is a relatively simple matter. The units are small, and it’s quite easy to attach them to a wall.
The Can Harm Your Indoor Air Quality
Both traditional HVAC systems and ductless mini-splits come with air filters, so both kinds of systems can remove dust and other pollutants from the air in your home. Since everything from dust and insect droppings to microbial growth may ensconce itself deep in your ductwork, your air quality may even improve if you buy a ductless system.
However, there’s one critical IAQ-related difference between the two systems. You need to change the filters in a traditional HVAC system once every three months. If you have a mini-split, you must clean the filter every two weeks. The bonus is that you won’t have to pay for filters with a ductless HVAC system, saving you extra money.
They Have Short Service Lives
Some may conclude that because the component units of a mini-split are small, the system as a whole must have a short service life. However, this isn’t true. On average, a ductless heating and air conditioning system can last for about 20 years, which is comparable to the service life of a traditional HVAC system.
Demystifying a few misconceptions about ductless heating and AC systems should give you a better idea about their performance and lifespan. If you’re looking at different solutions for your indoor comfort challenges in Knoxville, TN, call Melton Heating and Air Conditioning to ask for our ductless HVAC services today.
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