If you own a home here in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, then you already know how crucial a reliable air conditioning system is in the summer. However, you may not know that a central air conditioning system isn’t the only option for efficiently cooling your home. You could opt instead for a ductless air conditioning system. Although they’re not a new invention, they’re gaining traction in the area and throughout the US as a viable alternative to traditional central air conditioning systems. Here are seven reasons you should consider installing ductless air conditioning in your home.
1. Built-In Zoning
One of the biggest drawbacks of a traditional central air conditioning system is that it attempts to be a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s either on or it’s off, sometimes cooling rooms you’re not using and leaving some rooms cooler than others in the process. The only exception to that is if you have a multi-zone system, which breaks your home into separate cooling zones—typically two—which each have independent temperature controls. Even that, though, offers limited control over the way you cool your home.
Ductless air conditioners, by contrast, offer room-by-room zoning by default. A ductless air conditioner features a separate air handler in each room you want to cool. Plus, each air handler has its own thermostat and temperature controls. So, you can set each room to your desired temperature and stop cooling the rooms you’re not using.
2. Simplified Installation
Another reason that you should have a ductless air conditioning system installed is that they’re fairly simple to install. In most cases, installing a ductless system requires nothing more than a small hole in each wall where you’re planning to add an air handler. Typically, the hole is around 3 inches in diameter, and it serves to connect the air conditioner’s outdoor unit with the air handler. That allows for the flow of refrigerant and power, which is all each air handler requires to operate.
This is extremely beneficial if you live in a home that doesn’t have ductwork already installed in its walls. To put in a ducted system, you would need to break into your already-finished walls to install the necessary ductwork. That’s not typically an acceptable or a cost-effective option for most homeowners. So, ductless air conditioning systems offer a great alternative for homes that weren’t designed to accommodate traditional central air conditioning systems.
3. Excellent Efficiency
Due to their ability to operate without using ductwork, ductless air conditioners are also extremely efficient. Some estimates indicate that traditional central air conditioners suffer up to a 30% efficiency loss through their ductwork. It happens because ducts can leak cooled air into your home’s walls or can lose energy as they pass through uninsulated parts of your home. With a ductless air conditioning system, cold air gets produced in each room and doesn’t have to travel anywhere. That eliminates the efficiency penalty and thus leads to cheaper operation.
4. Quieter Operation
Another benefit that can serve as a good reason to install a ductless air conditioning system is their quiet operation. A central air conditioning system relies on a single, powerful blower motor to push air all around your home. That can make them quite noisy, depending on where your indoor unit sits in your home. And the outdoor units of conventional central AC systems, depending on their age, can be as loud as 70 dB while operating. That’s around the same volume that you might expect inside a busy office.
Ductless air conditioners, by contrast, aren’t anywhere near as loud. Since each air handler has a small blower motor, they’re much quieter than central AC systems. And most ductless systems feature outdoor units that are much smaller than those associated with central AC systems. They’re also far quieter, with the average ductless system’s outdoor unit making about 58 dB of noise while running. That’s about the volume of a quiet restaurant conversation. In other words, you might not even notice it unless you stood directly next to the outdoor unit itself.
5. Easier Expansion
With a conventional central air conditioning system, you need to decide in advance which rooms you plan to cool. If you build an addition to your home or otherwise make changes, it’s not easy to re-route your air conditioning to compensate. With a ductless system, though, expansion or alterations aren’t hard. It’s always possible to relocate indoor air handlers after the fact or to add additional ones up to the maximum supported by your particular system. Plus, if you need to add more rooms to a system that’s maxed out, you can simply add a second ductless air conditioning system that can coexist with your existing one.
6. Flexible Air Handler Options
Ductless air conditioners also offer a few options regarding the design of your indoor air handlers. The most common type is a standard horizontally mounted air handler, but that’s far from the only option. You can also find ceiling-cassette air handlers and floor-standing air handlers as well as a variety of other unique configurations. If you’d like, you can mix and match air handler types to suit your indoor décor and your specific cooling needs in each room. And since the installation of each air handler is a relatively simple task, you don’t have to feel constrained about how you design your system.
7. Improved Indoor Air Quality
Your home’s air conditioning system plays an important role in its indoor air quality. With a traditional central air conditioning system, there’s a single air filter that’s tasked with collecting dust and dirt to prevent it from circulating in your home. With a ductless system, each room has its own air filter, giving your home multiple dust and dirt collection points. For that reason, ductless systems often do a better job of eliminating dust and other pollutants from a home’s air. Plus, the filters in a ductless system’s air handlers are easy to access, so you can keep them clean and performing well.
Count on the Ductless AC Experts
For all of the reasons above and more, ductless air conditioners may be a perfect fit for your home. If you’d like to have ductless air conditioning installed, Bacon Plumbing Heating Air Electric can help. We’re a family-owned HVAC, plumbing, and electrical company in Rockwall, TX, that’s served the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 2011. We offer comprehensive HVAC services, including the installation of ductless air conditioners, as well as the repair and maintenance of heating and cooling equipment of all kinds. That includes indoor air quality and duct cleaning services, too. Plus, we can tackle any residential electrical or plumbing job you have, as well, including water heater installation and repairs, generators, and EV charging station installation.
For ductless air conditioners, plumbing, and electrical services of all kinds, call the experts at Bacon Plumbing Heating Air Electric today to set up your appointment!
