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Should You Consider Going Ductless?

closeup-view-of-hand-turning-on-ductless-air-handlerThere are a number of options to go with when shopping for a new air conditioner. If you already have a central system in place and its aging, or you’re concerned it’s not working efficiently enough, then you may choose to go with an upgraded central system. But what if your ducts are also in bad shape? Should you replace those, too? Well, maybe—but what if we had another solution for you?

The Ductless Solution

As the name implies, a ductless system uses no ductwork to do its job. Instead of a split system with an outdoor unit and a single indoor unit, a ductless system is comprised of an outdoor unit and up to four individual air handlers.

Each of these air handlers are mounted high up on the wall in their intended rooms, and connected to the outdoor unit via a conduit containing the power line, refrigerant line, and condensate line. This allows for better efficiency, saves space in your home, and zone-control heating and cooling, complementing the preferences of every member of your household.

What Type of Home Is a Ductless System Suited For?

A ductless system isn’t the right answer for every home. For instance, if you live in a studio apartment, a portable system or even a traditional central air conditioner may be a more financially sound installation to invest in. Ductless systems are more expensive than traditional systems to install, after all (though they cost less to run from month to month in the right home).

If you have a multi-level home, or a house with many bedrooms, then a ductless system could be the perfect choice for you. This is because of the zoned heating and cooling we mentioned above. One room could be set for 74°F while another one could be set for 78°F or even turned off if the occupant prefers. This means you aren’t wasting energy to cool down an entire home to 74°F unnecessarily.

What to Know About Maintenance

As we said, ductless systems operate on heat pump technology—providing both heating and cooling to your home for year-round use. This means that they are getting twice the work in as your air conditioner or heater would. So they need twice the maintenance!

Maintenance is a service our professionals provide that allows us to thoroughly inspect your HVAC system. During this inspection, we clean the system inside-and-out to ensure its able to operate as efficiently as possible. We also check for any components that need replacement, and look for repair needs. If there are repair needs, we’ll alert you to them so you can get them on your schedule at your convenience.

The important thing to know about ductless systems when it comes to repairs and maintenance is that they do have unique needs. Because of their setup, with multiple air handlers, you could experience issues such as an air handler separating from the wall due to a condensation leak, or even a refrigerant leak. This is a lot less likely to happen if your system is professionally installed and maintained!

To learn more about ductless systems or to schedule HVAC maintenance for your current system, please contact Shavitz Heating and Air Conditioning today!

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