Indio Ductless Mini-Split Air Conditioning & Heating Systems
Most Indio homeowners are familiar with central air conditioning and heating systems. Still, they may not be familiar with mini-split split systems, also called ductless mini-split systems.
Mini-split air conditioning and heating isn’t a new technology. It is also gaining popularity for Indio homes. It provides a unique type of high-quality cooling without needing ductwork and vent systems. It is also a perfect option for Indio homes where the existing ductwork is impractical. A mini-split system is an excellent option for challenging spaces, such as a garage, bonus room, or home addition.
What is a Ductless Mini-Split Air Conditioning & Heating System?
Mini-split systems are a type of ductless heating and cooling system. Central air conditioning and heating system delivers cool or warm air from a central unit to your entire Indio house using ductwork. However, a mini-split system cools or heats a single room at a time. This allows you to control the temperature for a single room or zone. Doing this provides more control and energy efficiency.
How do Ductless Mini-Split Air Conditioning & Heating Systems Work?
A ductless mini-split system works along the same principles as larger, central air conditioning and heating system. Simply put, mini-split systems consist of two parts: an indoor unit and an outside unit. The indoor unit, can be wall-mounted or installed or mounted on the ceiling or floor.
The indoor unit is connected to an outdoor unit containing refrigerant and drains condensation. This outdoor unit acts as a compressor.
The indoor unit has a blower that takes the warm air from the room and blows it over the coils in the outside unit. This removes the heat and the now cooled air, is blown back into the room. In winter, this process is reversed.
Why are Ductless Mini-Split Systems More Energy Efficient?
There are several factors that contribute to a ductless mini-split system being an energy-efficient choice for your Indio home.
Some spaces may be difficult to cool, often the master bedroom is located furthest away from the central air conditioning and heating unit. Because the air has to travel a longer distance through the ductwork, some cooling or heating capacity can be lost over the distance. Older, or poorly sealed ductwork can contribute to this loss.
In most Indio homes, the thermostat is not located in the room or zone furthest away, but closer to where the central AC system is located. Often, the thermostat may be located in a hallway, where there’s a constant flow of cooler air. This means the location of the thermostat will be cooler than the location of the master bedroom, or zone.
So, to compensate, we might set our thermostat to a lower temperature, so these further away rooms or zones are cooled. This means operating the AC unit longer, to accommodate a room or zone. A longer running time means higher electricity consumption.
Unlike the above scenario, a ductless mini-split system is only monitoring the temperature of the room or zone it’s in. Since it only cares about cooling or heating just that space, it does not need to run as long as a central unit. This allows you to have a setting on your central thermostat for the rest of the house, and not run the central AC unit longer just to cool the more challenging spaces.
In addition, because a mini-split system is ductless, it does not suffer from cooling or heating loss through ductwork, and this also lowers the amount of electricity it uses, because it does not have to run longer to achieve the desired temperature.
