The cost effectiveness of the mini- split system is achieved through the energy efficiency of the system and its drastically reduced cost that is associated with operating it. In order to fully understand its capabilities of saving you some money, it’s important to understand how the system operates and why it is more energy efficient.
Mini-split systems are sometimes referred to as ductless air conditioners. Unlike central air conditioners that have one unit that is located outdoors attached to ductwork which then feeds cool air into every room of the house, mini- split systems do not use ductwork. Instead, they typically have metallic lines that are fed directly into a room and operate in much the same fashion as a window unit because they are often utilized to provide cooling to a single room or to a single area of the home. When they were first developed, they were used almost exclusively to cool either one room or one small area of the house. However, as technology has continued to advance concerning mini- split systems, it has become more prevalent to find units that are used to cool the entire home.
As previously mentioned, there’s no ductwork that feeds into vents that are located either in the floor or the ceiling of homes which then produces cool air. Instead, the air’s fed directly into the room via a thin metallic line. This is a more effective way of cooling because the energy efficiency is not lost as it leaks around the ductwork, as is often the case with central air conditioning. In turn, it costs far less to cool a home in this fashion as opposed using central air.
Currently, the systems are still relatively rare in many homes. Some customers aren’t even aware that they have the option of purchasing such a system. However, they can be very effective in homes that have multiple levels. Anyone that has ever attempted to utilize central air conditioning to cool a home that is two or three stories knows how difficult it can be to provide effective cooling for every room of the home, especially on the upper levels. Many people that have multi-level homes and utilize central air conditioning find themselves supplementing the air conditioning with window units. This can become very expensive when the cost of purchasing a window unit for each room is added to the additional cost for energy that is required each month to operate all of these units. Utilizing a mini- split system is a far better option because it has the potential to cool each room of the house individually with a single system and thereby alleviates the need to purchase additional sources of cooling.
Technology’s still evolving concerning the systems that are used in homes today. There’s little doubt that as they become more popular and the technology is perfected even further, they’ll become more readily available and will be used to cool the entire structure without any additional source of cooling. In addition, the savings that users of these systems can see makes it worth installing them because it has the potential to save people a great deal of money over time.