Cooling Small Homes with Ductless Air Conditioning
Cool down more compact spaces with efficient mini-splits.
Suffolk County homes come in all shapes and sizes. At Burt’s Reliable, we have over a century of experience helping families in this part of New York stay comfortable every day of the year.
Among our customers are people with duplexes, condos, tiny houses and other compact living spaces. We also help homeowners in Wading River and other communities in our service region to heat and cool guest homes and detached studios.
This time of the year, many owners of smaller homes resort to window air conditioners, but we have a more effective, efficient, long-term alternative — ductless A/C.
The Issues with Window A/C Units.
While lots of people think window units are the most cost-effective option for A/C in smaller spaces, there are some significant drawbacks:
- Window A/C units aren’t good at cooling open-concept spaces, even in tiny houses or condos.
- Window units are inefficient, using lots of electricity for mediocre cooling.
- They tend to run very loudly.
- Window units are unsightly. They protrude from your home and block sunlight.
- Taking them in and out is a strenuous, cumbersome job.
- If you leave a window A/C unit in place through the winter, it will cause heat to escape from your home.
Why Ductless A/C Is a Better Option
Ductless air conditioning — also called ductless mini-splits — uses heat pump technology to cool down your home efficiently and for the long term.
There are two basic components to a ductless A/C setup: air handling units mounted throughout your home and an outdoor compressor/condenser. Thin tubes with power cables, refrigerant lines and other connectors link these components.
In warm months, your indoor air handlers absorb heat from inside your home. Refrigerant transfers the heat outside, where it’s expelled. Cooled air returns to your home. Many systems can reverse the process in cooler months to provide supplemental heating, too!
Because you can connect multiple air handlers to one outdoor unit, you can easily customize the size of your system to the size of your home.
Benefits of Ductless A/C for Small Homes
If you want a permanent cooling solution for your smaller living space, a ductless mini-split system is probably the best option for you. It provides virtually all the benefits of a forced-air HVAC system with ducts. Adding ductwork can be a pricy, expensive process, and it requires you to sacrifice space.
Installing ductless A/C, on the other hand, normally takes less than a day. The indoor equipment is designed to fit in with your home décor. Our HVAC team can position it so it cools the most space possible while staying discreetly out of sight. Also, ductless systems run whisper-quietly!
The Cost-Saving Efficiency of Ductless A/C
Some people are concerned about the upfront investment of a ductless A/C system, but these systems provide amazing cost-saving efficiencies, including the following:
- Zoned cooling. You can run each air handling unit individually, saving you money and allowing you to use less energy for unoccupied zones.
- No duct losses. Forget about cool air lost through leaky ducts, which can account for over 30% of A/C-related energy consumption.
- Long service life. When properly maintained, your ductless A/C equipment can last for 20 years or more.
- Supplemental heat. Using your system for heat in the fall will cut down on your heating oil or gas use.
Burt’s Reliable installs and services top-of-the-line ductless A/C products from Fujitsu. Talk to us today about your cooling options.