Ductless Mini Split Air Conditioning is a great solution for house additions and new rooms where it may be difficult to get existing heating and cooling routed. It is perfect for computer rooms, small offices, garage conversions, and more. Today’s new high performance mini split ductless AC systems are far more efficient that older models.
What is a Ductless Mini Split Air Conditioning?
Ductless mini-split air conditioners are air conditioning systems that provide cooling to one or more rooms. They incorporate the use of a condenser unit that is placed outside the home, with refrigerant and electrical lines that go through the exterior wall to connect to one or more compact, wall-mounted cooling units (zones) inside the home.
Unlike portable or window air conditioners, ductless mini-split systems are considered a permanent fixture, require professional installation and a larger investment. They are however, cheaper to install and less intrusive than central air, which uses the homes duct system and are much more expensive to put in. Ductless mini-split air conditioners can actually be more efficient because they cool only the rooms where you locate and need them so there is no energy wasted, compared to central air which cools the whole home, including unused areas. Ductless mini-split air conditioning systems usually have one, two or more zones and in some cases, you can start small with one or two room units and grow your cooling network. Learn the differences between a window air conditioner and a ductless mini-split system.
Benefits:
- The installation is extremely simple.
- The unit is so quiet that you won’t even know that its operating. The system comes with an indoor blower & an outdoor condensing unit, which is designed to keep the noisy components outside.
- Ductless air conditioning mini split systems are extremely efficient.
- You can cool specific areas.
- You can have individual zoning at the push of a button.
- Less than 5% loss of cooling as compared to the 40% loss of cooling due to leaky air ducts.
- These units can be purchased as a heat pump.
Check out more advantages and disadvantages at energy.gov: Click Here!
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Update. April 2024. Had the return duct widened at my house and cleaned the blower and housing from the attic.
Pedro Garcia did a great job getting this started and Joe, who has a ton of experience, recommended this widening from 20x20 … More to 20x25. A lot of times I expect any tech or mechanic to say I need some work done just to sell me something. I ask alot of questions and I make sure they are justified.
There are 3 things that I think are very important that Mike's techs and supervisors do:
1. They consistently speak well about their owner and they do it organically. They talk about how he expects excellence and for procedures to be done by the book. I respect this as a leader. They don't have to do it, and if they hated or disliked their owner, they'd say nothing or worse.
2. There are quality checks done by senior techs/managers on bigger jobs. This is important. At first, you might say, "Why do you need to come check on the work?" But I was taught in the military to inspect what you expect. Some techs and apprentices are newer also, so this means the management wants to make sure the work meets the standard. I respect this, too. And this work is expensive. It should be right the first time.
3. If they make a mistake or break something or find that a prior Mike's tech did something NOT to standard, they fix it and let me know. No one is perfect, and I have been using these services for a few years now. Mike's has to get techs that sometimes come from prior employers, where they learned bad habits. Why? There's not a million guys who are actually qualified that also want to go into super hot attics all day. I think with all these things in mind, this company is worth every dollar I've paid in both the annual membership and the individual services or repairs. For the record they have replaced, fixed, or improved 2 of my toilets, 2 kitchen ceiling lights, this AC work, and prior AC services over the years.
Joe is going to tell you how it is. He suggested the widening of my return duct where the air goes through the filter and we got significantly better airflow through our home. That's not why I called them either. And I'm a HARD sell. But they measured the CFMs for me before and after at my vents with state of the art equipment, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Pedro and Juan did a great job on the build of the larger return duct and cleaning the blower. These guys always answer any questions I have. This kind of service is hard to keep going for a long time with a large staff. But Mike's leadership must be strong because they manage to do it.
If YOU go outside or into the attic or garage and ask about these things, they will teach you. The photo with the 3 pins is the electrical connection of the compressor motor and you can see it has wear from being old and possibly losing a bit of the seal. It's a lot of electricity passing through there and outside in a rough environment. You can ask what that means. They aren't psychics but you might be told that "I've seen this before and usually it means it is on its last leg. You might have several months or a couple years left with it." BUT when your compressor stops on you down the road, you will have had that knowledge to prepare yourself for it.
I will update this every time they come if i can.
2023. Recently had Jeff come by. He was super helpful and he listened to my issues which were not obvious fixes but he went and did some diagnosing and ended up fixing our issues pretty quickly.
He was thorough and he fixed things he saw in the attic unit when he could have left them the way they were.
Mikes techs always take pics and explain to you what is going on and what you need.
I have the Home Shield package and I think it's a little high but honestly when you really need that after hours visit, you will wish you had it.
I appreciate Mikes. I always expect them to offer or sell me something but they are never pushy, and its usually relevant. 🤷
I would call Mikes a good company and Jeff is a tech I'd totally ask for again.
