Choosing Your Ductless Split Air Conditioner

Shopping for a ductless split air conditioner can be challenging when you don’t know where to start. This simple guide will clearly lay out the most important factors to consider as you begin your search: BTUs, number of zones you need, and the type of installation.

BTUs are units of power

British Thermal Units, more commonly referred to as BTUs, are units if power. The larger the space is that you need to cool, the higher the number of BTUs you’ll need. To figure out what you need, just use a BTU calculator. When you’re installing a single zone unit it’s pretty straight forward, but if you use a multi-zone system, both your indoor and outdoor units need to have a set number of BTUs.

One of the many benefits of choosing a ductless split system is that each exterior unit runs on its own. As a result, the total number of BTUs for the exterior units can actually exceed the outdoor unit’s BTU by as much as 30%. Just keep in mind that if you choose this route, you can’t run all units on maximum at the same time.

Choosing your zone options

A single zone ductless split system has one condenser (also known as an outdoor unit), one air handler (also known as an indoor unit), and one evaporator. If you’re looking to cool more than just a single area, then a multi-zone split system is what you want. This applies to two, three, or four outdoor units but you still have a single condenser. Generally, you’ll want one unit per room. You just need to make sure that there are enough BTUs to cover the square footage of each room.

Finding the right installation type

You have many options in interior units. One option is mounted right to your wall. Some of these types of units have customizable panels in the front that can look like art or picture frames. Other types of units go on the ceiling. They can be recessed into the ceiling, suspended above, or concealed within the ceiling. These ceiling units are used for single zone units only – note that multi-zone ceiling units aren’t available.

While the installation process for ductless split systems is simpler than installing central air conditioning, you do still need the help of a certified HVAC installer.