A mini split, or ductless system, can be used either for just air conditioning or, more commonly, for heat pumps, allowing the system to both cool and heat the home. This is a great to have perfectly comfortable temperatures all throughout your house if you don’t have ductwork, or if your ducts are old or damaged and would be too costly or inconvenient to replace.
Ductless HVAC in Navarre, FL has another amazing quality: each air handler, placed in various parts of the home, has a separate thermostat. You can control the temperature precisely in different “zones” or rooms and areas in your house. This can provide ideal comfort and also reduce energy use. But where should your mini split air handlers be placed? Here’s how we figure that out.
What Is the Air Handler?
A traditional central AC unit or ducted heat pump has one outdoor unit and one indoor unit, and the refrigerant flows back and forth through coils, carrying heat as it goes. A ductless system is called a mini split because while it has one outdoor unit, the refrigerant coils split when they enter the home. A separate line of refrigerant goes to each air handler or indoor unit, in separate parts of the house.
Inside the air handler is where the cooling or heating takes place, with the coils either absorbing or releasing heat. A small motor runs a fan that pushes the heated or cooled air out of the vent on the front of the air handler unit. There is also a drainage pan, to catch moisture from condensation.
How Are Air Handlers Installed?
Ductwork can take up a great deal of space—either within walls or ceilings or, in homes that were not originally constructed with ducts, out in the open, which can be unsightly. But each air handler needs much less space in your home’s walls.
The only thing that passes through, from the outside unit to each air handler, is a single conduit containing a power line, a refrigerant line, and a drainage line. Only a small hole is required for this, and then the air handlers can be securely mounted to your studs or joists, usually in upper sections of the walls.
Where Should Air Handlers Be Placed?
One heat pump can usually be connected to between four and eight air handlers. They will need to be in widely distributed locations to ensure an even temperature distribution throughout your home. Exactly how many you need is based on square footage and layout.
For example, small rooms with little airflow might each need an air handler, but a larger open area might only need one. In some cases, though, such as open floor-plan homes with very large spaces, two air handlers might be required for that one space.
To get an exact answer to how many air handlers your home will need and where they should be placed, you’ll need to consult with an expert in HVAC. That’s us!
For professional heating system maintenance and repair, look no further than Kool Breeze of Northwest Florida, Inc. Contact us today!