" Just a short note to express our appreciation and thanks for the conversion of our home from all-electric to gas heating and hot water. Your installers are friendly and courteous, and do a professional job. They really seem to care. It is also nice to have someone in our home that is relatively neat and tidy, leaving things the way they found them. Thanks again. "
Jeff and Rebecca Sahr
Littleton, Colorado
Mini-Split Systems: How They Work
So often in Colorado, homes that were built before the new millennium were not really designed for air conditioning. Many of the natives to this state will tell you there was a time when air conditioning wasn't even considered. As a result, many homes were built as two story or multi-level homes with inadequate return and/or supply duct systems for the upstairs. Since heat rises, it was never considered necessary to pull more air out of the upper levels. We get calls from hundreds of people who have had Central A/C installed in their homes and still have an oven upstairs (which is where they wanted the cooling to begin with!). It's unfortunate so many contractors don't do their homework or can't really see what's upstairs in terms of air flow, and just go ahead and install A/C, creating unhappy customers.
The other problem is that many homes are built with hot water heat. Though hydronic heat is a wonderful source of comfort in the winter, this means that no ductwork even exists for an A/C retrofit situation. In this case, evaporative cooling is an option that is quite well received, but many people still want air conditioning.
Enter the mini-split system air conditioners. These compact, energy-saving units are often less expensive than installing a complete duct system for the upstairs, which is the only other way to cool those hot upper levels. Mini-split air conditioners are versatile, quiet, come in a range of sizes to fit almost any situation and cost less than central air conditioning or window units to run.
With min-split systems, a slim-line condensing unit is installed outdoors, just like with a standard central air system, and a lineset and electrical are run (usually outside on a wall) to the indoor console unit. The indoor unit contains a fan, controls and an evaporative coil. Just like central air, the condenser send refrigerant via a compressor through the lineset and to the console, which is operated from inside the room where it is located. Most systems come with a remote control and can be used as a fan or air conditioner. In situations where it is impractical to install central A/C, consider using a mini-split system.
