The Best Alternative to a Window Air Conditioner

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by HVACDirect.com

Get that bulky, view-obstructing, noisy AC unit out of your window for good! A ductless mini-split system offers a sleeker appearance, remarkable efficiency, and unparalleled comfort.

Are you searching for a window air conditioner? Before you make any purchases, be sure to weigh all your options. Seen against the rich background of todays cooling and heating technologies, window units are becoming Increasingly outmoded. For all their enticing pros - low initial cost, portability, ease of installation - these appliances come with a host of off-putting cons.

Whereas there's only one way to install a window air conditioner, the twin components of a ductless system can be configured in any number of ways, leaving you free to seek the most inconspicuous solution. For starters, within a set radius that depends on your chosen system, the outdoor unit can be placed on the portion of your property where it's least likely to draw attention. You may also conceal its presence with strategic landscaping or even a curtaining structure, such as a trellis. Meanwhile, sleek, low-profile indoor units can mount either high on the wall, near the floor, or within the ceiling, wherever you think it would look the best. No matter what you decide, the window in the room would remain completely unobstructed. that's right: You no longer have to sacrifice daylight and your view of the outdoors, as you would with a window unit, for the full duration of the summer. Another factor to consider is noise. Even the quietest window air conditioners tend to make a racket. Mini splits are, by comparison, ultra-quiet. When running, indoor units from mini splits reach volumes as low as 19 decibels - quieter than a whisper!

True, a mini split costs more upfront than a window unit. Over the long term, however, it pays you back with the system's remarkable energy efficiency. Compared with the average window unit, mini split system consumes 40% less energy, allowing you to enjoy lower monthly utility bills during the cooling season.
Those savings wouldn't mean much if you were uncomfortable, though. So, what truly sets apart mini split is that, even though the operation costs are relatively low, the system will provide unparalleled comfort. Thanks to a variable speed compressor - and accurate monitoring of conditions in the room - the system continuously adjusts its output to match the demand. That way, the technology steadily maintains your target temperature. The average window AC either keeps running until the room gets too cold, or it cycles on and off, creating unpleasant, sometimes extreme temperature variations. That's not the case with mini split. Here, the temperature you set is the temperature you get. .

Though many homeowners rely on mini splits for cooling one or a couple of rooms, others employ the technology for whole home climate control. In such a setup, multiple indoor units work in concert to maintain a comfortable temperature across the full square footage. For the time being, you may be interested only in cooling down the bedroom. But if in the future you decided to extend your ductless system beyond the bedroom, you wouldn't need to scrap what you've got and start over from scratch. Being that some outdoor units are capable of accommodating multiple indoor units, you would need to add only the latter into any room or rooms you wanted to make more comfortable. You might even look at your initial, single room focused ductless system as a first step toward piecing together a comprehensive solution for all the space under your roof.
One final aspect of mini split technology proves its all around versatility. These ductless system typically provide not only cooling, but heating as well. In cooling mode, the indoor and outdoor unit work to draw heat from inside the home and deposit it safely outside. The flip of a switch reverses the action, causing the system to collect heat from outside and bring it indoors. In effect, the same ductless system you count on for effective and efficient summertime cooling can also provide comfort giving heat in the winter. Try saying that about a window AC!