Understanding the Ductless Advantage

Ductless Split systems – sometimes referred to as “mini splits” are one of the best ways to keep your home at a comfortable temperature year round.

As the name suggests, the most evident advantage when it comes to ductless split systems is that they do not require ducts (air vents) to be in place before they are installed. We live in a city where many of the houses were built before modern forced-air central cooling and heating systems became ubiquitous. In these circumstances, as well as with many modern homes, a ductless split system is simply the best solution to implement central or localized cooling.

As the previous diagram illustrates, a ductless split system is composed of outdoor and indoor units that are linked by refrigerant lines. The lines are basically hoses that carry fluids instead of cold (or hot) air and as such they are easier to conceal and take up much less space than ductwork.

It is called a ductless split because the indoor units and outdoor units can be quite far from each other. In a very simplified way, you can compare a ductless split system to a window air conditioner unit if you think of the bit of the AC that sticks out of your window onto the outside of your home as equivalent to the outside unit of a ductless split; similarly, the inside unit is like the part of the AC that actually blows the cold air into your room. Clearly, having those two units separate allows for much more flexibility when it comes to designing your living spaces – every room in your home can have a source of cold air even if it does not have an outside wall.

Another benefit of a ductless split system is that they can be much more energy efficient than forced-air systems. The most energy efficient forced-air central A/C we carry achieves up to 22 SEER whereas the most energy efficient ductless split we have achieves up to 26 SEER.

So far we’ve only been talking about cooling your home but ductless split systems can heat your home just as well. This is because the outside unit can be a cooling-only unit or a heat pump. A heat pump is basically an AC that has the ability to work in reverse when it is needed to provide you with hot air inside your house instead of cold. In the late fall and early spring, they can even work with an existing forced-air furnace providing what is referred to as a hybrid-heat system that ultimately results in the highest energy savings. The heat pump will work on its own just fine as well, even in our cold Canadian winters.

Whereas all of the above features may not be available to all models of ductless split systems in the market, there is one brand that has all of them and many more features. Due to the flexibility of their systems, their high performance, and reliability; Cozy Comfort Plus recommends Mitsubishi’s Mr. Slim brand of ductless split system.