Approximately 90% of all U.S. households have an air conditioner to keep them comfortable and safe all summer. If you’d like to upgrade your home’s cooling, there is a wide range of AC technologies to choose from. Let’s explore them to see which type is the best for you.
Central Air Conditioner
According to the latest Residential Energy Consumption Survey, two-thirds of U.S. homes with air conditioning have some form of central cooling. Central ACs distribute cooled air throughout a home via ductwork. That air enters the living spaces from the ducts through vents. That allows the system to provide consistent cooling throughout a home. Zoning, which allows for independent temperature adjustment in different zones, is an optional upgrade.
Central air conditioning is a great choice for homes that already have ducts. Installing ducts in an older home without them is an option but can add significant expenses. Homeowners considering that option should weigh it against ductless solutions before deciding.
Heat Pump
Heat pumps are similar to central ACs. The main difference is that a heat pump has a reversing valve that allows the refrigeration process to run in the other direction. In other words, a heat pump provides cooling in summer and heating in winter. The most prevalent type of heat pump is air-sourced. That means it transfers heat to and from the ambient air. There are also geothermal heat pumps that transfer it to and from the earth or a large body of water.
Ductless Mini-Split
Mini-splits have an outdoor condenser unit like a central system. The difference is that it has individual indoor units for each zone. The indoor units house filtration, a blower, an evaporator coil, and a condensate drain line. There are cooling-only and heat pump mini-splits available. Mini-splits tend to cost more initially due to the additional equipment required. That said, they’re inherently zoned and don’t have air leakage problems like ducted systems.
Variable Refrigerant Flow
VRF systems are similar to ductless mini-splits. The main difference is that they can adjust the flow of refrigerant to each indoor unit independently. That can make them even more efficient and affordable to run in the right scenarios. VRF systems are often worth it in larger homes where you’ll have more than the two to four indoor units that are typical with a traditional mini-split setup.
Window and Portable ACs
There are smaller-scale cooling solutions available. Those include window-mounted units and portable floor units. These configurations are cheaper initially but have some limitations. They only cool a relatively small area and are usually less efficient, which often means the total cost is higher.
Do you want to upgrade your home’s cooling system in Abilene, TX? Contact Olympus Electric & Air today to set up an in-home consultation for AC installation.
