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Ductless mini-split systems are a very popular upgrade for homes that don’t have existing ducting. They supply both heating and cooling, which makes them a great choice for your year-round comfort needs. However, it’s important to ensure that you get the right size system in order for it to operate efficiently to meet your heating and cooling demands. We’re going to share with you our best tips for helping to determine the appropriate size ductless mini-split installation for your household below.
Start With Determining Indoor Air Handler Sizing
One of the absolute best places to start with determining what size ductless mini-split system you need for your home is with your indoor air handler units. Because this system uses multiple indoor air handler units to deliver hot and cold air throughout the various rooms of your home, it’s important to understand what size unit(s) you need for each room.
The overall square footage of the room, the amount of insulation that you have, the number of doorways and windows, and various other factors will go into determining the appropriate size unit for each room. You can get a general idea of the size of the indoor air handler unit that you need by taking the total square footage of the room and multiplying it by 25. This can give you a roundabout BTU requirement for that particular room. For example, if your living room is 250 square feet, you’ll need an indoor air handler unit that likely has a BTU of around 6,200.
Add Up the Total BTUS
It’s important to determine the appropriate size of each indoor air handler unit that you plan on placing in your home. Most installers will put in a unit for each main room that you use, like your bedrooms, kitchen, and living room. Rooms that are less than 150 square feet, like half-baths, typically don’t require an indoor air handler unit. This is because their temperature will be best controlled by units in larger surrounding rooms.
Once you know what each room will need, it’s time to add up all the estimated BTUs to get a total BTU that your outdoor condenser unit can handle. It’s very important to keep in mind that you need to have one of our HVAC technicians do a more precise calculation before you make any sort of purchase to ensure that it’s of the appropriate size for your home and your needs.
Think of Future Needs
One crucial thing to keep in mind is that you may need to change your ductless mini-split setup in the future. One of the most common things is adding on more indoor air handler units for things like home additions or simply better temperature control. It can be helpful to take this into account when choosing the appropriate condenser unit. Opting to get one that has a higher BTU can allow you to add on effortlessly in the future without having to upgrade your entire condenser unit.
Most Common Factors That Affect Unit Sizing
While figuring up a room’s general BTU requirement based on its square footage can be a fairly easy formula, it’s very important to realize that it’s just a general estimate. There are many other factors that go into determining the appropriate size unit for each room. Another factor that should be taken into consideration is the climate zone that you live in. For example, if you live in the southern region of the country, you’re going to need an air conditioning system that has a higher cooling capacity than in the northern region.
The height of a room’s ceiling can also play a role in the size of the unit that you get. In general, ceilings that are higher than eight feet will require extra BTUs per unit. If you have a newer home that’s very well insulated, it’s likely that you can get away with purchasing a lower BTU unit than a person who lives in an older home that lacks insulation. Some other notable factors that can change the BTU requirement for your system include the amount of sun exposure the room gets, the number of windows that it has, the number of occupants living in your home, and the number of heat-generating appliances that you have.
Exceptional Ductless Mini-Split System Installation Service
Fire 'n' Ice Heating & Cooling Inc. offers exceptional ductless mini-split system installation services for the Downers Grove, IL community. We can also help with all your heating and cooling maintenance, replacement, and repair needs. Simply call our office today to book your next service appointment with one of our highly experienced HVAC technicians.
2455 Wisconsin Avenue