When you're trying to decide whether to install a ducted AC system, or a split-system AC in your new home, you have to weigh a lot of factors, including price, the size of your home and cooling options. The main difference between a ducted system, also known as central air, and a split-system, is that central air requires you to install ductwork in your walls, ceilings or floors, which isn't necessary with a split-system. Here are some of the benefits a ducted system can offer you.
Design Aesthetic
A split-system AC unit is very visible, no matter how modular the unit is, and where you choose to install it. There's no way to disguise or hide a split-system unit, which may clash with the way your rooms are laid out.
Ducted AC, on the other hand, only requires vents or grills that are either on the ceiling or on the floor. The entire system is controlled by a small panel that fits discreetly on a wall, and can be placed out of view in a corridor or hallway. A ducted AC system won't affect how your design your room, because there is no separate unit to hang on a wall.
Quiet Operation
A ducted AC system is also much quieter than a split-system AC unit. By virtue of the fact that the ductwork is out of sight, you won't hear the air moving through the ducts, and when that air radiates through your vents, it makes a very low, whisper sound that is barely audible. Even though a split-system unit has an outdoor condenser, the main motor that powers the wall unit will make noise, which can affect your sleep cycle if you install the split-system in your bedroom.
Economics
It will cost you less to install a ducted AC system in a house than to buy a separate split-system unit for every room in your house. That's why if you're living in a house, central air just makes more financial sense, because once the ductwork is installed, the entire house can be cooled and heated without having to worry about additional expenses. Split system units make sense if you're in a small flat, in which you may only need to cool one room.
Zoning
In the past, people would complain that central air gave them no control over rooms that needed less cooling, because the thermostat was only optimised to cool and heat each room at the same temperature. But that's no longer true, as innovations have created zoning, which lets you control the temperature in separate rooms from one thermostat. Central air zoning allows you to cool rooms that are the most used and need the most amount of cooling, while also shutting off or rarely cooling rooms that are less frequently used.
Learn more about your AC options by contacting local services like Point Nepean Air Conditioning & Heating.
Share4 May 2015
Hello! Welcome to my blog! My name is Julie and I live in a large house in the suburbs of Perth, Australia. My husband and I moved into our current home a couple of years ago and since then we have been working to transform it into our dream place. The house itself is lovely, but the interior looked like something from the 1970s. When we started our renovation project we didn't have a clue what we were doing. However, with each job we completed and each mistake we made, we learnt a new skill. I decided I would like to share what we have learnt here.