Do you live in a neighborhood with housing restrictions that prohibit window air conditioners? Or maybe you’re looking for something a little more efficient and powerful than a window air unit but you are not interested in splurging on a whole home air conditioner?
A ductless mini-split heating and air conditioning system is a perfect solution. This is a good option if a window air conditioner or central air conditioning system is impractical or too expensive. A split air conditioner means just that, an air conditioner with an indoor and an outdoor unit.
No Ducts
A ductless mini-split air conditioning system uses compact air handlers to provide cool air. Copper tubing runs through small openings in the wall or ceiling that easily connects the indoor and outdoor units. This is why no ducts are needed for this type of system. Air handlers are mounted on a ceiling or a wall. The creation of moisture is eliminated as insulated hoses prevent conditions where moisture can occur.
Energy Efficiency
The lack of ducts for a ductless mini-split heating and air conditioning system means less cool air is lost. If a typical air conditioning system is used, then up to 30 percent cooling loss occurs. The efficiency that is provided by this air conditioning system will help to lower monthly electric bills. Many models used in a home are Energy Star qualified. Many units have increased efficiency of about 27.2 SEER. This is a basic standard known as Standard Seasonal Efficiency Ratio. A higher SEER rating means the unit will be more efficient.
Zone Control Lowers Energy Costs
The ability to set specific zones to heat or cool will result in better performance and lower energy costs per year. Air will be sent to certain areas and not to rooms that are unused. This means that a standard home with a second floor can have a separate zone that does not need to be cooled or heated.
The refrigerant used in a ductless mini-split air conditioning system is R410A. This means that there is no harm to the environment and no contribution to further ozone layer depletion.
Improves Home Safety
Homes without central air conditioner will typically have window units installed. These are often not a good option for home security. The air handlers of a ductless mini-split system are mounted away from windows and virtually eliminate the chance of an intruder to enter a home.
In some cases, there are homes with inefficient central air conditioning and faulty ductwork that causes poor air flow to some rooms. In this case, homeowners have to install unsightly window mounted air conditioners to cool these rooms. Just compare this appearance to the indoor unit above!
Like mentioned before, units that are installed in a home will have two parts. One part is the outside unit and the other part is a series of air handlers that are installed inside. This two-part system means that louder components used for the system are located outside.
Easy Installation
The installation of a ductless mini-split system require drilling a small hole in an exterior wall. This is all that is needed to connect the inside unit to one or more air handlers inside. The result is a unit that is able to provide comfort in a home throughout the year. Indoor units will have varying sizes and usually means a home may need between two and eight units installed. This all depends on your particular heating and cooling needs.
For more information and estimates, call us at: 240-222-3205.
There are some amazing alternative heating and air conditioning systems available today. The purpose of this article is to describe how a ductless mini-split system might be the type of heating and air conditioning system that helps you create additional comfort, convenience in your home or office while saving valuable dollars in energy costs
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. But a video is worth a thousand pictures. Please watch this short video. It provides a fantastic overview on a ductless mini-split system.
Personal Experience on Convenience and Cost Savings
I can recall when my parents decided to install a central air conditioning system in our small home back in the 1970’s. They needed to install all new ductwork to support the system. That’s an expensive project to add to an existing home. It was a huge project and cost a ton of money. I’m extremely thankful to them for providing this added level of comfort to our growing family, but one of these mini-split heating and air conditioning systems would have provided a much better alternative… both in space and cost.
Personal Experience on Lousy Ductwork
Let’s say you’d like to have air conditioning but your home or new room lacks the necessary ductwork. Or maybe you have a room that’s a little too hot or too cold and you’d like to make it more comfortable. Perhaps you own a business that has supplemental heating or cooling needs. Here’s my personal experience. I’ve had my home for 16 years. I have four bedrooms on my second floor. My master bedroom cools well. I have a middle bedroom for one of daughters that does OK. But, my existing central air conditioning does an extremely poor job of cooling my other two rooms. One of these rooms, occupied by another of my daughters faces the daily sun. It’s in the front of my house facing east. I paid a lot of money to install wooden blinds to keep out the sun… still, this room just does not cool. I have a another small bedroom on the other side of the side of the house. This room doesn’t get the hot sun. This is my business office. I purchased a window air conditioner for this room. I live in a neighborhood governed by “home owner’s association” rules. They dictate we can’t use window air conditioners. It’s in the back of my house, so my home owner’s association doesn’t bother me. But, I’ve chosen not to test their rules by installing a window unit in the front of my house in my daughter’s room in the front of the house.
I’ve had my ductwork checked several times by experienced Waldorf HVAC contractors. Cool air just does not reach these two rooms. There might be leaks in the ductwork that is just too costly to explore. Heck, I don’t want a contractor to tear down my walls to find leaks in my ductwork. And, I realize that my heating and air conditioning system was done by contractors 16 years ago that just wanted to fulfill their contracts. They didn’t know me and I didn’t have the time, inclination or knowledge to spend time with them.
Jerry’s Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning company is a company that I know and trust. To find out more if a ductless mini-split system can help you solve similar problems, call Jerry at 240-222-3205.
This article is on Air Conditioning Preventive Maintenance. Is it important to you? If saving money on your energy bills and avoiding high cost maintenance bills is important to you, this is a must read!
Most homeowners do not pay much attention to their Air Conditioning system until something breaks. Grant it, modern air conditioning units are quite dependable and last for years, but that doesn’t mean you should simply ignore your system. If you’ve never given your air conditioning system a checkup, or haven’t done so recently, now’s the perfect time.
Did you know that spending a little money on an annual air conditioning checkup can help you save serious dollars over the long run? For example, if you have a small refrigerant leak repaired, it usually won’t cost too much to fix. On the other hand, if you let the leak run, you could burn out your compressor, which could cost more than $1,000 to replace, plus the freon refrigerant! Grant it, at this time of year you and I have a huge natural energy break.
We are finally free of those high winter energy bills. We can now open our windows, breath the fresh air and get some relief on those huge, unforgivable and unforgettable bills. Hopefully, this relief will last for a while. But, summer is coming. We can’t control that. On the other hand, here is something we can control; air conditioning preventive maintenance. Now is the time to prepare, posture and work to keep those summer bills as low as we can. And, that is something you can control. …, here is something else to consider. We see it all the time. We get calls in mid to late August from customers whose air conditioning systems completely broke down and can’t be fixed. Thier air conditioning system is virtually ‘totalled.’ Our technicians identify components that could have been maintained, but were completely ignored. It’s like having a car that was never taken care of or maintained. Simple maintenance procedures which should have been performed and that would have allowed our customers to avoid replacing their entire system.
Here is what Energy Star recommends on how to maintain your equipment to prevent future problems and unwanted costs. Keep your cooling and heating system at peak performance by having a contractor do annual pre-season check-ups. Contractors get busy once the summer and winter seasons arrive, so it’s best to have them check your cooling system in the spring and your heating system in the fall. To remember, you might plan the check-ups around the time changes in the spring and fall. Watch this short Angie’s List video on 5 Things to Know About Air Conditioning Preventive Maintenance.
Let’s take this a step further and use a simple comparison to some preventive maintenance you already do with your other valuable personal property. How do you treat you cars? Do you provide preventive maintenance on your cars? Sure you do! You have the oil changed every 3-5,000 miles! And, if you’re like me, you have all the critical components checked… like you engine belt and transmission and other critical fluid levels. Why do you do this? That’s simple easy… you do it to preserve your cars and to avoid future, very costly maintenance. So, why not do this for your Air Conditioning System?
Ensure that you have a comfortable home to return to this summer. June is not the time to discover your Air Conditioning system is having problems. If a stitch in time saves nine, showing your air conditioning just a little love could save you thousands of repair dollars when you need cooling the most. To help keep you cool this summer, it’s a great idea to service your air conditioner now. A properly maintained air conditioning system operating in an efficient manner can help you save on those always unwelcome electric utility bills and even higher maintenance bills.
Jerry’s Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning is here to help! We are offering 10-Point Maintenance inspection at a discounted price! With Jerry’s Plumbing, you don’t have to worry about inviting us into your home. Our technicians are fully licensed, trained and have undergone a full background check. Please read our testimonials. And, we are a top service provider in Southern Maryland. See us on Angie’s List. And for more tips on reducing your plumbing costs, see our article on reducing plumbing costs.
We offer expert residential and commercial plumbing in Waldorf plus heating and air conditioning (HVAC) services. We proudly serve all Southern Maryland. From small plumbing and HVAC repairs to kitchen and bath remodels to complete HVAC system repairs and replacements, we offer you a single source solution to meet all your needs! Our team of licensed technicians can do it all.
Plumbing
Tub and Shower Replacement
Water Heaters
Garbage Disposals
Leaks and Repairs
Drain Cleaning
Sump Pumps
Battery Back-up Sump Pumps
Water and Sewer Main Line Repair and Replacement
Well Repair
Heating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
New and Existing Home Systems
Sales, Installation and Service
High Efficiency Natural Gas, and Propane Boilers or Furnaces
Heating and Duct Installation
Central Air and Heat Pumps
We use top name brand plumbing fixtures from brands like Moen, Delta and Kohler and we can install or repair any other type of fixtures.
So much has changed in air conditioning repair and replacement in recent years.
If your air conditioning system has almost any significant breakdown, or if you feel it just isn’t cooling your entire home as you feel it should, it may be worth replacing it instead of repairing it. And, the really ‘cool’ thing is (no pun intended), you will likely see a reduction in your monthly electric bill along with the pleasure you’ll experience in a cooler home!
For example, as of 2010, manufacturers must use a new kind of refrigerant that’s not an ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon. And a new system can use less than half the electricity of your old one while doing a far better job of keeping you cool and comfortable.
If your air conditioner is more than eight years old, repair is probably not worth the expense, unless it’s a simple problem like debris clogging the condenser unit or a worn fan belt. Still, to best weigh your repair-or-replace decision, our technicians will assess not just the condition of your existing equipment, but also the ducts that deliver the cool air and the overall quality of the insulation in your house. Improving those elements might increase the effectiveness of the system as much or more than installing new machinery.
Assess the efficiency of your current air conditioning system
Even if your central air conditioner is just eight to 10 years old, it could use up to twice the electricity that even a low-end new one would use. That’s because it operates at or below 10 SEER, or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, which is the amount of energy needed to provide a specific cooling output.
Until 2006, 10 SEER was standard, but these days, the minimum allowed by federal law is 13 SEER. That translates to 30% less electrical consumption and 30% lower cooling bills than equipment installed just a few years ago.
For a roughly 1,800 square foot house, a new 13 SEER unit will cost $4.500 to $6.500. You can double your energy savings by jumping up to 15 SEER, and 15 seer system may qualify for a Department of Energy tax credit. And would cost between $5,000 – $7,000 depending on tonnage and access ability. Our technicians will explain this all to you. Call us for a free evaluation of you air conditioning system today.
How to Choose a Professional air conditioning repair contractor?
Choosing a reliable and air conditioning repair contractor should be a simple process. Unfortunately most people don’t know what to look for when searching for a good contractor to install or service their air conditioning equipment and that can make finding the right person for the job difficult. Whether you need repairs or a new air conditioning system installed, it’s important to find an air conditioning repair contractor you can trust to provide quality work and reliable service.
Your air conditioning repair contractor should have the proper licenses.
At Jerry’s Plumbing and Heating & Air Conditioning Services, we have four fully licensed and trained technicians to service your air conditioning repair needs! If you’ve been having problems with your existing cooling system a our licensed air conditioning repair technician will ask for details and following a thorough examination will then provide you with viable solutions.
Here are our Licenses / Credentials :
• MD Licensed Master Plumber/Gas Fitter
• WSSC Licensed Master Plumber/Gas Fitter
• HVAC Licensed
The Importance of Finding the Right Air Conditioning Repair Contractor.
Finding the right air conditioning repair contractor to either repair, upgrade or install an existing air conditioning system can be as important as purchasing the right equipment. Our trained and licensed technicians will do an onsite inspection and provide advice on whether to repair, upgrade or install a new system. You can rely on our technicians to provide quality work and reliable service.
Call Us Today for All Your Air Conditioning Repair Service Needs!
A ductless mini-split air conditioning system uses compact air handlers to provide cool air. Copper tubing runs through small openings in the wall or ceiling that easily connects the indoor and outdoor units. This is why no ducts are needed for this type of system. Air handlers are mounted on a ceiling or a wall. The creation of moisture is eliminated as insulated hoses prevent conditions where moisture can occur.
Homes without central air conditioner will typically have window units installed. These are often not a good option for home security. The air handlers of a ductless mini-split system are mounted away from windows and virtually eliminate the chance of an intruder to enter a home.
