For anyone who’s decided that maybe it’s time to think about going ductless, this is a fantastic heating and cooling decision for Pacific Northwest homes and businesses. You get comfort, control, convenience, and energy efficiency all in one package. But if you want to make the most of your ductless system, we recommend you follow these tips!
1. Shelter Your Outdoor Unit
Protection from the elements is mostly a concern in winter, during those parts of the year when there’s a lot of wet maple leaves and fir needles falling to the ground and maybe a bit of snow. The compressor unit operates by drawing in air and extracting heat from that air then sending it into your home. Yes, even when it’s winter outside, there’s still some heat in that air!
However, if heavy snow surrounds your outdoor unit, then it can’t efficiently draw in the air it needs, making it work harder and longer while adding to your heating bills unnecessarily. Try to make sure your outdoor unit has some kind of roof over it that is not sitting directly on top of it.
2. Clean The Filters
If air quality is important to you, keeping your filters clean is essential. Fortunately, the filters in ductless systems are permanent, so you don’t have to keep discarding and buying new ones. You do, however, have to clean the filters in your unit. Once every four weeks is sufficient for most homes, but if you have pets that shed a lot of their fur, you may need to do this more frequently.
However, as long as you keep your filters clean, you will enjoy clear air at a higher quality than what you would have with a centralized heating and cooling system, which blows allergens throughout every room.
3. Don’t Run It in All Rooms
One of the best parts of a ductless system is that, unlike a central system, they don’t send cold or warm air to every single room, regardless of whether that room is in use or not. Make sure to either manually set your ductless units to not turn on in unoccupied rooms, or let your sensors do this job for you, if you choose a unit with this advanced functionality.
4. Get It Installed Right
Our last and most crucial piece of advice is to make sure a professional installs your ductless system! The vast majority of issues that arise with heating units of any kind are the result of improper installation. Whether it is poorly constructed heating vents in central heating, or someone not understanding proper compressor placement for a ductless unit, these little errors or lapses in experience and judgment can lead to poor performance or even product failure.
So when you decide to get a quality ductless system, make sure you also get a quality installation. That single act of foresight can mean years of quality operation with no issues at all!
Find more valuable articles like this one in our Ultimate Guide to Ductless Heating and Cooling in the Pacific Northwest.