Mini Split Air Conditioners: Putting an End to “Thermostat Wars” Year Round?

For several years now, central air conditioning systems have been “all the rage.” But the fact of the matter is, while central ac units are obviously head and shoulders above window ac units when it comes to efficiency and quiet operation, there is a “new kid” on the block. And that “new kid” is a Mini Split Air Conditioner.

Mini Split Air Conditioners were first made popular overseas in Europe and Asia, but they are quickly gaining ground here in the United States and for good reason. A couple of these reasons include operation that puts an end to “thermostat wars,” greater efficiency without going around having ducts installed, and the ability to create a comfort-controlled theater room with ease.

First things first, let’s talk about “thermostat wars.” It shouldn’t be hard to picture this for a second: say you have a home, and in the heat of summer you get that one room in the house that’s insanely hotter than the rest. What do you do? Well, with a centralized air conditioning system, you’ll have family members “fighting over the thermostat” so they’re comfortable. Either you’re too hot or too cold at any given time. It’s a complete headache, right?

Well, fast forward into the future one year, and its summer time again. And once again, it’s sweltering hot outside as usual. Except this time you have Mini Split Air Conditioners installed in your home, and a person on the hot side of the house can sleep just as easily at night because he or she has an individual thermostat setting in his or her particular room. It can be 75°F in one location of your home, and 85°F in another at the same time.

The neat part about this, is if you have any rooms in your house that are unoccupied at the time, you simply turn the air conditioning off in that area and easily save your money. So we’ve discussed summer time, but what about…winter? That’s easy.

Mini Split Air Conditioners also have a heating mode that transfers heat from one place to another via a heat pump, and is fully operational and efficient down to 14°F in the winter months. In fact, Mini Split Air Conditioners have a standard “HSPF rating” of 7.0, whereas most air conditioning systems start at about 8.0. “HSPF” stands for Heating Seasonal Performance Factor, and the lower the number gets, the better the efficiency of your unit will be.

The main benefit of this is that you’ll get a better bang for your buck, and obviously the heat temperature gauge is fully-adjustable on a per-room basis as well. This saves you the hassle of trying to meet everyone’s needs collectively, and lets you give power to the individual all year round. Never will you fight over “it’s too hot” or “it’s too cold” again.

In conclusion, Mini Split Air Conditioners make a valuable addition to your home and are quickly gaining popularity for the following reasons: their efficiency, ease of operation, and fast, ductless installation.