Choosing the Right Size Ductless A/C System for Your Home

How to calculate the right mini-split A/C option

Once upon a time, people in Morristown and across Northern New Jersey might have thought of a home cooling system as a luxury — something nice to have when it’s sweltering outside. These days, we understand that air conditioning is crucial to maintaining not only a comfortable home but also a safe one.

Is this the summer you make the leap from loud, bulky, inefficient window A/C units to something long-term and effective? At Dixon Energy, we’re happy to help Garden State households get the summer comfort they deserve with super-efficient ductless A/C products. These systems are relatively quick to install, requiring only minimal drilling, and can be adapted to virtually every size and shape of home.

In this post, we’ll discuss how we identify the ideal size of ductless A/C system for your home.

Ductless A/C Functionality and “Zoning”

What makes a ductless A/C (also called ductless mini-splits) so adaptable? To begin with, it doesn’t involve any ductwork. There are two primary components: an outdoor unit and one or several indoor air handlers. The air handlers tend to be wall-mounted and connect to the outdoor unit via thin conduit lines that pass through your exterior walls. On warm days, the indoor air handlers draw heat out of your home and transfer it to the outdoor unit, which expels it into the air.

Now, here’s a really exciting aspect of ductless A/C systems — each air handler works independently. That means you can set up different “zones” in your home and maintain different temperatures in them. For example, at night, you can cool down only your occupied bedrooms, leaving unoccupied spaces at a warmer temperature and saving money.

How to Determine the Right Ductless A/C Size

As a starting point, you should consider the Btu output of your air handlers. The typical rule of thumb is that, for every 100 square feet of space in a room, you need about 5,000 Btu of cooling capacity.

Then, you need to consider some other factors:

• The layout of your rooms – Do you have a big, open concept space in your common area? Are there high ceilings in your dining room? How many individual bedrooms do you plan to cool down? Each space might require a different size of air handler.
• The sun exposure of your home – Lots of sunlight can warm up your rooms and require more cooling capacity.
• The quality of insulation – What sort of cool air retention can you expect in the summer?

Bring in the A/C Professionals from Dixon Energy!

Sizing a ductless mini-split system requires expertise and experience. Families throughout Morris, Union, Somerset and southern Sussex Counties know they can trust the Dixon Energy team for guidance and unparalleled ductless A/C installation. We’re your full-service partner throughout the process, committed to helping you select the most appropriately-sized cooling system for your needs.

Let’s get started today with your home A/C upgrade. Reach out to our HVAC team for a free, no-obligation estimate.