[osagebowman]

We have an old house with hot water heat and didn't want to tear up the house installing ductwork for central air conditioning. We went with ductless, mini-split air conditioners. The cost was comparable to central ac, and since we have four of them, we can "zone" the house, depending on what rooms we are using. The compressors are much quieter than some central ac units, and you only know they are running by the waving of nearby vegetation.

LSA (posting on hubby's account)

[Sherman Logan]

Do you have any info on the energy efficiency of these units compared to central air?

[Erasmus]

Thanks for the link, OB.

I learnt my thing for the day and it's only 3 AM. Now I don't have to worry about learning anything for another 21 hours.

≤}B^)

[Old Professer]

Your link calls them split units and then concludes that they discharge condesate water outside; the water condenses on the cold coil - the evaporator?

I bought a house with oil heat and a furnace indoors adjacent the garage in an alcove; come summer the house became unbearably hot around midnight as the sucked-up heat in the red brick veneer began to radiate to the interior.

A quick trip to Montgomery Wards, a few hours spent in a 130F attic and one weekend later I was the proud owner of a central cooled home.

Everything went according to plan right up to the time the evaporator coil started dripping onto the concrete floor with no drain.

Like any good DYR’, I dragged a 35 gallon galvanized trashcan over under the drain pipe and went to bed.

The next morning I went out to the garage to confront 250 pounds of fresh H2O.

Back to the store for some hose and a small pump and the whole thing worked flawlessly right up to the day the mama racoon took up residence under the condenser slab - but that’s another story.