Table of Contents
Air conditioners are all around us. They are in our homes, our cars, at shopping malls, in theaters, in restaurants and offices, the list goes on. They have become an integral part of the modern world make our lives easier. Be it at work or home air conditioners provide comfort in all seasons. If you’re looking forward to installing an air conditioner, then you have a lot of options to choose from as there are various types of air conditioners. Ducted, window and particularly popular for homes is the split air conditioner. Split systems are versatile and efficient and have many benefits over other systems. However, a split system installation can be a bit tricky if not done correctly.
Before we get into the details of split system installation, let’s take a look at how a split system works and the different types of split systems.
The Split Air Conditioning System
The split air conditioning system comprises two different parts: The indoor unit and the outdoor unit. Both the units contain different parts. The outdoor unit houses components like the condenser, compressor and expansion valve. The indoor unit consists of the cooling coils and fan. The indoor unit cools the room while the outdoor unit expels hot air. Split systems have near silent operation as the outdoor unit can be placed outside the room.
Split systems work by consensing gas into a liquid and again turning the liquid into gas. The refrigerant gas is fed into the condenser and is pressurized. The pressurized liquid passes through a series of pipes and gets decompressed releasing heat. Air is drawn in from the room and gets cooled by the gas and is blown back into the room by a blower. The gas goes back to the condenser to repeat the cycle, and the outdoor unit expels the heat released by the process.
There are two main types of split air conditioning systems available in the market. There is the traditional split system that uses a single indoor and outdoor units, and then there are the multi-split systems. Multi-split systems can have multiple indoor units connected to one large capacity condenser. Multi-split systems are good for cooling more than one room.
Split System Installation
There are a few things to be kept in mind during split system installation they are as follows:
The first step before buying an air conditioner you should determine the capacity of the unit you need. It’s important for a few different reasons. Air conditioners are classified by their cooling capacity, for example, a 1.5-ton air conditioner can cool 1000 sq. feet of area, efficiently. If the capacity if the unit is too low, then it would not be able to cool the area effectively and if the capacity is too high the air would become too dry. In either case, more than the required power will be confused.
Positioning
While the split system installation it is important to install both the outdoor and the indoor unit in the right position. The indoor unit should not be installed too high up as that can make it hard to clean and service. The outdoor unit should not be installed far above or below the indoor unit as doing so may hinder the movement of the gases through the piping leading to higher power consumption. The best way is to hire professionals to install the unit.
Conclusion
If the split system installation is done correctly, it can be highly effective. Split air conditioners not only consume less power but are also efficient. Split systems are quieter than many other types of air conditioners. The indoor unit also requires very little installation space.
