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How Does a Split System Air Conditioner Work

Summer has come again, and all around Australia people are beginning to feel the effects. You could head for the beach or pool, or spend your days hiding in the shade, but the easiest way to stave off the heat is with a split system air conditioner in your home.

They’re a great option that’s easy to install and maintain, and summer becomes much more bearable with the cool air they provide. If you’ve been thinking about installing one then we’re going to dive into how split system air conditioners work and help you understand whether they’re the right choice for your home.

What is Split System Air Conditioning?

One of the two most common types of air conditioning, split system units are made up of two separate components: an indoor evaporator and an outdoor condenser unit. The two units are joined by wiring and high-pressure gas lines that pump refrigerant around a closed system, cooling the air in your home and transporting the excess heat outside.

How do Split Systems Work?

Split system air conditioners work on the same principles as any other air conditioning. Heat is absorbed from inside the home and then transported outside to be disposed of by a large fan coil unit that’s part of the condenser.

The evaporator unit is the white box you’ve seen sitting up high on the walls of so many homes, and the outdoor unit is the matching piece that sits on the ground outside. The condenser blows air over pipes containing hot refrigerant gas, cooling and compressing it into a liquid before pumping it to the evaporator inside your home. At the evaporator, the liquid refrigerant is expanded, causing it to cool rapidly. The cool refrigerant absorbs heat from the air inside your home, and once it’s hot, it gets pumped back to the condenser to begin again.

Split System Installation Requirements

The split systems you’ve seen hanging on walls at your friends’ houses are a good option for pretty much every Australian home, and they’re relatively simple to install.

Unlike ducted air conditioners that need space in the roof cavity and can take several days to install, split systems only require a small hole in the wall to pass plumbing and electrical conduits through. The condenser unit is installed outside in a shady spot, either on the ground or mounted to the wall, and then the indoor unit is hung on a wall in the room you want to cool. It usually only takes a few hours to install a single split system air conditioner.

Split System Installation Requirements

Split system air conditioners are just one of the options available to you, and while they’re fantastic at cooling and good value for money, it’s worth speaking to your installer about whether it’s the best solution for your home. That said, split systems do come with a few huge benefits that make them an ideal choice for many people:

  • Advantages. The biggest advantage of split systems is cost. The smaller components and simpler systems cost less to manufacture and take far less time to install. Their installation requirements are also very flexible, making split systems suitable for most rooms, and with modern multi-split designs, you can connect one external condenser to multiple internal evaporator units.
  • DisadvantagesBeing smaller in size means split systems have less cooling capacity. They’re best suited to cooling single rooms and smaller spaces. Cooling your whole house with split system air conditioners would need multiple installations, at which point it may be better to consider a ducted system.

Technicool Can Install Your New Split System Air Conditioner

Avoiding the heat of a Brisbane summer is made much simpler with the help of modern split system air conditioning. They’re an attractive and cost-effective choice for almost every home, and our expert team has all the tools and experience to install and service your new system. Get in touch with us today if you’d like more information or want to book an appointment for a consultation or installation!