Charlie: Jay in Spring says it’s about time to do a major upgrade in our AC system. We have about 1700 square feet, and he’s interested Tom in the mini-split ductless systems. He wants to know are they worth it, dependable? Can he do that instead of a central air system?
Tom: Are don’t know how to answer if it’s worth it, but are they dependable? Yeah. They’re very good units. Can it be done in any home? Of course it can. Would it be right for every project? Probably not. Are they cheaper? And this is where everybody says, it’s got to be so much cheaper. It is not. They’re not cheap units.
Charlie: No.
Tom: I mean, now he says okay. This is not a window, a Fredrick window unit you know. This is some high end stuff.
Charlie: Yeah.
Tom: And so it’s going to be up to you. If you’re dealing with the right people it could be the perfect system for you. But I think a lot of people are under the impression that changing out to one of those is going to save them thousands of dollars, and it’s not.
Charlie: No. It’s a very specific purpose.
Tom: Yes.
Charlie: If you want to cool one room that for some reason you can’t balance or whatever, that’s the reason to have one, right?
Tom: Well yeah. Or if you’re converting a garage or something and you don’t need all the duct work. But if you have a system where the duct work’s already there and all you’re doing is switching out an evaporator coil and a condensing unit, that’s always going to be the least expensive way to go. It’s kind of like a water heater. You can go to an on-demand from the tank but going back to another tank is always going to be less expensive and a lot easier as a retrofit.
Charlie: So the answer is, yeah you can but it may not be as cheap if you have the ducts. Just go ahead and change your equipment. Is that what you’re saying there?
Tom: Yeah. He’s going to have to make his own decision and he’s going to have to work with someone who’s really good like Absolute Comfort Air to access the situation.
Charlie: All right.
Tom: But as far as them being great units and are they dependable and all that, absolutely.
Charlie: Yeah. But maybe not the right solution for you. Okay.
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