Dual split air conditioners for the house: technical tips

Choosing a type of air conditioner may not be simple: here are a few tips for your home, based on the surface area to be cooled and other characteristics.

Buying an air conditioner to cool the house may seem like a straightforward operation, but it is anything but. There are many factors to be taken into account when choosing. From the size of the rooms to the number of walls exposed to the sun, from the amount of windows or French windows to the presence of balconies where the outdoor units can be placed. Not to mention the fact that, if you live in a condominium, you also have to bear in mind that there are a number of restrictions concerning installation methods.

The first element to take into account is of course the surface area of the various rooms to be air-conditioned. Not all air conditioners work in the same way and, more importantly, not all units prove to be the perfect solution for every type of environment. The aim is to choose an air conditioner that ensures the utmost living comfort but which is also extremely efficient, has low energy consumption and saves on energy bills.

As many people know, the main parameter for air conditioners is the BTU (British Thermal Unit), which is the unit of measurement that defines the air conditioner’s power and its cooling capacity. Would you like a few examples? For a small room, between 10 and 15 square metres, 7,000 BTU/h will be sufficient for optimal cooling. For larger rooms, e.g. between 40 and 50 square metres, it will take more than twice that amount (15,000 BTU/h).

Choosing the air conditioner:
MONO o MULTISplit?

To find the perfect unit for your needs, first of all you need to know the difference between a mono split air conditioner and a multi split one. The first features a single cooling indoor unit connected to its specific outdoor unit. Multi split air conditioners, on the other hand, feature several indoor units that connect and “use the work” of a single outdoor unit. In this case, depending on the number of indoor units, we are talking about dual split, trial split, quad split, etc. air conditioners.

But why should you choose one of these two systems? The decision to choose a multi split air conditioner may be based on the initial savings due to lower installation costs, both for the materials used and the labour. It is in fact considerably different to install a single outdoor motor rather than several units. There is also the aesthetic aspect to consider, since a single outdoor unit is significantly less “invasive” than several units installed next to each other.

And the savings? Of the two types of air conditioners, MULTISplit ones consume less electric energy than mono split ones (with the same number of indoor units installed) and, as a result, save on energy bills. Of course, precise instructions must be followed when purchasing and the system must be correctly sized according to the actual cooling requirements.

MONOSplit: the best risk sharing

Regardless of the energy output and higher initial costs when installing more than one outdoor unit, mono split systems offer an obvious advantage due to risk sharing. The failure of a motor component in a multi split air conditioner or a simple routine maintenance intervention would, in fact, shut down operation of all the indoor split units connected to it, making it impossible to air-condition the rooms. Mono split air conditioners don’t have this problem, as a localised failure in an outdoor unit would interrupt operation of a single split system and not of the entire system. Therefore, if there is enough outdoor space to position several units, this technology can be chosen not only for large homes, but also for businesses that can’t afford sudden system shutdowns.

See Clivet’s monosplit solutions.
Multi split: the importance of correct sizing

As we have seen, choosing a multi split system has obvious advantages due to the option of using a single outdoor unit to which a variable number of indoor split units can be connected. Opting for this type of technology makes it even more important to correctly size the rooms to be air-conditioned. This is because the indoor units, operating at the same time and with different capacities, could potentially experience drops in performance. Hence it becomes essential to rely on industry professionals when choosing an air conditioner, preferably through companies with proven experience, and when installing it.

See Clivet’s multisplit solutions.

The solutions offered by Clivet

For over 30 years Clivet has been offering solutions for sustainable comfort and the well-being of people and the environment, providing a wide range of mono and multi split air conditionersvery high efficiency (class A+ to A+++). Thanks to inverter technology and electronic controls, energy consumption is reduced by only supplying the power actually needed.

Clivet’s mono split and multi split systems are also extremely environmentally friendly. Both types of air conditioner use R-32 refrigerant gas featuring a low GWP index, thus ensuring a significant reduction in CO2emissions compared to systems with other HFC refrigerants.