Here are two situations in which a person with split-system home air conditioning might decide to have an HVAC contractor remove this system and replace it with a ducted one.
The person wants to be able to cool every room in their home
A typical split system will consist of two units, one of which is positioned outdoors and one of which is located indoors. In some homes, there may be more than one indoor unit. Whilst this system is very effective at cooling the rooms in which its indoor units are installed, it is not designed to cool areas beyond these rooms. As such, if a homeowner's split system consists of one indoor unit that's in their bedroom and they've decided that they'd like to cool every other area of their home, they might need to replace this system with a ducted one.
Whilst it might be possible for an HVAC contractor to add additional indoor units to the split system, this is not something that contractors typically advise their clients who have this goal to do. This is because split-system indoor units can be bulky and their presence in every single room might reduce the amount of space that can be used for furniture or decor in the home overall.
Replacing the units with a ducted system (that consists of ducts positioned behind the walls) would ensure that the cold air is evenly dispersed throughout the whole building when the home air conditioning system is switched on, without there being any prominent HVAC units visible in each room. Instead, there would only be small vents that would have far less of an impact on the room's free space.
They want to make their home more attractive to certain types of homebuyers
A homeowner might also make this decision if they'd like to sell their home and are trying to attract certain types of homebuyers. The presence of any form of air conditioning, including a split system, in a home can make it more appealing to homebuyers. However, there are some homebuyers who might prefer a ducted system and who might be willing to pay more for a home that has this feature. As mentioned, a ducted system provides a form of central air conditioning that can keep every part of a home cool.
This can make this system appeal to many homebuyers in hot climates, as it would allow them to regulate the temperatures inside their new homes that much more easily than if the properties had split systems. Furthermore, a ducted system is usually slightly quieter than a split system. As such, a property with the former might be more appealing to homebuyers who, for example, have young children who might be easily woken by a loud air conditioner or homebuyers who need a quiet home environment in which to study or work.
Because purchasing a home is such a large expense, and because a ducted system can cost a lot of money and take a lot of time to install, many homebuyers who need their new home to have ducted air conditioning prefer to opt for properties that already have this system installed. For more information on home air conditioning, contact a professional near you.
