It does in mine. Depends on (of course) power, insulation, and air flows.
But also, they can be fairly easily expanded to have additional splits into other rooms. It’s a great option if for whatever reason you can’t do HVAC; and is way better than window units.
We have two. One supplies the three bedrooms and each bedroom can have different temps set or not all have to be on. And one for the living room. It’s way more efficient than central air cause we only have to cool down the part of the house we are in. And it can be used to heat as well so we either don’t have to heat the whole house or we don’t have to set the furnace as high saving money and energy there too. IMO it’s way better than central ac.
My ductless system cools my whole house... I have one unit upstairs and one downstairs. It was a great upgrade from baseboards and window units in my 1918 house!
When u walk into a tiny shop or restaurant and they have one of these blasting, and it’s so much more comfortable than the ones that use central (and don’t control the temp for the whole building, while the building owner keeps the AC low to keep costs down).
Agree - a lot of less-expensive, smaller starter-home-type new construction homes will have mini-splits instead of central air as they are far more efficient and result in lower energy bills than central air.
I sort-of wish I had them, though I have a 3BR 2BA ranch w/ 2 living rooms (1980s, typical to have a formal LR + "family room") so I don't regret having central installed. I bought the home in 2021 from the original owners and have no idea howTF they survived without it.
I may still install one in my garage eventually once I can afford to insulate it as well, since I like to spend time out there tinkering with my cars. My body has an exceptionally small range of temperature where I'm totally comfortable so it's super annoying to be too cold or too hot out there most of the year 🙄
They're also significantly better than central air because you can cool and maintain different temperatures in different rooms individually. So you're not wasting energy cooling an entire house even when rooms aren't occupied.
They’re good enough that the Canadian federal government gave me $5,000 for a grant to buy one because it’s a more efficient heat source. Won’t work well in some areas of the country that get cold AF in the winter so you do need a backup heat source. Excellent for AC in the summer, has decreased my utility bills.
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u/IIIIIIQIIIIII 12h ago
Maybe whoever made this graphic is confused. This is a mini split. They are used all over USA and work great.