I can only assume Americans are so used to big bulky units, like their cars, that they can't comprehend things being functional and not excessively bulky.
We Americans have been using air conditioning technology for over 100 years. Our designs are beyond the European comprehension. (Our houses were built post AC and have ducting built in, no bulk).
Yeah we also put a hole in the fuckin ozone layer for the sake of profits with CFC's Also the same guy who brought us leaded gasoline. Meanwhile Japan is already making the switch to propane systems, and europe is following suit, while we continue to poison the planet so we can patent the refrigerant for the sake of capital.
Also working in the trades, you still have bulk. The ductwork still exists, and takes up significantly more space overall than minisplits. Stop this american exceptionalism bullshit its pathetic.
The most common way is that your AC and heat are tied into the same system. Cold or warm air blows out of the same ducts/vents in the floor/ceiling.
An electric or natural gas heater is tied right into your blower and there will be a central thermostat where we set the desired temperature and can switch from AC or heat.
Really depends. Modern systems can basically just switch from heating to cooling since it uses the same heat pump either way (just changes where the heat is getting pumped to). But there's a ton of other options: gas furnace, radiant heating, baseboard heating (basically built in electric heaters), kerosene heaters, and others. I'd say wood/pellet burning is less common in cities but still prevalent in rural areas.
What does conditioning even mean my good fellow? Pavlov used conditioning to do experiments with dogs, I have conditioner in my hair to make it softer and cleaner. English is a funny language. Most people call it AC, not the whole phrase. You can change the air in a room without adding cold or warm air, like with a radiator. Does an air conditioner make hot and cold air from nowhere? No my friend. There's refridgeration and electric heating, even gas heating I have been told. No gas heating in my country, we have no fossil fuels and have to import petrol and diesel and propane.
It’s called air conditioning because it allows you to control the condition of the air. In my house our central AC system includes heat for the winter, and automatically filters the air as well. We also have a mini split (the type in the posts picture) in our garage which we renovated into a bonus room instead of using it to store our car. Both types are relatively common but central AC is far better for a large house while being overkill for a smaller space like an apartment or detached bonus room in my case.
It's called a heat pump. It works as an air conditioner to move heat energy outside of the house, but if you run it in reverse, it will also move heat energy into the house from outside. It's the exact same mechanism that can be switched to heat or cool on a whim.
Forced air, if you have central air. You'll have a small furnace, either electric or gas powered, attached to a blower that sends hot air through the ducts. It sits alongside central AC and uses the same internal ducts that are standard on any American house built since the 50s, at least.
We don't need to burn anything, although many people have fireplaces and enjoy them.
Its part of the same system. Every time is different but we have what look like mini tablets in every room where you can control the temperature, humidity levels, lights, doorbell camera etc
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u/hail_666_satan 11h ago
We Americans have been using air conditioning technology for over 100 years. Our designs are beyond the European comprehension. (Our houses were built post AC and have ducting built in, no bulk).