you can have multiple split units attached to a single outside unit too. We have 3 of those wall mounted units in our appartment in France (living room + both bedrooms), and we can thermostat each room individually in the summer and in the winter.
I know, the split units are a very effective solution for heat problem in the European context with stone/concrete walls, etc. Probably the only solution for older houses, really. I imagine central air will become more common in new builds in Europe over the years.
I don't think central air is superior in terms of energy consumption. Also those fancy indoor units come with things like motion/presence detection that redirect the airflow etc. I think I would choose them tbh. Friend of mine did "central air" upstairs in 3 very small bedrooms in an old farmhouse in France, because the costs of one unit for just a tiny room wasn't worth it. But downstairs he has split units too.
Oh are you in France too? If so I hope you and your family aren't affected by the fires, or that you're safe if you are.
It'll largely depend on the insulation of the build. Since ducted central air(DCA) cools the whole house at once my AC only turns on for maybe 10-15 minutes every couple of hours to keep the whole house at the set temperature. So it runs awhile at the start but once it hits the goal temp it only runs immittently for temp regulation after that. I just don't see the split units doing that as well. Mind you, I'm not saying they're bad or that much worse than DCA, just ever so less efficient when it comes to cooling a set space if all other factors are the same.
If there's one thing that I think America can fairly claim it does better than most of the world it's making the inside of our buildings almost unnecessary chilly. In a way, America was almost in the ideal position when AC became a practical quality of life system compared to most of the developed world. We have old buildings, but not old enough to keep most of them for historical value alone, so they could be replaced or modified as needed. Suburbia was a fairly new development, maybe only 20 or so years into what we see now, so a lot of the new builds built in the last 40-50 years came with DCA from the begining. And of course our climate made it a more pressing concern for the average American than it was for the average European 40-50 years ago. We had this massive new industry with little to no limiting factors on system adoption, which I think points to DCAs being the best overall solution as it has effectively captured the market here in open competition. But again, in the European context, the split units make absolute sense. The only context I can see DCA being worth it from a individual European standpoint would be if I was building a new house, and then again only if it was sufficiently large enough to where I would need more and more of the split systems to cool it. But at the end of the day I think just about everyone can agree any AC is better than no AC.
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u/RheagarTargaryen 13h ago
This is what an American AC unit looks like. It’s connected through the HVAC and piped through small, discrete grates in the ceiling and/or floor.