Ductless Mini-Split Installation in Delaware County, PA
What people search for here has shifted. Ductless used to be the answer to one hot room at the top of the stairs. Increasingly it is the heating, in a Delaware County house with radiators, no ductwork, and no appetite for building any. That changes the design work, because a system chosen to cool a room in August is not automatically one that will heat it in January.
We design and install ductless systems county-wide from 642 Harper Ave in Drexel Hill, and estimates for installation are free.
Heating with it means sizing from the cold end
Heat pump capacity falls as the outdoor temperature drops, so a design meant to carry the heating has to begin at the coldest conditions the equipment will genuinely face, then check that the cooling capacity which results is not absurdly oversized for summer. Cold climate ductless equipment holds its output a long way down and will cover most of a winter here. Below its balance point something has to make up the difference, whether that is the boiler you already own or a resistance element. Deciding which at the design stage beats discovering the gap during a cold snap.
Where the outdoor unit goes when there is no yard
This is the constraint that shapes most of our installations in the county. A twin or a row has no side yard worth the name, so the condenser goes on a wall bracket, a roof stand, or a slab a few feet from a fence. A bracket has to land in sound masonry and be isolated so vibration does not travel into a bedroom wall. A roof position needs a workable line set route and safe access for service. A ground position needs enough height to stay out of the snow, and must not shed defrost water across a path somebody walks on in February.
The electrical panel is the usual surprise
A great many houses in the older parts of the county still have a hundred amp service and a full panel. Every outdoor unit needs its own circuit, and a system carrying heat draws considerably more than one that only cools. Whether the service can take it is a question for the estimate, not for installation day.
Details that decide how it looks and how long it lasts
- ✓Line set length, and the height difference between each head and the outdoor unit
- ✓Every penetration sleeved and sealed so water sheds outward
- ✓Line hide run on a deliberate route rather than the shortest one
- ✓Condensate from upper floor heads, by gravity where the fall exists and by pump where it does not
- ✓A disconnect and dedicated circuit sized for the equipment fitted
- ✓Wall structure at every head position, because plaster and lath will not carry one alone
Divided houses and apartments
A large part of the county's older housing has been split into two or three units, and ductless suits that unusually well. Each unit gets its own equipment on its own circuit, so costs land on whoever is using them rather than on one meter in the basement. It also avoids threading duct through a fire separation between dwellings.
What ductless does not do well
A head conditions the space it can see, so a floor chopped into small closed rooms needs either several heads or a compact ducted unit hidden in a closet serving a few of them. The indoor units are also visible, and some people will not have one in a formal room, where a ceiling cassette or a concealed unit is the answer.
Delaware County Mini-Split Installation — Questions We Get
Can a ductless system heat the whole house on its own?
In many houses here, yes, provided it is sized from winter conditions rather than summer ones and cold climate equipment is specified. Output does fall as it gets colder, so the design should identify the point below which something else contributes, and say plainly what that something else will be.
I have radiators and no ducts. Is ductless my only option?
No, but it is often the least invasive. High velocity small duct systems can be threaded through existing framing, and a conventional retrofit is possible where there is somewhere to run a trunk. Ductless wins in houses where nobody wants to lose closet space or open up plaster, and where different rooms want different temperatures.
Where can the outdoor unit go on a twin with no side yard?
On a wall bracket fixed into sound masonry, on a roof stand, or on a raised pad in the rear yard. Each has to keep clearance for airflow, keep vibration out of the structure, and put defrost water somewhere it will not freeze on a path. Working that out is most of what the estimate visit is for.
Will my electrical service handle it?
That depends on what is already on the panel, and in older county housing on a hundred amp service it is a real question rather than a formality. Each outdoor unit needs a dedicated circuit, and a heating system draws more than a cooling-only one. We check it at the estimate so it is priced in rather than discovered on the day.
Can each apartment in a divided house have its own system?
Yes, and it is one of the strongest arguments for ductless in this county. Separate equipment on separate circuits means each unit controls its own comfort and pays for its own usage, and there is no shared duct running between dwellings.
Do you service ductless systems you did not install?
Yes, on all major residential brands. A good proportion of ductless service calls turn out to be a loaded filter or a dirty blower wheel rather than a failure, and both are straightforward to put right once somebody actually opens the head.
Who serves Delaware County
Delaware County calls are handled out of our Drexel Hill office at 642 Harper Ave, Drexel Hill, PA 19026. Call (610) 672-3046 — we answer 24 hours a day.