[Neighbors] Neighbors_nobhill-nm Digest, Vol 173, Issue 9

[bill ashford]

 I believe the question about "AC splitters" is related to what is more typically called a "Mini Split" system.  Its called "split" because it includes 2 units: one indoors and one outdoors.  Its called mini because the indoor unit is smaller than a typical indoor air handler (which includes duct work to move the air around to different rooms of the house).  Since the Minisplit doesn't have duct work it will only reliably work in the room it is installed, not multiple rooms.  I suppose one could install a minisplit in one room then use a portable fan to move the cold air around, but this might not work very well, especially if you want to close the door.
Yes they work well in small rooms, but make sure the installer does a proper heat load analysis to determine what size of unit is required.  If the installer doesn't know what a heat load analysis is then probably good idea to find another installer.  A system that is too big is nearly as bad as a system that is too small.
No they don't have a draft in the winter if installed correctly, It would require a very incompetent installer to create a draft, allowing outside air to leak inside the house, but there is no shortage of knucklehead installers running around.
I considered installing multiple minisplits but decided central air is better for my house mainly because it can include a really good air filter; Mini splits have a very rudimentary air filter, almost like a dryer lint trap, that needs to be cleaned more often and probably doesn't catch small airborne particles.  Any salesman that says a minisplit air filter is as good as an upgraded filter in central air system would need to prove it before I'd believe it.
Individual, per-room minisplits work very well for cooling assuming they are sized correctly, the best way to size the correct unit is with what the industry calls a "Manual J" heat load analysis.  Some areas building permit departments require a heat load analysis inorder to issue the permit, not sure about ABQ. 
-Bill on Solano






    On Monday, July 27, 2026 at 12:05:20 PM MDT, neighbors_nobhill-nm-request at mailman.swcp.com <neighbors_nobhill-nm-request at mailman.swcp.com> wrote:  
 
 Send Neighbors_nobhill-nm mailing list submissions to
    neighbors_nobhill-nm at mailman.swcp.com

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
    https://mailman.swcp.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/neighbors_nobhill-nm

or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
    neighbors_nobhill-nm-request at mailman.swcp.com

You can reach the person managing the list at
    neighbors_nobhill-nm-owner at mailman.swcp.com

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of Neighbors_nobhill-nm digest..."


Today's Topics:

  1. ac splitters (kingkb)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:31:44 -0600
From: kingkb <kingkb at swcp.com>
To: neighbors <neighbors at nobhill-nm.com>
Subject: [Neighbors] ac splitters
Message-ID: <d389847c450da6996aae2b04bc0861d1 at swcp.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; Format="flowed"

Hello neighbors,

Sorry about the oops on that other send :)

It's hot, and my usual methods to keep my interior reasonable are 
falling short.

I'm hoping some of you have had experience with ac splitters and can 
share those with me ~

Have they worked well for a small room?

Do you have a draft from them in the winter?

Were you happy or unhappy with the company that did your install?

Any other thoughts? Do you wish you'd gone whole house instead, or is 
the individualization in the rooms a good perk?

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!

Karen on Hermosa
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.swcp.com/pipermail/neighbors_nobhill-nm/attachments/20260727/5ce86876/attachment-0001.htm>

------------------------------

Subject: Digest Footer

_______________________________________________
Neighbors_nobhill-nm mailing list
Neighbors_nobhill-nm at mailman.swcp.com
https://mailman.swcp.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/neighbors_nobhill-nm


------------------------------

End of Neighbors_nobhill-nm Digest, Vol 173, Issue 9
****************************************************
  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.swcp.com/pipermail/neighbors_nobhill-nm/attachments/20260727/0f2e01bc/attachment.htm>