Do Ductless Air Conditioners Need To Be Vented?

Ductless Mini Splits require no venting to the out of doors. Ductless air conditioners and heat pumps circulate indoor air only, and create no exhaust fumes or gases like fossil burning furnaces. Fossil burning furnaces that burn natural gas, propane, or oil do require venting to the out of doors to expel the products of combustion.

That’s the beauty behind the efficiency and versatility of a ductless mini split. Doesn’t matter if it’s an air conditioner or a heat pump, this wall mounted mini split heat pump head unit can be hung on an inside or outside wall and they require no venting because they create no fumes. Or can they?

Mini split ductless units can be ordered in either straight air conditioning that cools only or heat pump models that both heat and cool. Unless you live in an area that requires no heating, the heat pump is the best buy.

Mini splits systems are amongst the most efficient systems available today. If your curious about a whole house ductless system cost you better take a deep breath. As you add on multiple heads the price goes up considerably.

Most of my customers add a mini split for the largest room, like a living area and then use supplemental heat like wall heaters for the bedrooms and bathrooms. They find it comfortable and affordable.

Speaking generally of course, about smaller homes. You can buy a lot of electricity for the added cost of more heads.

Do Ductless Air Conditioners Have Filters?

Now that you know ductless heat pumps and air conditioners don’t need to be vented you might be interested in how good a job they do at filtering the air.

They aren’t the best, but the filters they have are better than nothing. If you live in a dusty environment or have a lot of pets, you may be cleaning more than the filters to keep these units running efficiently.

The air circulated through an indoor head is filtered by screens just inside the front cover. Just lift up the front cover and slide out the screens. These filter screens are easily cleaned in a utility sink or even the kitchen sink.

Mini Split Installation DIY

When adding a mini split to an existing home, outside walls are preferable to accommodate the connections of refrigeration lines. Sometimes the lines can be run through an attic or a crawl space.

These refrigeration lines are made of copper. They are very flexible and covered in insulation. The diameter of the copper varies according to the horsepower or BTU’s of the mini split.

Refrigeration lines can be run up, down or horizontal, doesn’t matter. Just be sure not to create traps in the lines. Traps can be created by allowing the lines to slump or hang down. Kind of like a p-trap for a sink. You can read more about this in another of my outstanding articles “Can Mini Split Lines Run Up?“.

Is There Such A Thing As A DIY Mini Split?

I’ve approached the DIY mini split heat pump install in two different ways.

1. Buy the equipment, rough it all in, ready to hook up lines and hire a professional to make the connection and evacuate the lines and head unit.
2. Buy a unit that offers quick connects. No evacuation required.

When you buy the equipment and expect some professional to do the hookup you may run into a lot of stubbornness. Generally HVAC companies like to sell the equipment and when you do the buying you are cutting them out of some markup and profit.

But the equipment is readily available and probably just down the street at your local home depot.

If the DIY method is down your alley then your barking up my tree. Even though I’m one of those stubborn contractors that won’t go hook up someone else’s equipment, I come from a family that did everything for themselves.

My dad wouldn’t hire a contractor to do anything. And I mean anything. If he felt lacking on a project, which was seldom, he had a friend or a group of friends that could get it done.

This mini split is a down and dirty DIY ductless system. Notice the ends of the copper line set. They are quick connects. No welding or brazing copper lines. Just screw the ends of the lines into the units and you’re good to go. You can can see it on Amazon by clicking here. Or click on the image below.

Conclusion

We took a trip in 2019 to Italy. I didn’t like the food, especially the pizza. Other countries besides the US have been using mini splits for quite some time. They are everywhere.

Utility cost vary throughout the world. I think we are quite spoiled here in the USA. But we are vulnerable to a lot of outside issues and utility costs could soar. I like the idea of these ductless systems.

One thing kind of bothers me. They are very compact. Repairs take time. I had a blower motor go out in a new unit. I don’t want to say how many hours it took to replace that motor. Let’s just say it didn’t take the two hours it takes to replace a conventional blower motor.

One other unit needed a circuit board. Other than those, they have been very dependable. Make sure you buy a brand that answers the phone when you call for support.