Maybe it's a garage turned into a game room, a home office or a sunroom. Whatever you're adding, it has to stay livable in triple-digit heat.
The easy answer is to run a new vent off the AC you already have. It's often the wrong one.
Why tapping into your current AC falls short
Your central AC was sized for your house as it was built. That size comes from a load calculation, which looks at square footage, windows, insulation and more.
Add a room and the math changes. Stretch the same system over more space and here's what tends to happen:
- The whole house loses. Airflow drops, so the rooms you had don't cool like they used to, and the new room may never get comfortable.
- Your bill goes up. The AC runs longer and harder trying to keep up.
- The system wears out sooner. Constant strain on the compressor means more breakdowns and an early replacement.
Why a ductless mini split usually fits better
For most additions, garage conversions and closed-in patios, a ductless mini split is the better fit. It runs on its own, apart from your central system.
A mini split has two parts. A small unit sits outside, and a slim indoor unit mounts on the wall or ceiling of the new room.
What you get
- Its own thermostat. Keep the new office at 72 while the rest of the house sits higher, or cool the guest room without chilling everyone else.
- Less wasted cold air. There's no long duct run to leak, and ducts can account for up to 30% of a central system's energy use.
- Cleaner air. Each indoor unit has its own filter, which helps catch the fine dust a haboob leaves behind.
- A quicker install. There's no new ductwork to build, and most jobs need only a hole about three inches wide through an outside wall.
Extending your central system can still work in some cases. If yours is one of them, we'll tell you.
Planning the cooling with us
Every addition is different. We'll look at the new space, check your current system, and give you clear options that fit your plans and your budget, with no pressure.
We put in high-efficiency Trane mini split systems. When a bigger change makes more sense, we handle full HVAC installation too, so the new room ends up as comfortable as the rest of the house.