What Type of Cooling Does Your Home Have?

Choosing the Right Cooling System for Your Home

We all know how to turn on our AC, but do you know what type of AC you have? Knowing your cooling system is important, especially with Monroe slowly reaching warmer temperatures. By identifying which cooling system is in your home, you can better assess issues or problems that are associated with it. Understanding the cooling component also helps when maintaining your HVAC system.

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If you’ve ever had to ask yourself, “What type of cooling does my house have?” You’ve come to the right place! Iceberg Heating & Cooling would like to go over the types of cooling systems available for Monroe homeowners. Follow our guide below!

The Different Types of Cooling Systems

Central Air Conditioning System

Central air conditioners are designed to provide cooling to the entirety of a home. These systems comprise of a compressor unit located outside, which channels air to an indoor coil, which then creates conditioned air that is distributed via air ducts. These ducts are then connected to vents, with each room having one that supplies cold air while the other returns existing air for recirculation. This is the most common type of cooling found in homes.

Heat Pump

Heat pumps act very similar to central air conditioning systems, except they have dual functionality. Heat pumps also operate with outdoor compressors and indoor coils, but this process can be changed to provide heat instead of cooling. Heat pumps help make your HVAC system more efficient by streamlining both heating and cooling into one system. But this is coupled with a lighter performance. Note: To tell if your cooling system is a central air conditioner or heat pump, turn on your heating. If the outdoor unit begins working and making noise, this means you have a heat pump. Another way to tell is by finding the outdoor unit’s model number and looking it up on the internet.

Ductless Mini-Split Air Conditioning System

As their name implies, ductless mini-split systems work without distributing air through air ducts. Instead, mini-split cooling systems utilize one outdoor compressor, with each room or area of a home having an attached indoor unit. With each area having a dedicated indoor unit, you have the advantage of more flexibility with your cooling, as you can cool only certain rooms instead of the whole house. This type of cooling system is not as common, possibly due to its initial cost being more than traditional systems. Mini-splits are more popular in other countries.

Evaporative Cooler/Swamp Cooler

Although these are more practical for dryer climates, you can still find evaporative coolers in some Monroe homes. Evaporative coolers don’t have refrigerants. Instead, evaporative coolers pull in fresh air from outside and cool it through evaporation. The cool air is then distributed through your home, as well as humidity. Evaporative coolers can be attached with ducts similar to a central AC system or come in a portable variant.

Room/Window Air Conditioning System

This type of AC is the most affordable, as well as being the most portable. Room and window air conditioners are used to cool single rooms instead of the entire house. They consist of a single unit, which is directly installed to the room it cools. Room and window air conditioners generally use less energy compared to central AC or heat pumps. But they provide less cooling and have higher chances of breakdowns.
Note: Depending on the size of the room or window AC, it may require its own circuit. While most smaller variants should work on any 15 or 20-amp receptacle, others may require a larger 230-volt dedicated circuit.

One of the first steps of maintaining your HVAC system is knowing the type of cooling you have. And when your cooling system requires professional HVAC services, contact Iceberg Heating & Cooling today! Give us a call at 734-342-3420 for complete cooling services experts in Monroe, Ann Arbor, and Canton, Michigan.