DUCTLESS MINI-SPLITS · Pasco, WA
Ductless mini-splits set up for Northwest winters
Heating and cooling for the rooms your ducts never reached, installed and serviced by the shop at 619 N 3rd Ave.
Chapter 01
Where a ductless system earns its place
A ductless mini-split puts the heat pump outside and a slim unit on the wall inside, joined by a small line set instead of ductwork. That makes it a good fit for rooms the ducts never reached, like an addition, a shop or a bonus room, and for homes still heated with baseboard, wall or ceiling heat or an electric furnace.
Total Quality Air's own guidance says a ductless system heats and cools at a fraction of the cost of baseboard, wall and ceiling heat or electric furnaces, while giving you more control over the temperature room by room. With hot summers and cold winters in the Tri-Cities, one machine that does both jobs matters.
Daikin ductless outdoor unit with white line-set covers on grey siding, snow on the ground
Set up for how the Northwest actually works
Most mini-split trouble starts at the remote, not in the machine. Use HEAT or COOL for the season and never AUTO, because AUTO does not give efficient or comfortable results in the Northwest. The operation mode is a different setting from fan speed, and the fan should stay on AUTO instead of QUIET, LOW, MEDIUM or HIGH so the unit adjusts itself.
Set a temperature you like and let the system adjust. Keep the windows closed and interior doors open so conditioned air reaches the rest of the house. Total Quality Air works on Daikin and Mitsubishi systems around Pasco, and the line-set covers, outdoor unit clearance and drain routing are part of doing the install right.
Below freezing, a ductless system may struggle to keep every room comfortable, so run your backup heat more often, turn the thermostat up a few degrees, set the fan to HIGH and close doors to unused rooms. In cold, humid weather the outdoor coil frosts and the unit goes into defrost for 5 to 15 minutes, which is normal.
Chapter 03
Owner care and the yearly professional service
Clean the air filters every two months and replace them as the owner's manual says. Keep leaves, plants and anything else off the outdoor unit so air moves freely and the drain underneath does not clog. Each season, look at the outdoor coil, the pipe coverings and insulation, and the line-set connections, and call if you spot oil stains around them.
A ductless system also wants a professional service every year. A good one covers cleaning and treating the indoor and outdoor coils and filters, checking the fan motor and blower, cleaning the outdoor unit, and checking for leaks, insulation, the mounting base, operating pressures, voltages and temperature split at maximum operation. The refrigerant system is evaluated and recharged only if it needs it.
Whirring, clicking and the sound of rushing fluid are normal, since they come from thermal expansion and refrigerant moving through the system. Unusual vibration or noise is not. Call Total Quality Air at (509) 205-1592 if you hear it. Carlos Garcia has worked in HVAC for more than 20 years, and the shop covers Pasco, Kennewick and Richland. Hablamos Español.
"He explained what was going on in a way that was easy to understand and made sure everything was working properly before leaving." Joshua Larios, Google review.
A mini-split is a heat pump, so heat pump repair covers it too, and the yearly service pairs well with the maintenance program.