As mentioned before, if you have a forced air furnace, you already have ductwork installed that may be suitable for cooling purposes. One of the main ways homeowners can consolidate ductwork is by switching to a central air conditioning system. With central air conditioning, you get cooling in the summer months, heating in winter and all this with the same use of existing ducts. The short answer to this is “yes”.
Yes, you can add an air conditioner to a forced air heating system. However, it's a complex process and we never recommend that a homeowner try it. Of course, we'll say this about any air conditioning or heating installation. There are many factors involved when it comes to adapting the right system to the right house, for example, the size.
If you have a thermostat in a room that fluctuates between hot and cold, a broken duct system could be the cause of these conditions. So, what if you could double your bet and take advantage of the channels as you please? Sharing behaviors can have many benefits, so keep reading to find out if that's the right option for you. Ducts can be easily damaged and can cause up to 30% of air conditioning to escape to unoccupied spaces, such as the attic or mezzanine. For homes that have separate heating and cooling units, they could have twice as many ducts and twice as many of problems.
Some ductwork cannot be repaired and a qualified technician will know the difference between a faulty pipe and one that is not. If your home already has ductwork for a forced air furnace, it will be a little easier to install central air conditioning. The ductwork will draw air from different parts of the house and carry it to the rest of the house. It's better to call a professional than to try to fix your own ducts and risk losing your valuable money.
To keep the temperature at comfortable levels, those same ducts also need quality insulation and enough space to move and reach all the ventilation grilles. If the old ductwork is too small for the new air conditioner, it may not be compatible with the ductwork of your new air conditioning system. When it comes to your heating and air conditioning system, one of the system's biggest weaknesses is the ductwork. Ductless systems and heat pumps work much like a standard air conditioner: they use a cooling process to draw hot air out of the house, which is cooled and then expelled outside.
The heating and air conditioning ducts that run throughout the house usually take up a lot of space in the attic or under the floors.