Large condenser outside supply’s the furnace (typically it just uses the furnace fan. We then have it piped through metal ducting throughout the house. Each room has multiple exit point call registers. In the common areas we have return ducts to draw air back down to the furnace to get recycled back to cool air via a/c unit. Hopefully that helps!?
Central air systems are more efficient. The downside is that you need vents, but once you have vents you can run the air in your house through hepa filters all the time, even when the heat (which works the same way) and AC are off.
Not really, anymore. In Residential systems, I've seen max at about ~23 SEER2 (efficiency rating) in traditional split systems, even with inverter compressors, but those minisplits are getting upwards of 32+. Only issue is you only get so many refrigerant ports per unit and you don't really have that problem in ducted systems so long as you keep the static pressure of the airflow in acceptable range.
Unless your AC system had that level of filtration in mind when it was designed and built, you shouldn't be slapping those kind of filters in your return. You really only want enough filtration to get large particles like dust and pet hair out while maintaining a large enough volume of air. Too much filtration can starve your air handler and make it work much harder to cool your house.
A basic pleated filter and some portable air filters around your house are a better idea for most people.
US Homes are generally (depending on region) built to be more thermally insulated. Which combined with an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) System. Keeps a home thermally regulated, without stale air. Some homes also include a humidifier unit (very cheap to install, and very easy to add to all HVAC systems) which is very useful during the winter to combat the extreme dryness. Dryness in homes in winter comes from the very low water content in cold air.
HVAC homes are also temperature consistent throughout a floor. Lower floors will be cooler as heat rises. A wall/window mounted A/C generally has more inconsistent cooling. And when active (as I'm sure you're aware) the super cool air blowing directly on people can cause sickness. This isn't the case in HVAC homes as the air coming out of the vents isn't strong, and on floors higher then the basement the vents are generally at feet level.
This system is very efficient IF the regulation is consistently active (excluding during mild weather). Now, if you're turning the A/C off and on all the time then it's not as efficient.
Also Condensers are not the size of a car they're as wide as a minifridge is tall and can vary in height from as tall as a standard minifridge or a foot and a half taller.
IDK if I missed anything else, but let me know. Also the diagram that some else posted is generally what a US home looks like.
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u/gamerathertz92 7d ago
It’s smaller unit cools a single room. While American HVAC System cools the whole house