Ductless Mini-Splits Have a Very Cool History

Soon after World War II, air conditioning manufacturers in the U.S. were excited to cash in on Japan’s sweltering summers. That is when air conditioners were first introduced to Japan.

The Japanese absolutely loved the idea of Air Conditioning, but...

Home and building owners in Japan were deeply disappointed with early A/C systems that could not be used in Japan for a few interesting reasons.

Japanese homes were famously small, thin walled and tightly clustered together. Not a good match for loud, droning AC’s and their massive, bulky duct work! Also, Japan’s energy costs were sky high then. That alone meant doom for the earlier, energy hogging AC’s.

Japan’s response? Revolutionize the Air Conditioner!

Again, the Japanese adored the idea of AC’s, so their manufacturing engineers quietly went to work. Manufacturers continuously advanced technologies and applications, Ductless and VRF Inverter Driven Systems are the fastest growing segments of North American HVAC business, because they are so compact and efficient.

About the year 1954, Toshiba finally succeeded in reinventing air conditioning. They introduced the first Ductless Mini-Split Heating and Cooling System one-to-one split system. One of the key factors to the early success of the ductless system was the fact that with piping allowances of up to 15 feet, the small, compact condensing units kept within the tight space-restrictions.

This technology enabled each room to have its own temperature zone, eliminated bulky duct work, ran quieter and was much more energy efficient.

(Almost) All the world loved it.

In time, the popularity of these unique systems spread across Europe and other parts of the world as the development of the multi-port (zone) by Daikin in 1973 and the VRF system also invented by Daikin in 1982 (both were first sold in Japan) became popular...but not here in the United States. Distributors said no!

Here we are decades later…

Manufacturers continuously advanced technologies and applications, Ductless and VRF Inverter Driven Systems are the fastest growing segments of North American HVAC business, because they are so compact and efficient.

To learn more about ductless systems, reach out to the ductless experts at Geary Pacific Supply.