LG Art Cool Gallery Ductless Air Conditioner Review

Just about everyone knows of Seoul, South Korea based LG. As the world’s second largest manufacturer of televisions and third largest manufacturer of cell phones, they're an established producer of far-reaching technology. And yet, fewer are aware that they’re also a major player in the development and production of residential appliances and commercial solutions, such as air conditioning. Specifically, a range of energy efficient ductless mini-split products.

Unfortunately, when it comes to ductless mini-split systems, many Americans simply don’t know what this solution is about... but over the last few years, ductless mini-splits have been gaining traction in the U.S. As we discussed earlier in an article on the differences between gas and electric heating, ductless mini-splits offer increased flexibility as well as efficiency. However, the flexibility and greater efficiency is complimented further with aesthetic products such as LG’s Art Cool system, which is casting aside consumers’ weariness of conventional on-the-wall HVAC options.

The Art Cool system will “appeal to today’s discerning customer” (yup, I’m looking at you!) with it’s slim, modern design. Fancy yourself a designer? I’ve got some great news. The 3.5 kW "gallery" model features a first-of-its-kind frame that allows a customer to modify and personalize the unit with his or her own artwork or photography. And, hey, even if you’re not the world’s next Picasso, there’s nothing stopping you from printing out the perfect design to transform your HVAC unit into something slightly more aesthetically pleasing. Still not interested in donning the creative cap? Alternative Art Cool indoor units come in a variety of finishes and colors so as to work seamlessly with your interior design needs.

The indoor units of the Art Cool feature temperature display, a dehumidifying more, R-410A refrigerant, automatic changeover from heating to cooling, auto restart, and a host of other nifty - and functional - LG-specific options like the LG Plasma Air Purifying System (with washable filter), CHAOS swing (natural air flow creator by controlling angle speed of the air vane), and Jet Cool (aggressive cooling for 30 minutes).

It’s certainly worth noting that these units can be purchased in single, dual or triple zoning configurations, as well as for heat pump (to heat and cool) or strictly for cooling. Whichever option you choose, you’re guaranteed a solution that is quiet, thanks to the innovative new inverter technology, the Art Cool Mirror Inverter Air Conditioning System. This also offers the Art Cool an energy efficiency rating up to 20 SEER.

But now that I’ve built up this little known solution, I’ll let you in on the one caveat: the outdoor unit that naturally accompanies the indoor unit, as is the case of every split system, is not nearly as attractive of it’s indoor counterpart. That said, it was designed with some aesthetic in mind, as it’s considerable smaller that the standard condensing units we’re accustomed to seeing here in the US (these are about 85 pounds and approximately 30”x21”x10”).

So, all in all, the LG ductless split system is an option worth seriously investigating. While it’s only available to the US via online specialty stores and likely isn’t the solution for the American masses, I’d wager to guess it’s something we’ll be seeing with increasing frequency in the coming years.