Why aren't ductless/split air conditioners ("Asian" style) more popular in the U.S.?

Question

I'm not even sure what these are called. There's a blower low on the wall or hanging from the ceiling connected to a condenser outside.

For some examples, see:

http://images.google.com/images?q=ductless+split+air+conditioner

http://images.google.com/images?q=Floor-Ceiling+air-conditioner

Answer 1

Actually, they are very popular, just not in single story residents or ones with large amounts of livable area. I work for a company that designs large scale commercial and residential structures. In multistory apartment buildings with 500ft of less square feet per floor, they work great. One condensing unit can feed multiple mini-splits, and they are work well with hard ceilings where we don't want to put in excess duct work. I have seen them in pretty much every new apartment building regardless of who the contractor is.

For a large house or small residential building, they are just too inefficient to be used. The main selling point is cooling a small living area and being able to only need one large condensing unit. On a duplex or something similar, it makes more sense to just have window mounted air conditioners to cut down installation and energy costs. With a large house duct work is still needed, and people usually like the tired and true rather than a system that is unfamiliar and usually more expensive.

Answer 2

Most of them are small, inefficient, and not practical. Also electricical use is high..