The smallest ductless mini-split air conditioner available on the market is a 6000 BTU Mitsubishi model, but there are also several 9000 BTU and 12000 BTU models.
There are many advantages to installing a ductless mini-split unit in your space, but they are not as common as other types of air conditioners.
However, they are growing in popularity and with manufacturers now making units as small as 6000 BTU models and other 9000 BTU and 12 000 BTU models, their popularity is sure to increase even further.
What are the pros and cons of ductless air conditioners?
Ductless or mini-split air conditioning units are air conditioners that are split between an indoor, air-focused unit and an outdoor, condenser and compressor unit.
These units are not commonly used in the United States but they are popular in European and Asian countries.
However, there are many benefits to installing this type of unit, including increased efficiency and better temperature control in multiple rooms.
This type of unit is also quite flexible, since it does not need to be connected with your building’s ductwork, and the indoor unit is quite small.
What is the smallest ductless air conditioner?
When ductless mini-split air conditioners first came onto the market, there were only very large and powerful units available. At this stage, you were only really able to find a mini-split unit of above two ton or 24 000 BTU.
However, over the years, ductless mini-split air conditioner manufacturers managed to create much smaller units that work for single rooms.
These units are as small as 6000 BTU and are appropriate for rooms that are as small as 250 to about 350 square feet.
For all intents and purposes, experts consider any ductless mini-split unit under one ton of capacity a small air conditioner and there are many AC models in this category.
However, what is most important is finding a ductless mini-split air conditioner that is the appropriate size for your room.
Air conditioner BTU indications for varied room sizes are as follows:
| Air conditioner capacity (in BTU) | Appropriate room size (in square feet) |
| 5000 | 0 to 150 |
| 6000 | 150 to 200 |
| 7000 | 200 to 250 |
| 8000 | 250 to 300 |
| 10000 | 300 to 350 |
| 12000 | 350 to 400 |
In this case, it is best to look for an appropriately-sized ductless system instead of just finding the smallest one, but if you have an incredibly small room and you need a ductless system, there are some significantly small models to consider.
The absolute smallest single ductless mini-split air conditioner is produced by Mitsubishi and has many of the same features as their larger ductless systems, but there are also slightly larger, but still smaller than one-ton ductless air conditioner models available on the market.
The Mitsubishi MZ-FH06NA 6000 BTU Ductless Split System
This Mitsubishi MZ-FH06NA model only has a cooling capacity of 6000 BTU, which means that it will only be appropriate to use if your room is 200 to 300 square feet in size.
The fact that this unit is so small compared to other ductless mini-split units, when taken with the fact that it has an inverter-driven compressor and LEV, means that it is extremely energy-efficient.
The whole unit has a SEER-rating of 33.1, which is well above the 15 rating that the U.S. Department of Energy recommends for bigger ductless mini-split units.
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Small 9000 BTU ductless mini-split air conditioners
There are also some 9000 BTU ductless mini-split air conditioner options on the market. These units are appropriate for slightly larger spaces and can be summarised as follows:
| Ductless air conditioner model | Capacity | SEER-rating | Customer rating | Available on Amazon |
| Cooper & Hunter Ductless Mini Split AC/Heating System | 9000 BTU | 19 | 4.6 out of 5 rating from 909 customer reviews |   |
| Buy it | ||||
| Senville LETO Series Mini Split Air Conditioner Heat Pump | 9000 BTU | 20.5 | 4.7 out of 5 rating from over 3500 customer reviews |  |
| Buy it | ||||
| DAIKIN Wall-Mounted Ductless Mini-Split A/C Heat Pump System | 9000 BTU | 19 | 4.5 out of 5 rating from 136 customer reviews |  |
| Buy it |
Small 12000 BTU ductless mini split air conditioners
Most of these 9000 BTU units are also available in 12000 BTU models, an example is this DELLA 12000 BTU Mini Split Air Conditioner & Heater Ductless Inverter System. This model has a SEER-rating of 19 and can cool spaces that are up to 750 square feet.
If you are looking for a multi-stage option, this Cooper & Hunter Dual 2 Zone system, comes in a 9,000 + 9,000 BTU Ductless Mini Split AC/Heating System and 9,000 + 12,000 BTU Ductless Mini Split AC/Heating System version, which means it can be used in two smaller rooms simultaneously.
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