5 Most Frequently Asked Questions About Ductless Heat Pumps

Though they’ve been around for nearly 20 years, many still have a lot of questions about what ductless heat pumps are and how they work. If you are building a new home, building an addition on your home, or want to improve heating in a home without air ducts, it's likely that you’ve considered installing a ductless system in your home. Let’s start learning by going over the basics of ductless heating and cooling. 

        1. What is a Ductless Heat Pump?

A ductless heat pump is a heating system that operates without the need for traditional heating ducts

Ductless systems, though they may seem complicated, are actually straightforward in their operation. A ductless heat pump consists of a single outdoor unit and several indoor units. The outdoor unit is responsible for conditioning and blowing air back into your home, while the ductless mini-split indoor unit blows warm or cold air into your zoned living area. Each space in your home with an indoor unit is referred to as a zone. Each of these zones in your home can operate individually from each other, which means you can adapt your ductless system to each room in your home. Multi-zone ductless heating and cooling is especially useful for those with large families or drafty older homes.

          2. How are Ductless Heat Pumps Used?

There are lots of reasons more homeowners than ever are choosing ductless heat pumps

For some homeowners, choosing a ductless heating system over a traditional ducted heating system is a no brainer. Installing air ducts in your home can be an expensive, messy, and invasive process that often lasts for weeks. When you choose ductless, your system can be installed in a matter of hours and won’t disturb your living spaces. 

Ductless heat pumps are perfect for older homes that don’t have ducts already installed, new homes, or home additions. Beyond these examples of a full-scale heating renovation, there are also smaller ways that homeowners take advantage of the power of ductless heating. Here are a few more common applications for heat pumps:

• Garages 
• Attics 
• Basements
• Workshops
• Outbuildings
• Secondary Suites

As you can see, ductless systems are also perfect for areas of your home that your current heating and cooling system may be unable to reach. 

          3. Can A Ductless System Heat and Cool?

Despite being commonly called a heat pump, ductless systems can give you indoor comfort all year long

If you live in an area where it gets very warm during the summer months, you are probably wondering if a ductless heating system can cool your home as well. The short answer is: yes! Ductless systems do a great job of efficiently heating and cooling your home all year round. During the winter months, your heat pump will pull cold air from the outside unit, warm it up, and blow the warm air into your living spaces. In the summer, the process reverses and your outdoor unit will begin to cool warm air drawn from the outside. So, while they are often called heat pumps, ductless systems also do a great job of air conditioning. 

            4. How Can My Household Benefit from Installing a Heat Pump?

There are so many different benefits of ditching your air ducts and installing a heat pump

For a lot of people who are building or renovating their home, ductless heating and cooling is an easy way to simplify the installation process and save money on utility bills. There are many more advantages in store beyond easy installation and savings. Let's look at some of the other reasons homeowners are installing more ductless systems in their homes than ever:

• Wall and ceiling mounted units don’t take up space
• Better air quality
• Built in dehumidifier
• No heat loss due to ducts

With all of these advantages over traditional ducted systems, it’s easy to see why so many are choosing to upgrade their heating and cooling systems.

5. Just How Efficient are Ductless Heat Pumps?

Ductless systems are 20-30% more efficient than other systems — which means big long term savings for homeowners

One of the most common reasons people are choosing to install ductless heating systems in their homes is for their high efficiency. There are a few factors that make ductless systems so efficient, the first one being that the system doesn’t use ducts. With traditional ducted heating, heat can leak out of the vents or the vents themselves can sap warmth out of the air due to conduction. By eliminating the air ducts, there is much less opportunity or heat loss before the warm air reaches your living space. Ductless heating systems also have much higher SEER ratings than ducted HVAC systems. The average ductless system has anywhere from a 20 to 30 SEER rating, while ducted systems usually have a SEER rating of about 15.

So don’t settle for inefficient heating this winter, call 412 Ductless for more information on how you can keep your home warm and save energy with a ductless heat pump. No matter your current heating and cooling setup, 412 Ductless can help you improve your heating using ductless technology. From quotes, installation, and inspection, 412 Ductless is here to provide you with the highest quality air conditioning in Pittsburgh, PA.