Ductless Air Conditioners Vs Heat Pumps

Air conditioning can be a pretty tricky beast since it can be very difficult to find a solution that is perfect for your home. Some air conditioners are better in certain circumstances, but picking the wrong air conditioner can end up costing you quite a bit in operating costs. To help you find the right air conditioner for you, here is a comparison of two popular types:

What is a ductless air conditioner?

A ductless air conditioner manages the feat of cooling your entire home without needing to rely on a ventilation system. With other options, you need to choose between the two, but a ductless unit allows you to have the best of both worlds.

To elaborate, central air conditioners (and heaters) rely on your ventilation system to move air throughout your home. Ductless units get around this by using remote nodes in each room that you want to cool. Cold air is transferred from the central unit to these units, which means that it doesn't need to go through air ducts in your walls.

What is a heat pump?

Heat pumps are reversible air conditioners, meaning that they can also be used to heat your home. There are a variety of different types of heat pumps, with two of the most important types being air-source and geothermal units.

Air-source heat pumps draw heat from the air, which means that there are fairly easy to set up and install. However, they can lose a bit of efficiency when it comes to extremely cold weather, where there isn't too much heat to find in the air.

Geothermal heat pumps instead take heat from the soil beneath your home, which is much more reliable when it gets particularly cold. On the other hand, they do require a substantially larger upfront investment, since there is a bit of excavation involved.

When is a ductless unit better than a heat pump?

If you don't have good ventilation, then a ductless unit can be much more valuable. Similarly, if you live somewhere that gets very cold and aren't willing to invest in an expensive geothermal installation, then a ductless unit can be preferable.

When is a heat pump better than a ductless unit?

Over the long run, a heat pump can end up being more efficient and cheaper to run. If you do have ventilation in place, then a heat pump can be more aesthetically pleasing since you won't need to deal with obvious ductless nodes in each room.

For an HVAC contractor, contact a company such as #1 Air Source.

About Me

Warm and Cozy or Cool and Comfortable with HVAC

Hi, my name is Kari, and as a mom, I think it is my responsibility to make sure my family is comfortable. Some days that means making cookies for a sad kid or painting our walls in inspiring colors. Other days, it means troubleshooting the HVAC system to make sure we are all warm and cozy in the winter and cool and comfortable during the summer. If you want to read about HVAC, get tips on picking the right system or learn to troubleshoot issues, you have found the right blog! Please, get comfortable and enjoy reading! I hope these posts inspire and inform you!

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