An Introduction to Ductless Heating and Cooling Systems

Ductless HVAC installations have increased rapidly over the years within both residential and commercial properties. Ductless HVAC units (also known as ductless mini-split heat pumps) are a relatively new alternative to the typical heating and cooling systems you might already be familiar with. This blog post will provide you with an introduction to ductless heating and cooling systems so that you can make a better-informed decision if these units are right for you!  

First things first…. What are Ducts? 

Central Air Conditioners (or ducted air conditioning) are the most common cooling systems that you see within most homes and businesses. Central air conditioners work by circulating cool air through a system of supply and return ducts from the air conditioner and to the home. These ducts are typically hidden through the ceilings and walls of your home; however, you would notice the supply ducts and registers which are openings in the walls, floors or ceilings that are covered by grills. Central Air conditioning has been viewed as the default option for cooling and heating within the home, however, they are not the only option. 

Ductless Heating and Cooling 

As the name suggests, ductless HVAC systems heat and cool your home without the need for ducts. TO keep it simple, ductless mini-split systems have 2 main components: 1) an outdoor unit and 2) an indoor unit. Each component is connected by refrigerant tubing and electrical wiring. The indoor unit is wall-mounted and works by delivering heat and cool air directly into the living space without the use of ductwork.  

Right now, we are planning a future blog post about a full list comparison of the pros and cons to ducted and ductless HVAC systems. To get updates about when that post goes live follow our social medias (Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn). 

Why Would Someone Opt’ for a Ductless System? 

1. No Ducts! 

It is common for newer homes and buildings to be created with ductwork already built in to the home, however, older properties may not have ductwork installed. Installing ductwork into a home is a big project; it’s invasive to the home, time-consuming, expensive and takes up a lot of space. Before ductless systems, home owners were left within limited heating and cooling options including the window unit A/C, which has higher security risks and unpleasant acoustics. Luckily, this is no longer the case. 

2. More Space  

Ductless systems heat and cool living spaces through wall-mounted units that connect to a single outdoor unit. This ductless system set-up is easy to fit into many homes, such as older homes that may not have the space for ducts and newer homes looking to conserve space.  

3. Energy Conservation 

Compacted to standard ducted heat pumps, ductless systems consume less energy. Ductless systems don’t gain loose heat through duct walls, they also require smaller motors to operate and draw on lower amounts of energy.  

4. Zone control 

Home owners may install multiple ductless mini-splits into different rooms of the home (living rooms, bedrooms etc.) These systems can be controlled via remote control, so only rooms that require heating or cooling need to be on – which is another way that ductless systems lower costs because you don’t need to have all of them turned on to reach comfort. For example, you can keep your bedroom unit off while you are watching TV in your living room. With a ducted HVAC system, your unit is working to heat/cool the entire house, regardless of where you need comfort. 

5. Add-on Rooms and Conversions 

It is possible that your home has ducts, but you want to conduct some renovations that include converting a room without ducts into a living space or building a new addition to your home altogether. In this case, it could be a big project to redo the entire HVAC system just to heat/cool one room. For example, during COVID, we converted our garage into an “at-home gym”. Since our garage was not included in our ducted HVAC system, we installed a ductless Mini-split into our garage so that the room would maintain a comfortable temperature despite the extreme temperatures of Canadian seasons. 

6. Improved Comfort and Air-Quality 

As you may have gathered, the benefits of ductless systems are not only valuable for property-owners without a ducted HVAC system. Many homeowners with ducts decide to install ductless systems into specific rooms in their homes to increase comfort and air quality. For example, you may notice that your ducted-cooling system does not effectively and evenly cool all areas of your home. The bedroom is a common area of the home that home-owners say does not get enough air-conditioning. This is because bedrooms are often located on the top floors of homes. If you are someone who likes to sleep in a cool environment it would be especially frustrating when your air-conditioner is not effectively cooling your home. This is a common example of an experience that homeowners face and many of them fix the problem by installing a ductless mini-split right into their bedroom so they can monitor their bedroom temperature without changing the settings on their air conditioner for their entire home.  

Another problem with ductwork is that it collects dust over time. As the system turns out it can send out all of its debris into the living spaces and decrease the indoor air quality. This may not be a big deal for the average person, but for someone with asthma or allergies, this could be a big problem. Luckily, this is not a worry for a ductless system because there are no ducts to gather dust. 

Here at Energy Clean Heating and Air Systems, we have friendly and qualified HVAC technicians who specialize in ductless HVAC installations. For more information about ductless systems or to book a free consultation with us click the button below!