Ductless Air Conditioning Vs. An Air-Source Heat Pump

11 November 2015
 Categories: , Blog


Choosing the right equipment to cool your home can help you to save money down the road. For example, if you choose a heat pump, you can both heat and cool your home with the same piece of equipment. On the other hand, if you choose a ductless cooling system, you can eliminate your need to use ducts, which can help to improve your efficiency in several ways. 

An Analysis of a Heat Pump

A heat pump uses a set of condenser coils and a set of evaporator coils just like an AC unit to move heat from one place to another, but a heat pump can reverse the function of the coils. This means that you can either use your heat pump to absorb heat from your home and expel it outside for a net cooling effect, or you can use the heat pump to absorb heat from the outside air and expel it in your home for a net heating effect. While an air-source heat pump will be similarly efficient when cooling your home as compared to an AC unit, an air-source heat pump can be up to 250% efficient when heating your home. Since the most efficient furnaces are only 98% efficient, this can translate to some impressive savings. On the other hand, the closer the outside temperature gets to freezing the less efficient your heat pump will be. 

An Analysis of A Ductless System

A ductless AC system will have one set of condenser coils on the outside of your house, and up to four small evaporator units inside your home. These units are placed exactly in the room that you want to cool. Thus, there is no need to install ducts, which can help to reduce installation costs. More importantly, you can eliminate operating costs in that leaky ducts can decrease your cooling costs by up to 40%. Because each set of evaporator coils will have its own thermostat, you can shut off the AC to rooms that are not in use. By targeting your cooling in this way, you can reduce wasted energy.

If you have a small home, then a ductless AC system will be one of the most efficient ways to cool your home. If you have a large home in a moderate climate, then a heat pump will help you to both heat and cool your home efficiently. It is important to know that you have options when choosing a system for cooling your home so that you can discuss your options with an HVAC technician like one from Jones Air Conditioning & Electric and make the best choice for your home.


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