When researching residential heating solutions for your home, you’ll probably come across heat pumps. They’ve become a popular alternative to furnaces in recent decades.
Heat pumps don’t use burners to warm the indoor air. Instead, they collect heat from the outdoor air and transfer it inside your home.
Although they are called “heat pumps,” they can cool your home as well. During the spring and summer, a heat pump can collect heat from your home’s indoor air and transfer it outdoors.
While all heat pumps are designed to transfer thermal energy into and out of your home, there are two primary types: ductless and ducted.
What’s the difference between a ductless and a ducted heat pump exactly?
What Is a Ducted Heat Pump?
A ducted heat pump is a heating and cooling system that transfers thermal energy through ductwork.
It features a pump that, during the winter, will extract heat from the outdoor air. Once extracted, the hot air is forced into a network of interior ducts where it’s distributed throughout your home.
Ducted heat pumps use the same type of ducts as traditional heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems. The only difference is that ducted heat pumps use a pump to create heat, whereas traditional HVAC systems use a furnace with a burner.
If your home already has ductwork, it should support a ducted heat pump. Ducted heat pumps can be used with existing ductwork.
What Is a Ductless Heat Pump?
A ductless heat pump is a simpler heating and cooling system that doesn’t use ductwork.
They still contain a mechanical pump that, during the winter, extracts heat from the outdoor air. Rather than forcing the hot air through ductwork, however, ductless heat pumps release it directly into your home.
Ductless heat pumps are generally smaller and less powerful than ducted heat pumps. They are generally designed for use in a single room or space, so they don’t need as much power as their ducted counterparts.
If you only need a single room heated or cooled, a ductless heat pump may suffice. For complete heating and cooling, on the other hand, you should consider a ducted heat pump.
Whether ducted or ductless, heat pumps offer an energy-efficient alternative to a traditional HVAC system.
Ducted heat pumps simply leverage ductwork to provide house-wide heating and cooling, whereas ductless heat pumps only release heated or cooled air into a single room.
You may also be interested in an article we did back in the summer called Ductless vs Central Air Conditioning: What’s the Difference?
If you are experiencing a problem with your air conditioning or heating call us at 512-336-1431 to schedule an appointment. We’ll be glad to come out and take a look at the issue.
1431-183 A/C & Heating proudly serves Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Leander, Liberty Hill, and North Austin.
Thank you for clarifying that a ducted heat pump is the better option if complete heating and cooling is needed. Building a new house may be exciting in terms of designing rooms and furniture, but I wasn’t going to be distracted from the essentials such as temperature control. Reading your article has helped me figure out what I would need to ask from an HVAC contractor when I start hiring one for my house building project.
Thank you for clarifying that a ducted heat pump is the better option if complete heating and cooling is needed. Building a new house may be exciting in terms of designing rooms and furniture, but I wasn’t going to be distracted from the essentials such as temperature control. Reading your article has helped me figure out what I would need to ask from an HVAC contractor when I start hiring one for my house building project.