The amount of homeowners who are switching to Mitsubishi Electric heat pumps for heating and cooling their home is growing. Heat pumps, also known as mini-splits because the systems are divided between indoor and outdoor components, can warm your house by extracting heat from outdoor air and transferring it through refrigerant lines into indoor air handlers.
How Do Heat Pumps Work?
Mitsubishi Electric heat pumps draw heat from very cold air, which allows them to operate even in below-zero cold weather conditions. But one of the biggest benefits of mini split heat pumps is that they can also work in reverse, drawing heat from inside to cool your home in the warmer summer months. By operating year-round, heat pumps can completely replace a home’s entire central air system as well as a furnace or boiler system.
Most people, if they’ve heard of heat pumps, are also familiar with the ductless variety. But Mitsubishi Electric ducted mini splits, which connect to a central ductwork system, also provide high energy efficiency and cost savings. Here are some of the things to consider when making the decision between ductless and ducted systems.
MINI SPLIT HEAT PUMPS: DUCTLESS VS. DUCTED
Ductless and ducted mini split heat pumps both operate on the same general principle: transferring heat between the indoors and outdoors.
Both units have outdoor condenser units, where the refrigerant is heated or cooled as it transfers heat.
Both types have indoor air handler units where the conditioned air enters your living space.
Now there are some significant differences that can help you decide which is best for your home:
Ductless Mini Splits
Ductless mini split heat pumps often act as targeted single room heat pumps. Air handlers are installed in every room or living area where conditioned air is needed, with a refrigerant line leading directly back to the outdoor condenser. Because ductless systems don’t require ductwork, you can set up as many indoor air handlers as you like in different areas or rooms in your house, giving you the ability to create different climate zones in your house or reach areas in your home that are notoriously hard to keep comfortable.
Ducted Mini Splits
Ducted heat pump systems, also called forced air heat pumps, only use one indoor air handler, which connects to a central ductwork system. Conditioned air is still created by the outdoor condenser, but the air is delivered throughout the home in the same way that a furnace or central air conditioning system would.
Ducted heat pumps are great for homes with existing central ductwork, and offer many advantages over traditional heating and cooling systems, including:
- Ultra-quiet operating noise
- Lower monthly energy bills
- Minimized carbon footprint
- Produces up to 3x more energy than it consumes
Dunklee is the professional team you can trust for all your heating, cooling, water heater maintenance, and repair plan needs. Contact Dunklee today!
