When you hear about a “ductless heating” system, you might feel a bit incredulous. Isn’t heating without ducts a kind of space heater? Or a boiler attached to radiators? Those don’t sound like ways you can effectively heat your home: a space heater isn’t powerful enough, and unless you already have pipes in place for a boiler, a boiler isn’t a viable option.
But the ductless heating that we’re talking about here is a type of forced-air system. In fact, it’s a lot like an air conditioner (it can even work as one!) except that it can reverse the direction it operates so that it brings in heat from the outside to warm your house.
But how does this make the system ductless?
Glad you asked! Think of a standard central AC. It has two big components, one inside and one outside. The inside unit connects to ductwork, and the ducts are what carries the air to the different rooms. But a ductless heater/air conditioner uses multiple smaller indoor units (a reason they’re called ductless mini splits). Instead of sitting in one placed hooked to ducts, they’re installed in the rooms themselves. That means they send out the heated or cooled air straight into the living spaces—no ducts needed.
The big benefits of going with ductless heating
- It’s ductless cooling as well! Using a ductless mini split heat pump means comfort all year long.
- Energy efficiency: Without ducts to lose or gain heat, a ductless system will save money over its service life.
- Zone control: No reason to heat or cool empty rooms, the way you would have to with standard ducts. Each of the individual air handlers can operate separate from the others.
- Space savings: If you’re interested in constructing a new home or remodeling your current one, going ductless makes it easier!
To find out more about ductless heating and cooling, call on Bob Mims Heating & Air Conditioning in Staten Island, NY.
