Ducted Heat Pumps (Podcast)

4 weeks ago

In this episode, John Maher speaks with Jared Grier, owner of Cape Cod Heat Pumps, about the advantages of ducted heat pump systems. Jared explains how ducted heat pumps differ from ductless options, highlighting their aesthetic appeal and air purification capabilities. He discusses combining ducted and ductless systems for efficient whole-home heating and cooling and addresses factors like climate suitability, maintenance, and individual room control. Jared offers insights to help homeowners choose the best setup based on home layout and comfort preferences. For more information, visit Cape Cod Heat Pumps.

John Maher: Hi, I’m John Maher, and I’m here today with Jared Grier, owner of Cape Cod Heat Pumps, an HVAC contractor in Marstons Mills, Massachusetts on Cape Cod, specializing in ductless heating and cooling technology and focused on detail, quality and professionalism. Today our topic is ducted heat pumps.

Welcome Jared.

Jared Grier: Thanks, John.

What is a Ducted Heat Pump?

Maher: So, Jared, what is a ducted heat pump? Because I think most people think of heat pumps and ductless as being the same thing. So how does a ductless heat pump differ from ductless technology and other types of heating and cooling systems?

Grier: Yeah, first let’s talk about what ductless even is. As most people are now familiar with, there are ductless mini-split heat pumps. We have a couple different names and ways that we talk about them. More traditionally, these are your standard wall units, and the way that they work is obviously they don’t have any duct work. We just connect some refrigerant lines or wire to the outdoor unit, and that’s how we’re able to heat or cool our space.

Maher: And that outdoor unit, that’s the compressor? That’s where all of the-

Grier: Exactly. That’s where magic happens.

Maher: Magic happens on the outside and then it’s just pushing the hot or cold air into the indoor unit.

Grier: Correct, correct. Obviously, some customers, they don’t like the appearance of wall units, cassette units, floor-mounted units. So, all these manufacturers, the way I put it to my customers are Americanizing their equipment. The two sectors of the business are converging that you’re starting to see that mini-split manufacturers converge into the more conventional realm. And what that just allows our customers to do, if you’ve got a more conventional ducted system in your house, we can take out your furnace, plug in one of these air handlers and have you operate purely off of heat pumps but use the existing infrastructure in your home.

And then it’s also nice for the customers who, again, just visually don’t want to have the equipment in the space. So, if we’ve got an attic to work with, we’ve got a basement to work with, we can place these air handlers in there and duct into the spaces to allow them to heat and cool those parts of the home or the whole home.

Advantages of a Ducted Heat Pump

Maher: Okay. So, what are some of the key advantages of ducted heat pumps as compared to traditional HVAC systems like forced hot air furnaces in central air conditioning?

Grier: I’d say the number one thing is just, again, that finished look that the customer is going to have in their home. As I said, we do have a lot of customers, they just don’t care for those high wall units that is more traditionally thought of when they think of mini-split. So, that’s the biggest thing. We could do a lot better air purification as well with ducted systems. With a more powerful air handlers, we can put a nice five-inch media filter on there.

So, we’re able to catch about 90% of the particulates that are going to pass through that filter. It’ll allow to have cleaner air in the home, which could be a real relief to customers who have asthma, allergy issues in the spring and the fall. We can also add other accessories like ERV, so energy recovery ventilators, or allow fresh air into the home. We can add humidifiers. We can add dehumidifiers. So, they’re a little bit more versatile in what we’re able to do in the various different accessories that we can add to them as well.

Ducted Heat Pump System vs Fossil Fuel Heating

Maher: Is it better to have a ducted heat pump system as opposed to having a separate fossil fuel heating system and then a separate central air conditioning system? Is it better to have it all in one system?

Grier: It doesn’t necessarily matter in that sense. What I will tell you here on Cape, a majority of our homes were built prior to duct work being the norm. They were also built prior to air conditioning being a necessity. It was more of a luxury here. With the shifting climate, the warmer summers, the longer summers that we’re experiencing, it’s really now becoming a necessity more rather than a luxury. So, it really just has to do with, again, customer’s budgets, what they personally want to see in their home, what the layout of the house. I mean, some homes are a great option for duct work. Some houses just aren’t. Maybe you’re on a slab, maybe you don’t have a workable attic. So really, it’s going to be very customer and home dependent.

Do Ducted Heat Pumps Work in All Climates?

Maher: Do ducted heat pumps work in all climates, especially here in Massachusetts with our, like you said, our hot summers and cold winters?

Grier: Yeah. I mean the ducted systems work just in the same way that the ductless systems work. And quite frankly, we can do a combination of ductless with ducted systems off the very same outdoor unit. So, they work with the exact same technology. They work with the exact same outdoor units. It’s just really, again, a preference of what customers want to see in their home and what we’re working with.

Combined Ducted and Ductless Systems

Maher: Right. So, you could have say, wall-mounted units on a first floor for your kitchen and your living room and your family room or something like that, and then have a ducted system in your attic that controls the heat and cooling for the second floor, for example.

Grier: Yeah. That’s a great example, John. We’ve got a lot of more traditional colonials here on Cape. Oftentimes, the first floor is a little bit more of an open floor plan. So strategically placing one or two wall units down there will allow us to do the entire space. However, often, the second floor is where all the bedrooms are. And say you have four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and you’re trying to cool and heat all those spaces, well, that means you’re going to have to have four wall units.

Well, that’s going to get really busy on the outside of the house. There’s excessive equipment and lines that we’ve got to run. Whereas if we can just put a air handler or a mini air handler up in the attic, we can hit all those spaces with just one unit simplifying the install. And in some instances, it can actually be less expensive to put the ducted units in when we’ve got to put in a lot of equipment ductless-wise. So sometimes it can actually be a win for the customer.

Is a Ducted Heat Pump System Right for You?

Maher: Can you talk a little bit about the different form factors that you have for ducted heat pump systems and why you might want to use one versus another?

Grier: Yeah. The manufacturers, most of these mini split manufacturers, they have different style air handlers. Some we call slim duct or pancake units that are really flat but wide. They make versions of those that have a little bit higher static pressure, aka means that we’ve got a little bit bigger of a blower motor in there, meaning we can add a little bit more duct work to that system if we need to go longer distances. Then they’ve got full static air handlers. These would be the type of air handlers that if you had a conventional furnace in the basement, we can just pull that out of the place, plug in that air handler and call it a day.

Allowing Air to Flow Throughout The Home

Maher: And that would be able to blow the hot or cool air all throughout the home from the basement?

Grier: Correct. Absolutely.

Are Ducted and Ductless Systems Combined?

Maher: Okay. So, are ducted heat pump systems typically installed in a combination with ductless systems or do you sometimes do all ducted systems in a house?

Grier: It’s very dependent on the home. It’s very dependent on the customer. It’s very dependent on customers’ budget. If they don’t have duct work, and I know I just said that in some instances would be cheaper, but also some instances could be more expensive. If you’ve say just got a master bedroom suite that you’re trying to do, well, doing a ducted unit for that versus a wall unit, it’s going to be run you a little bit more money.

But in the previous example that I just gave, if you want to do four wall units versus one ducted, it could possibly be less expensive. And I actually just did a proposal for a customer out in Brewster and they’ve got a bunch of small little rooms. It’s an old cottage that’s really chopped up. So, we were having to put in a lot of wall units if we wanted to cover all of these spaces where we could do that same project with just one unit up in the attic. And quite frankly, it costs them quite a bit less to do it that way.

Individual Room Temperature Control

Maher: The only disadvantage of that would be that you then don’t have the individual temperature control for each bedroom in that case. So it’s a little bit of a compromise between maybe the cost of installing the ducted system to control all of those bedrooms versus having the control if that’s the most important thing.

Grier: It is. It is, yeah. But oftentimes, I don’t find that to be a make or break for these projects. Yes, is there a nice convenience factor to that Beth over here wants at 72, Brian over there wants at 73 and they can have that individual control? Sure, but it’s not a big energy savings, and that’s what a lot of customers often think.

They’re like, “Well, if I zone it and I’m not using this one room and I don’t heat or cool it to the same temperature as the rest of the house, I’m going to save a bunch of money.” Well, in all likelihood, you’re not going to notice the difference in your utility bill if you’re not heating or cooling just one bedroom. It’s such a small percentage of the home. Those internal walls virtually become external walls now because you’re not heating or cooling that room.

So yes, there is certainly a convenienceness to being able to adjust to your comfort level as comfort is a very individual thing. You might like at one temperature I might like at another temperature. I mean, heck, I’ve had plenty of customers out there that once we finish the system, the husband wants it one temperature, wife wants it another temperature, and we just say, “Good luck. We’ll see you guys at your next maintenance.”

So, comfort is very individual thing, but yes, there is a convenience factor. But again, sometimes it can just be more costly to do that. And in all reality, there’s not much of an energy savings.

Maintenance and Upkeep Needs for a Ducted Heat Pump

Maher: What about maintenance and upkeep on a ducted heat pump? Does it differ a lot from a ductless system?

Grier: No, there’s not much of a difference. I mean, if anything, if you’ve got a ducted system that’s serving a whole house, you’ve only got one indoor piece of equipment, where if we did it with ductless, maybe you’ve got four or five different units. So, it could actually reduce the costs after the fact just because less equipment to maintenance.

I mean, there’s also less equipment to, quite frankly, break or have failures. But other than that, there’s no major difference. The only difference I would really say is those systems that do have those good five-inch media filters, there’s just the added cost of changing that filter once a year.

Maher: All right, well that’s really great information, Jared. Thanks again for speaking with me today.

Grier: Thanks for having me, John.