15 Benefits of Ductless Heating and Cooling

Ductless heating and cooling systems have been around since the 1970’s, but they’ve only recently started becoming popular. These systems offer a lot of advantages compared to traditional heating and cooling methods like central ductwork, and their innovative designs offer key benefits to owners of both residential and commercial properties.

1. Easy Installation

The absence of ducts makes these units easier to install than traditional HVAC systems. The set-up consists of an outdoor unit along with one or more indoor air handlers. Flexible piping runs between these units to carry electricity and refrigerant and installing that is relatively non-invasive and hassle free. The contractor just needs to add a few small and discreet holes.

2. Small Footprint

Generally, the outdoor unit with a ductless system has a relatively small footprint, especially compared to many traditional HVAC systems. You can place these units on the roof, in small alleyways, or sometimes even on ledges. The indoor air handling units are also relatively small and discreet, allowing them to fit easily in a range of environments.

3. Great for Additions

If certain areas of your home aren’t connected to your central heating and cooling system, you can easily meet your heating and cooling needs by installing a ductless system in these areas. A single unit is ideal for additions, attics, basements, and similar spaces.

4. Scalability

Heating and cooling an extra room is just the beginning. Ductless units can be scaled to meet your needs. You can use them to heat and cool your entire home, business property, or even a multi-unit commercial building.

5. Zoned Heating and Cooling

When you install multiple ductless units in a large building, you gain the ability to heat and cool all of these areas separately. If you’re not using a certain area, you can reduce the heat or turn down the air conditioner to keep your costs low. Similarly, if a certain area needs more heating or cooling, you can turn it up in those areas without making the other areas in your building uncomfortable.

6. Individual Controls

You can control each zone of your ductless system from a central controller, but you can also control each unit individually with its own remote. Feeling a little too hot while working or watching TV? Simply grab the remote and turn up the cooling with getting up.

7. Zoned Installation

In addition to controlling the temperatures separately, you can also install these units zone by zone. In a busy commercial space, this allows you to minimize disruption. This approach to installation also allows you to spread out the total cost over a longer time period.

8. Syncs with Building Management Software

To run multiple units in a commercial or apartment building, you need the right software. The CITY MULTI whole building system comes with software to help you manage multiple indoor units from a single controller. You can also put the controls in your tenants’ hands but set parameters so that they don’t over use the system. Most importantly, you can sync this software with your building management system.

9. Ability to Track Usage by Zones

You can also track usage by zones. That helps with calculating what your tenants owe for heating or cooling, and it’s also a useful way to track how your energy consumption for heating and cooling varies from area to area.

10. Energy Savings

Whether you put a ductless system into a home or commercial building, you will likely notice energy savings. On average, these systems use 40% less energy for cooling than ducted systems. Compared to window cooling units or baseboard heaters, ductless units are also less susceptible to air gaps which can also compromise efficiency.

11. Quiet Operation

In addition to being energy efficient, ductless units are also quiet. The indoor units make about as much noise as wind rustling trees, and even the largest outdoor units make less noise than the average dishwasher.

12. Improves Indoor Air Quality

With a ductless system, you don’t have to worry about dust or allergens building up in the ducts and then blowing out into your living or working space, and of course, you don’t have to pay for cleaning your ducts either. Additionally, ductless systems feature multi-stage filtration systems that help to remove pollutants and small particulates from your air, giving your indoor air quality a boost.   

13. Heating and Cooling in a Single Package

Although many people focus on the cooling capabilities of ductless units, they also offer heating. These units contain a heat pump, which works just like the cooling components but in reverse. With early versions of ductless systems, the heat pump really only worked well in relatively temperate climates, but thanks to advances in technology, these systems can now work in areas with cold winters including in the northeast.

14. Design Flexibility

With a ductless system, you have a lot of options. As indicated above, you can put ductless systems in both commercial and residential units. When you select your indoor handling unit, you can also choose from a variety of designs, and you can also locate your indoor unit in a variety of places on the wall or ceiling.

15. High Quality Manufacturing

When you choose a ductless system from a quality company such as Mitsubishi, you also ensure that you get quality parts. That helps to reduce breakdowns and keep the system running longer. 

At NETR, we understand these advantages of ductless heating and cooling as well as a long list of other benefits. Want to install a ductless system in your home or office? Have additional questions? Need to set up service or repair for your existing system? Then, contact us today. We look forward to making your home or office as comfortable and as energy efficient as possible.