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Air Conditioning Options

As you probably know, the Australian summertime can be extremely hot. When I moved to Australia from England, I knew it would be warm, but I wasn't ready for the intense heat. I had bought a home on the outskirts of Sydney. It was a great place but unfortunately, it didn't have an HVAC system. I moved in during the winter time, so this wasn't a problem. However, when the weather began to warm up, the interior of my home became very uncomfortable. I called in an HVAC contractor who explained my options before installing a modern HVAC system which keeps my house nice and cool.

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Air Conditioning Options

Why Choose a Ducted Heat Pump Over a Ductless Heat Pump for Residential Heating and Cooling?

by Herminia Lopez

If you have existing HVAC ductwork in your home and are in the market for a new heat pump, you should opt for a ducted unit. The presence of ductwork eliminates the cost of installing new infrastructure. Also, unlike a ductless system, a ducted unit prevents the ducts and vents from going to waste. Besides these benefits, here are three more reasons why a ducted heat pump is an excellent choice for your home.

One unit for whole-house heating and cooling

Ductless heat pumps are great for heating and cooling. However, the number of rooms the unit can serve depends on the number of air handlers it has. Therefore, if you have a six-room house, you need five or six indoor air handlers to heat and cool the entire space. Conversely, ducted units have one outdoor unit and one indoor unit. The single indoor unit supplies air to the ductwork throughout the home. Therefore, you can extend ductwork without buying additional air handlers to provide heated and cooled air.

Better air circulation and filtration

Ducted HVAC systems have supply and return vents. Supply vents push heated or conditioned air into the rooms, while the return vents pull air from the room into the return ducts for filtration and heating or cooling. You can zone and modify your ducts and vents to allow even, balanced airflow throughout the home.

Ducted heat pumps can significantly improve the quality of air in the home. As the return vents pull air from the room, they draw out excess moisture and pollutants such as smoke, pollen and dust. The air filters in the supply system trap pollutants, improving the air quality in the home. However, to maintain quality air, you must clean the filters regularly and replace worn filters.

Supplemental furnace heating

Heat pumps provide adequate heated air in moderate climates. However, when the temperatures drop below freezing, a heat pump may struggle to draw heat from the ambient air. You can counter this issue by switching to booster mode for electrical heating. Alternatively, you could invest in a hybrid heat pump. This system uses a heat pump alongside another heating system, such as a furnace.

Since furnaces rely on ductwork, you don't need to spend money on new ducts. Therefore, the heat pump will work throughout summer and most of the winter. If the temperatures drop to sub-zero, the system will switch to the furnace for reliable gas heating. Heat pumps typically use very little electrical energy to run; therefore, the energy savings generated annually will offset the cost of running the furnace during cold winters.

Does installing a ducted heat pump sound like an excellent idea? Consult a heating and cooling contractor for professional installation services. 

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