Ductless Mini Split Heat Pump

Ductless Mini Split Heat Pump is a type of air-source or air-to-air heat pump for heating and cooling your home or office. They are ideal for buildings that do not have existing ductwork as heating and cooling is provided.

Ductless Mini Split Heat Pumps use a compression/expansion cycle (similar to a fridge) to extract heat energy from the air outside and transfer it indoors during the colder season. They are reversible so that during the cooling season, they cool your house by extracting heat energy from the inside air and delivering it outdoors. The indoor equipment typically consists of a packaged fan-coil that provides either hot or cold air. The outdoor unit houses a compressor and heat exchange coil that captures or rejects heat.

Look for the Energy Star label, and these three performance ratings when choosing (the higher, the better):

• COP (Coefficient Of Performance)
• HSPF (Heating Season Performance Factor)
• SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio - more related to cooling)

Work with a reliable heat pump contractor to ensure you have the right size of heat pump and that it is installed correctly. The amount of BTU/hour typically denotes the size of a heat pump that it produces, and they are most commonly available in 9000, 12000 and 15000 BTU/hour sizes. A larger home may require multiple units.

A heat pump can be one of the most energy-efficient ways to use electricity to heat your home. In a moderately cold winter climate like the northern US or southern Canada, an air-source heat pump can be three times more efficient than regular electric resistance heating (such as electric baseboard heaters).

A ductless mini-split heat pump is simpler to install in a retrofit situation because it does not require ducts to distribute the hot air. It can complement your existing heating system and save money and energy.

The first working heat pump was invented by an Austrian, Peter von Rittinger, in 1855, to evaporate water from salt brine to make salt.