Mini-Split vs. Ducted Heat Pumps: Advantages and Disadvantages, Cost Breakdowns, and More
To duct or not to duct? Find out which heat pump option will work best for you
Highlights
A ducted heat pump is usually a better option if you already have ductwork in your home.
Ductless heat pumps require large wall units in each room where you want AC or heat.
Ducted heat pumps tend to use larger condensers outside to provide whole-home cooling and heating.
Ductless heat pumps are more affordable to install if you don’t already have ductwork.
Heat pumps offer an alternative heating and cooling solution to traditional HVAC systems we all rely on to stay comfortable throughout the year. If you feel like your home needs a heat pump upgrade, ducted and ductless heat pumps are both worthwhile solutions that’ll keep you cool for the summer and warm for the winter. But which is the better option between ducted vs. ductless heat pumps? This guide breaks down the pros and cons of each to help you make an informed decision.
What Is a Heat Pump?
Heat pumps are ducted systems—even in the case of “ductless” heat pump systems—that cool and heat your home, and the most common type is the air-source heat pump. To heat your house, the pump pulls heat from the outside air and brings it inside. For cooling, the pump pulls heat from inside and takes it outside.
These systems work best in climates that rarely dip below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. If your area gets extremely cold in the winter, you can install a system that switches to a traditional furnace when it gets below freezing.
These systems work best in climates that rarely dip below 30 degrees Fahrenheit because they rely on the outdoor air accepting temperature changes to heat and cool your home. When it’s exceptionally cold outside, the heat pump will struggle to pull heat from the air, meaning it will deliver less warm air to your interior. If your area gets extremely cold in the winter, you can install a system that switches to a traditional furnace when it gets below freezing.
Installing a heat pump costs between $1,500 and $10,000, but the price varies by location, the size of your home, and the type of heat pump. Standard ducted heat pump systems include:
Air source heat pump: transfers heat from outdoor air to an indoor space. An air-source heat pump usually costs around $5,000 to install.
Geothermal heat pump: underground piping captures heat from the earth and moves it to your home (reversed for cooling). A geothermal heat pump costs around $14,200, on average.
Hybrid heat pump: coordinates with your furnace to optimize heating during freezing temperatures. This system averages around $9,000.
| Heat Pump Type | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Air source | Efficient, heating and cooling combined, multi-zone compatible, low maintenance | Risk of power outages, noisy, lower efficiency at colder temps |
| Water source | Long lifespan, efficient, multi-zone compatible, low maintenance | High upfront costs, needs body of water nearby, requires permitting |
| Geothermal | Eco-friendly, tax credits available | High upfront costs, complex installation, may need landscape changes |
Ducted Heat Pumps Pros & Cons
A ducted heat pump usually sits in place of a traditional furnace. It uses a heat pump to move heat inside or outside, depending on the temperature, and it distributes the conditioned air throughout your home via hidden ductwork behind the walls, under your floors, and above your ceilings.
Check out the pros and cons of ducted units below:
Pros
Only one external unit is needed.
Ducts aren’t visible.
They help remove humidity from your home.
They are very efficient.
They often provide heating and cooling in one unit.
Cons
New ductwork installation is very expensive.
Dust, debris, and pet dander can gather in ducts.
It’s a time-consuming and invasive installation.
Rodents can use ductwork to enter your home.
What Is a Mini-Split Ductless System?
Mini-splits are “ductless” heating and cooling systems that often use heat pumps just like a ducted system, but instead of distributing conditioned air through ductwork behind your walls, it pushes air through wall- or ceiling-mounted units. Each unit actually does contain a small duct that exits through your exterior walls to connect to the outdoor unit. However, the ducts involved are far easier and faster to install since they don’t travel behind all your walls.
Some mini-splits only cool, while other models will take care of your needs all year long. Because there’s just one small duct per unit, you can install these indoor units anywhere you’d like. Plus, each unit would serve a single room, in most cases, which offers you more targeted and customizable temperature control as opposed to the zones you’d deal with with ducted heat pumps.
This is still best for climates that don’t get colder than 30 degrees Fahrenheit. If you live in an area that gets below freezing often during the winter, you should have a backup heating system (or a traditional furnace, instead).
Mini-Split Unit Pros & Cons
Ductless heat pumps, also known as ductless mini-split systems, offer you a dynamic way to control the temperature in your home. While they technically do use small ducts to connect to your outdoor unit, you don’t need ducts running through your entire home, so the installation is a lot less expensive and involved.
These systems require indoor units on the ceiling or wall of a room as well as an outdoor compressor that’s either wall-mounted or mounted on a small concrete slab. The indoor and outdoor units are connected using a small duct, a drain line, tubing, and a refrigerant line.
The placement of individual indoor units in the rooms you want temperature control in creates HVAC zones in your home, allowing you to control the temperature in individual rooms rather than your entire home. This could help you save money on electric bills by allowing more precise control over rooms you use and those you don’t frequent.
Here’s the good and the not-as-good of mini-split units:
Pros
Installation is simple and affordable.
They’re cost-effective.
They offer increased energy efficiency.
They’re minimally invasive to interior design.
Cons
Indoor units can be aesthetically unappealing to some.
Zoning can be inefficient in sweltering and extremely cold climates.
They require frequent filter cleaning and changes.
How Are Mini-Split and Ducted Heat Pumps Similar?
Ductless mini-splits and ducted heat pumps are actually more similar than they are different. Both make use of heat pumps, which are highly efficient and can usually provide both heating and cooling from a single system. They also both involve at least one indoor unit and an exterior condenser to transfer heat to and from your living space.
Both ductless mini-splits and ducted heat pumps typically use electricity for power rather than oil, propane, or natural gas, although there are exceptions, like absorption heat pumps that rely on gas as a fuel source. As such, both ductless and ducted heat pump systems can be extremely affordable ways to heat and cool your home, especially if you have a solar panel system providing free electricity.
The only real difference between mini-splits and ducted heat pumps is that the former uses one small duct per indoor unit to connect to the exterior condenser, while ducted heat pumps move conditioned air through a duct system running behind your walls.
HVAC Zoning for Heat Pumps
A pro can install both mini-split units and ducted heat pumps in a way that allows you to take advantage of HVAC zoning. HVAC zoning for your heat pumps allows you to set different temperatures for different rooms in your house. Most ducted systems use a thermostat for zoning. With this system, you divide the home into different zones and assign different temperatures to each zone, each controlled with a different thermostat.
For ductless mini-split systems, there are two different options: a multi-zone system or multiple single-zone systems. With a multi-zone system, you’ll have just one outdoor unit connected to all of your indoor units, making the exterior appearance more visually appealing. With multiple single-zone systems, there’s an outdoor unit for each indoor unit. You can also mix and match—like having two indoor units connected to one outdoor unit, and a third indoor unit connected to a separate unit outside—based on your budget and space.
You’ll install indoor units in separate rooms and set each individual thermostat as you see fit. Because you can control the temperature precisely with a zoned HVAC system, everyone in the house will be comfortable, and you’ll likely save money on utility bills.
If you don’t have a zoning system already and want to make the jump, talk to your local HVAC company about setting it up.
Mini-Split vs. Ducted Heat Pump
Choosing between ductless and ducted heat pumps and types of air conditioners for your home may seem like a head-scratcher because there are so many options to choose from. However, the ultimate decision comes down to your household’s needs and your priorities.
If you need more help weighing your options, we’ve got straightforward comparisons below that can guide you as you make your decision.
Aesthetic
One of the biggest differences between ductless versus ducted heat pumps is visibility. You can’t see a ducted heat pump working because the air ducts are behind your home’s walls, which is an appealing part of the system for many.
Ductless heating and cooling systems, on the other hand, use indoor units mounted on ceilings or walls. Although modern units sometimes come with sleek designs, their placement can interfere with your interior design. But if appearance isn’t your concern, having the mini-split unit hang from a wall or ceiling won’t make much of a difference.
Most aesthetically pleasing: Ducted
Price
The prices for heat pumps vary because of many different factors, such as:
Heat pump size
Location
Your home’s architectural style
Ducted heat pump installation ranges between $1,500 and $10,000, while mini-split installation costs around $2,000 to $8,200 per unit. Although these prices are quite high, they’re still less than the cost of installing a new HVAC system, which typically ranges from $5,000 to $12,500. Mini-splits will tend to be more affordable overall, but it does depend on how many outdoor and indoor units you need.
Additionally, if you don’t already have ductwork installed in your house, putting in a ducted heat pump system is very likely going to total over $25,000.
Lowest price: Mini-split
Energy Efficiency
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, ductless mini-split systems help reduce your home’s energy usage by up to 30% because you won’t spend energy heating or cooling the entire house as you would with a ducted system. They create zones that enable you to control the temperature in frequented rooms. Also, minimal ductwork mean there’s no wasted energy.
While ducted heat pumps can also be an energy-efficient solution in some cases, efficiency drops when there are leaks in your ductwork, which you may not always be able to detect immediately.
Still, it’s worth noting that both ducted and ductless heat pumps will usually be more efficient than something like baseboard heating.
Better energy efficiency: Mini-split
Lifespan
If you follow an annual maintenance schedule, your heat pump should last 10 to 15 years, regardless of whether it’s ducted or ductless. You’ll have some occasional maintenance issues that may require you to repair your heat pump throughout that time. However, if you keep up with regular servicing, you likely won’t need to replace your system for a while.
Typical heat pump repairs cost between $150 and $600. But if your system is more than 15 years old or you start to see its performance decline around the 10-year mark, replacing it would be the better option.
Longest lifespan: Tie
Installation
Installing a mini-split heat pump is very quick and should only take a few hours since there’s just a single duct the installer will need to place. However, if you’re looking to go traditional and install ducted heat pumps, it could take an entire day. You might be looking at several weeks if you’re installing ducts for the system as well.
No matter which type you’re leaning toward, heat pump installation is a complex project because of the components involved, so you shouldn’t try to DIY this one. Contact a vetted heat pump installer near you to ensure the installation is successful.
Easiest installation: Mini-split
Maintenance
There’s plenty that you can do to prolong the life of your heat pump, and none of it is too labor-intensive.
Keep your unit in its best shape by cleaning your air filter every 4 to 6 weeks and replacing it at least once annually. You can also do wonders for your system by removing leaves and debris from the outdoor unit and cutting back vegetation that grows close to it. Similarly, schedule an annual servicing for your heat pump. You should also keep up with basic heat pump maintenance, like cleaning coils, fans, lines, and return registers.
Easiest maintenance: Tie
Which Heat Pump System Should You Choose?
Before making your final decision on the mini-split versus heat pump debate, assess your home's situation.
Here's when a ducted heat pump might be beneficial:
You're building a house from scratch.
You have existing ductwork in place.
You want centralized control for your home.
You don't find mini-split systems visually appealing.
Ductless heat pumps might be a better solution for your home if:
There are several “barely used” rooms in your home.
Someone in your family suffers from allergies.
You want to heat a smaller area of your home.
You want more control over your home's comfort level.
Frequently Asked Questions
There’s no definitive answer to this question, as both ductless and ducted heat pump systems have their place. A ductless system will almost always be a better option if you don’t already have ducts running behind your finished walls, as installing them for a ducted heat pump can cost over $20,000. A ducted system might be better if you do already have ducts, if you’re building new construction, or if you don’t like the look of interior ductless mini-splits on your walls or ceiling.
Mini-splits and ducted heat pumps both use the same technology, so when you compare them apples-to-apples, they’re about even in terms of efficiency. However, mini-splits tend to provide more precise temperature control because individual units serve each room in your home. That means you can demand less from units in rooms that you don’t frequent and save money on heating and cooling costs. Ducted systems can include zones that help accomplish something similar, but the zones are rarely as small as single rooms. Long ducts can also leak, which leads to inefficiency.