Heat Pumps

What types of heat pumps can I get?

For space heating, there are 4 main types of heat pumps available:

1) Ducted Split Heat Pump

These integrate into your existing ducting system, and are most common if you already have a gas furnace and ducting in place. There are two parts to the system: an outdoor unit, and an indoor air handler.

2) Ductless, Mini-split Heat Pump

These can be installed if you don’t already have ducting in place — perhaps you currently have electric baseboard heating, or radiators. They can also be installed if you have a ducted system, but want supplementary heating and cooling for a few rooms.

There’s an outdoor unit, and indoor units for each room where heating/cooling is provided.

3) Air-to-Water Heat Pumps

These heat pumps produce hot water instead of hot air, and are best for radiant heating systems (e.g. underfloor heating) or with radiators. Many air-to-water heat pumps don’t produce water at high temperatures, so you might need to install some additional radiators that help to circulate air (e.g. fan coil radiators).

4) Ground Source / Geothermal Heat Pumps

These are less common for residential uses, because they are more expensive to install as it requires a lot of excavation to dig holes to install the piping system. When they are installed, they are more efficient that air-source heat pumps, because the ground stays at a more consistent temperature year round.