What Are the Benefits of Ductless Heat Pumps in Portland?

Are you wondering whether a ductless heat pump would be a good investment for your Portland home?

In general, yes, adding a ductless heat pump to your Portland home can be a great investment because they provide:

• Lower energy costs
• Precise temperature control
• Lower installation costs
• Heating and cooling in one system

We’ll explain all of these benefits in more detail below.

Are you considering a ductless heat pump installation? Trust Four Seasons to provide you with expert advice, fair and honest flat-rate estimates, and expert installations from NATE-certified professionals.

Manufacturers design heat pumps to move heat from one area to another. They're much more efficient because they move heat instead of creating heat like electric furnaces, baseboards, or cadet heaters do. According to PGE, heat pumps can save Portland homeowners up to 40% on their heating and cooling bills compared to their electric furnace or other electric resistance heating counterparts.

On top of that, ductless heat pumps are more efficient than central heat pumps because they do not use ductwork. Ductwork is inefficient because it’s prone to leakage, meaning hot or cool air can leak out of ducts and into unconditioned spaces like the attic or crawl spaces. When this happens, the conditioned air (that you pay for) goes wasted and never makes it to the areas you need heated/cooled.

Ductless systems do not depend on ductwork because they directly blow hot/cold air into the areas you want heated or cooled. This method means you spend less money per month on heating and cooling bills.

For more details on how ductless heat pumps can save you money, watch this short video from Four Seasons’ President, Chris Hahn.

Ductless heat pump systems consist of an outdoor unit and one or more indoor units. Technicians will install each indoor unit inside the rooms you want to be heated and/or cooled. This setup allows for ‘zoned’ temperature control, meaning you can set different temperatures in different rooms. So if you like it toasty in the living room/open areas but cooler in the bedrooms, you can easily accommodate this with a ductless system.

It is possible to offer room-by-room temperature control with central systems, but this often requires expensive retrofit work such as adding more thermostats and installing motorized dampers in the ductwork. Ductless systems, on the other hand, offer zoned temperature control as soon as their installation date. No additional work is needed.

When compared to the cost of installing a traditional central HVAC system without ductwork, ductless system installation costs are almost always lower. Instead of constructing complex ductwork throughout the entire home, a ductless system installation only requires drilling 3-inch holes in the wall of a room to allow a small conduit to run from the air handler to the outdoor condensing unit.

A ductless heat pump installation starts at just $3,300. Keep in mind that this is a ballpark cost estimate for installing a condensing unit and one indoor air handler—the price increases with each additional indoor air handler you need to install.

Heat pumps provide year-round comfort because they provide both heating and cooling in a single system. A heat pump heats the home in the winter by soaking up heat from the outdoor air and transferring it indoors. A heat pump works in the summer by soaking up heat from inside the home and transferring it outdoors.

While it’s been a long-held belief that Portland homeowners don't need air conditioning, the city is becoming more and more prone to summer heatwaves. In fact, in the summer of 2021, Portland reached record-breaking highs of 116° F.

With Portland shifting toward more extreme summer temperatures, installing a ductless heat pump can provide peace of mind (and increase your home value) with its ability to provide instant cooling relief during the summer months.

Keep in mind that a ductless heat pump system isn’t the best option for every homeowner. In some cases, you may want to consider a central heat pump system instead of a ductless system.

In general, you should consider a ductless heat pump system if:

• You own home without ductwork
• You own a historic home and want to avoid the renovation that a new ducted system would entail.
• You have electric heat such as cadets/ceiling heat
• You are planning to add on a new room to the house

Trust Four Seasons to provide honest and expert advice. Our team has been installing heat pump systems in Portland homes for over 30 years. Not only are our technicians NATE-certified and experts at both traditional and ductless heat pump systems, but we also offer the best pricing on the best brands.

Call us today at 503-538-1950, or schedule a visit from us online.