Ductless Heat Pumps Demystified
Climate change has the odd effect of making many of us inordinately excited about appliances we never used to care about. Suddenly, all the background machines, which have up to now been unconsciously powering our lives, have taken on outsized importance. Some of them have the potential to provide the essential services we depend on while, at the same time, not destroying our planet like the fossil fuel powered machines of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Ductless heat pumps are a prime example. In the past, many of us used gas furnaces and boilers to heat our homes and burned fuels that emitted copious amounts of CO2 in the process. Now, with the magical heat pump, we have access to efficient electric technologies for heating and cooling that can be powered entirely by renewable energy, and thus be carbon neutral.
Photo courtesy of The Heat Pump Store
Brief History and Growth of Ductless Heat Pumps
Ductless heat pumps (DHPs) were developed in Japan after World War 2. They were invented and perfected on an island that doesn’t have easy access to fossil fuels, and so they are the ideal heating/cooling system for our modern world given they don’t rely on combustion and are also incredibly efficient.
They condition 90% of Japanese homes, and worldwide their usage is growing like crazy, with an expected doubling of heat pump sales in the next five years. In the UK, sales are projected to increase 20 fold, and in the US, some areas are seeing sales growth north of 40% every year.
My family has used ductless heat pumps for our heating and cooling since 2012 when we bought our house. The gas furnace that came with our house was old, and we made the decision to replace it with new ductless heat pumps. (A major perk is that mounting the units on the wall saved valuable floor space in the garage, formerly dedicated to the gas furnace, which we converted into an apartment). We had seen them used in Europe and figured, even 9 years ago when the electrification movement was in its infancy, that heating with efficient electricity would allow us to reduce our carbon emissions with the solar panels we planned to install on our roof.
Photo from Joe Wachunas
What is Ductless?
But what is a Ductless Heat Pump (a.k.a. mini-split)? Basically, it is a heating/cooling system that is different from a traditional furnace in several ways:
1. DHPs don’t have air ducts. Rather than forcing hot air through potentially leaky ducts, ductless systems place an indoor device on a wall and an outdoor unit (similar to a typical AC unit) which provides heating and cooling. This means no air escapes through leaky ducts, creating more efficient conditioning.
Indoor unit. Photo Courtesy of The Heat Pump Store.
2. DHPs don’t burn things. Ductless heat pumps use electricity to provide heating and cooling. Electricity is rapidly moving towards being fully renewable and thus will soon produce zero emissions (the Biden administration set a goal of 2035 for example).
3. DHPs are like refrigerators in reverse. Instead of burning fuel, ductless heat pumps create heating and cooling through refrigeration. This means they capture heat from outside (even when it’s cold) and move it into your house, and vice versa for cooling. It’s pretty magical. The refrigerants used by DHPs can be potent greenhouse gases themselves, but luckily the world is moving quickly to using better, more environmentally friendly refrigerants (check out this website for a new type of refrigerant called R32).
Refrigerant lines from ductless heat pumps. Photo courtesy of The Heat Pump Store.
4. DHPs are incredibly efficient. This is because a) no air leaks through ducts b) they heat the room they are in (rather than the whole house), c) moving heat is vastly more efficient than creating it, and d) they use inverter systems (see below). As a result, they typically use three times less energy than old electric resistance heaters and six times less than gas.
Demystifying a couple DHP terms
Speaking of efficiency, let’s demystify a couple of terms associated with ductless heat pumps.
SEER — SEER is a number that measures how well a technology provides cooling. The higher the number, the more efficient the unit. Most new air conditioners have a SEER between 13 and 21, but ductless can often see a SEER over 30, which gives you an idea of how efficient they are. If you’re in a warm climate, SEER is especially important.
HSPF — HSPF stands for Heating Season Performance Factor and complements the SEER rating in that it measures how efficiently a heat pump heats a space. The minimum required HSPF rating in the US is 7.7. An 8.5 score is considered good, and over 10 is excellent. If you’re in a cooler climate, where the predominant energy use is for heating, HSPF is most important.
Example of SEER and HSPF ratings
I interviewed Tim Sharp, from the Heat Pump Store here in Oregon, which has installed thousands of ductless heat pumps over the last decade. He said that you’ll want your DHP to be most efficient in heating if you’re in a cold climate, and cooling if you’re in a warm climate. People in the northern US should probably focus on HSPF, while in the southern US, people should focus on SEER. Tim also said that investing in a DHP with higher scores will be more expensive up front, but the additional cost usually pays for itself over time through energy savings.
Ductless Heat Pumps in Cold weather
I also learned from Tim that DHPs were originally developed to provide only cooling (like a refrigerator), yet they have “constantly gotten better for heating purposes in almost every environment.” If you’re in a cold climate, you probably want to think about the “extended capacity” models, which are able to provide more heating. According to Tim, they don’t cost significantly more and offer more BTUs per hour output. Read more on how to use heat pumps in cold climates here.
Ductless vs. Ducted
If you have existing ductwork in a space, you may consider a different approach when transitioning to heat pumps. Not all heat pumps are ductless. You can get central heat pumps that work with a typical central AC system, and provide heating that blows that hot air through ducts. These central heat pumps are not much more expensive than central air conditioning, and many people think that swapping out every central AC system for a ducted heat pump is an important strategy to quickly get us off natural gas and reduce carbon emissions.
Ductless, on the other hand, is a no-brainer when you’re adding heating or cooling to a room without any ductwork. And DHPs also offer greater efficiency as well as economic and environmental advantages over a central ducted heating system. In addition to the efficiencies mentioned above, ductless heat pumps use inverter technology, which means they run at variable speeds. Tim from the Heat Pump Store compares this to starting your car at a red light. Inverters slowly rev the engine when starting and stopping, while typical central AC systems gun it and brake hard, meaning they are much less efficient. All DHPs use inverter technology, while virtually all conventional (ducted) heat pumps don’t, meaning DHPs are much more efficient.
My family chose ductless heat pumps in our house, rather than a whole house heat pump, even though we had existing ductwork from our old gas furnace because of the increased efficiency.
Photo courtesy of The Heat Pump Store
Humidity and air quality
Though ductless heat pumps help to dehumidify a room, it is not their primary purpose. In places with humidity problems, a separate dehumidifier may still be necessary. Similarly, DHPs have built in air filters, but can’t generally filter air to the extent that ducted systems do with high rated MERV filters. Tim from The Heat Pump Store said that air filtering is considered a separate system, from heating/cooling, in places where heat pumps are most prevalent, and people typically buy another device for air filtration.
Brands
There are four leading brands of ductless heat pumps: Mitsubishi, Fujitsu, LG, and Daikin. Most of the top brands are Japanese, given they first developed the technology. This NY Times article has some solid reviews on each of these four brands.
Choosing a contractor
Finding a good installer is important. Many contractors may try to talk you out of electric heating and cooling (and into gas). Plus, you’ll want someone to help you correctly size a system for your needs. That means someone with lots of experience in ductless heat pump systems as well as a good reputation and reviews. Getting three bids is always a solid strategy. One pro tip is to look on a manufacturer’s page for contractors in your area that are certified to install their product.
Photo Courtesy of The Heat Pump Store
Cost and Aesthetics
As Tim told me in our interview, ductless heat pumps aren’t a panacea. Any technology has its downsides. As my wife points out, the indoor equipment that sits high on your wall takes up space and isn’t the most beautiful thing in the world. Ductless Heat Pumps can also be expensive. A system with a single indoor unit can run $3,000–$5,000, but if you’re putting multiple “heads” throughout your house, costs can quickly go over $10,000.
Yet, for me, after 9 years of heating and cooling our house with ductless heat pumps, and with the climate emergency we find ourselves in, any drawbacks to ductless heat pumps are vastly outweighed by their immense benefits. Heat pumps are the heating and cooling technology for this era of climate change, and ductless heat pumps are the most efficient versions of this technology. They allow us to get off fossil fuels and efficiently heat and cool, in any climate, with clean electricity.
Learn more and do a deep dive into Ductless Heat Pumps with Tim from the Heat Pump Store in a recent webinar I hosted with Electrify Now, and let us know about your thoughts and experiences with ductless heat pumps in the comments below!
Photo courtesy of The Heat Pump Store
Candela, the Swedish electric boat maker known for its hydrofoil recreational boats and commercial ferries, is grabbing headlines yet again. This time the company is announcing a new C-series funding round and the first P-12 electric ferry headed to the US.
The P-12 is the company’s first operational hydrofoil electric ferry, and it builds upon the success of the C-7 and C-8 recreational speedboats.
All three employ Candela’s sophisticated computer-controlled hydrofoil technology that allows the boats to quite literally fly several feet above the water. Traveling at 25 knots (30 mph), the P-12 is the fastest electric ferry in operation, all while using a fraction of the same energy.
The hydrofoil flight results in a much smoother ride and dramatically improved efficiency. The fast-charging electric boats can thus carry much smaller batteries, making them lighter and more cost-effective. They can then quickly recharge at the dock in a matter of minutes.
We recently saw the first P-12 enter service as a commercial ferry in Stockholm, and now Lake Tahoe is getting into the fly electric ferry business as well.
The P12 hydrofoiling ferry will reduce travel times for Tahoe locals and visitors, providing a much-needed north-south connection across the lake, while also helping to cut emissions and mitigate road sediment that threatens the lake’s famous cobalt-blue clarity.
Lake Tahoe boasts over 15 million outdoor enthusiasts year-round, which has often led to severe road, especially during the winter months. The implementation of a fast and efficient new electric ferry will help avoid long car lines from snow-induced road closures, as well as grid-lock traffic during the summer months of popular biking and hiking destinations.
A local company, FlyTahoe, will offer a new 30-minute cross-lake ferry service, cutting the travel time in half compared to the daily 20,000 car trips along the same route.
In the winter, that same trip can often take over two hours due to heavy snowfall and road limitations. FlyTahoe will create a vital link to the 14 world-class ski resorts encircling the lake, making it an ideal option for both tourists and locals.
“It’s ironic that while millions, myself included, drive around Lake Tahoe to admire its beauty, the road sediment we generate contributes to the largest threat to the lake’s famous cobalt blue clarity. Our service will provide a faster transport than cars or buses, while keeping Tahoe blue,” says Ryan Meinzer, Founder & CEO of FlyTahoe.
Simultaneously, Candela is also celebrating another major milestone back home in Sweden, announcing an additional US $14M raised in its Series C round. That puts Candela’s total secured funding in 2024 at over $40 million. The investment will enable Candela to meet the soaring demand for its groundbreaking zero-emission vessels as it ramps up production of its various models now in service around the world.
“This is the dawn of a zero-emission revival in waterborne transportation,” says Gustav Hasselskog, Candela’s founder and CEO.
The new $14 million investment is led by SEB Private Equity, a global Private Equity investor, with additional participation of existing investors EQT Ventures and KanDela AB.
“This investment, made during a challenging time for many companies, is a testament to Candela’s technology and its unique ability to solve the pressing issue of decarbonizing transport,” added Hasselskog.
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Tesla says that Nissan EV drivers, or more specifically Ariya drivers, now have access to its Supercharger network in the US and Canada.
Since earlier this year and since opening its connector as a standard last year, Tesla has been increasingly onboarding more automakers on its Supercharger network in North America.
First, it was Ford, and then GM and Rivian, and more recently, Geely’s Volvo and Polestar.
Now, according to an update on Tesla’s website, Nissan is now a supported EV automaker to use Tesla’s Supercharger network with NACS adapters in North America”
As of the time of writing, Nissan has yet to make an announcement or confirm whether or not it will provide adapters to Ariya owners.
We specify Ariya owners because the electric SUV is the only Nissan vehicle that with CCS connectors and that can work with NACS adapters to see on the Supercharger network.
Unfortunately, the Nissan Leaf uses the CHAdeMO standard, which isn’t supported by the Supercharger network.
The move will give Nissan Ariya drivers access to more than 15,000 Tesla Superchargers and greatly increase access to fast-charging for the owners.
Now, it remains to be seen if the drivers will need to buy their own adapters or if Nissan plans to provide them. Automakers have all approached the situation differently and access to adapters directly from automakers has been somewhat limited.
Some EV owners have relied on third-party adapters, which are not always recommended.
After the access through adapters, the next step is direct integration on non-Tesla EVs. It’s starting soon with the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5, but many new EVs are expected to have the NACS as a standard charging port starting next year.
2025 is going to be a transition year for EV connectors in North America and starting in 2026, most, if not all new EVs, are expected to have NACS as standard.
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Kia has debuted its updated EV6 with several updates including a bigger battery, a NACS charging port, and a fake gear shifter for the GT model. Better yet, the model will now be produced in Kia’s plant in Georgia, offering easier access to US tax credits.
This morning at the LA Auto Show, Kia is introducing some big updates to its popular EV6 model.
The EV6 was the first of Kia’s cars released on the E-GMP platform, which it shares with Hyundai. E-GMP cars have been quite popular, with both Kia’s EV6 and Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 selling very well in the US.
In particular, Kia’s EV6 has exceptional fast charging speed, enabling the car to charge from 10-80% of charge in just 18 minutes.
But despite it already being one of the better EVs out there over the last 3 years of its sales in the US, Kia improved it this morning with some mid-cycle updates.
The updated model has some front and rear design changes (making the car 0.6 inches longer), new wheel designs and “enhanced premium interior touches” – like additional sound dampening material – to go along with new features across all trim levels.
Perhaps the biggest headline feature is a larger battery, with 63kWh on the base model and 84kWh on the larger battery – both around 7kWh more than the 2024 model. The 84kWh battery now has an improved 2,700lb towing capacity.
Trim levels have been split into the base 63kWh Light RWD model, three separate 84kWh trim levels each with a choice of RWD or AWD (Light LR, Wind, and GT-Line), and an AWD-only GT trim.
The GT trim gets a 25hp bump to 601hp, though other models stay the same with 167hp for the single-motor smaller-battery models, 225hp for RWD large-battery models, and 320hp for AWD large-battery models.
The EV6 GT model will also get one of the headline features we’ve seen in the popular Ioniq 5 N – a new “Virtual Gear Shift” feature which “enhances driving immersion by simulating gear shifts with visuals, engine sound effects, and a tactile sensation through motor torque adjustment.”
This basically simulates the feeling of driving a manual gas car, rather than an EV – so in exchange for making your car objectively slower, you can get some silly noises and have a more complicated driving experience.
I expected to hate it, and while I still do think it’s silly and unnecessary and most people will leave it off most of the time, I was impressed by how far Hyundai took it (to the point where you can’t even go past 20mph in “first gear” – the car will just whine at you and make you upshift first). We haven’t gotten to try it out in the EV6 yet, but I’m expecting it will be a similar experience. If nothing else, it is a fun party trick.
Going back to the charging point, charging will now be even easier as the 2025 Kia EV6 will have a native NACS port. This is one of the first non-Tesla vehicles to have a native NACS port, alongside Hyundai’s offerings. Most other vehicles plug in through adapters so far, though in the next year or two we expect to see more native ports show up.
A NACS port means the EV6 will have access to Tesla Superchargers without an adapter (though now you’ll need a CCS adapter to use CCS stations… but those are readily available). The charge port has also been relocated to the left rear (on non-GT models), the same place it appears on Tesla vehicles, which should make it easier to fit into Supercharger stalls, especially non-V4 stalls with short cables.
Finally, the EV6 is embracing North America in another way, by moving production of the vehicle to Georgia (except the GT trim level). This is a result of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which incentivized companies to move EV manufacturing to the US.
These laws have led to $210 billion in investment and 240,000 EV manufacturing jobs (and counting) in the US. And producing the EV6 in the US means Americans will have an easier time getting access to the US EV tax credit, saving themselves money on one of the best EVs out there (that said, you could still access it through leasing, but now buyers will have more options).
But there’s a bit of a damper on this move, as just last week, Dumb & Dumber (nevermind, they’re both Dumber) announced that they’re going to try to kill the EV tax credit, making cars more expensive for Americans and disincentivizing these positive moves for US manufacturing. So those jobs building some of the hottest cars on the road today might be back in jeopardy because of an ignorant reality TV host’s inescapable compulsion to cause inflation and kill jobs for Americans. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
To get more specifics on the EV6 and see what’s changed, Electrek will be roaming around the LA Auto Show today, checking out the newest of what Kia has to offer, and we’ll update you if we find out anything new.
If you’d like, you can use our affiliate link to get in touch with your local dealers about the Kia EV6, and try to be one of the first in line to get the newest iteration of one of the better EVs on the road.
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