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
![Maximizing fleet efficiency and ROI with telematics integration [update]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/Daimler-North-America-semi-electric-trucks.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Even without clean fleet tax credits and cash-on-the-hood incentives, fleet managers are working hard to maximize their ROI on vehicle assets and reduce their total cost of ownership – and they’re increasingly turning to data‑driven telematics solutions to help.
Telematics use data gathered from sensors embedded in a vehicle to monitor its operations. When collected and interpreted correctly, that data can be used to improve fleet safety, boost operational efficiency, and enable predictive maintenance that reduces (if not eliminates) unexpected downtime. Those are real benefits, with some analysts showing up to 30% savings in repair costs even before you factor in the fuel savings from EVs that, according to MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp, will cover the added cost of a BEV in less than three years.
As you can imagine, that’s a big business – and the global market for vehicle telematic platforms is projected to reach an impressive $127 billion in the next decade, and the rush is on to get OEMs like Ford (through Ford Pro) and Volvo (who has a deal with Geotab) to integrate digital solutions into their vehicles.
We originally covered these topics back in February, ahead of the ACT Expo. You can read that original article, below, and let us know what you think of the OEMs’ telematics’
Last month, Geotab signed a deal with Volvo Group to integrate the manufacturer’s vehicle data API into Geotab’s telematics platform. It’s the latest in a recent onslaught of such deals between telematics providers and OEMs that begs the question: what’s in it for the OEMs?
Almost all modern cars and trucks are “connected” in some way. Ford, for example, began fitting the FordPass Connect modem on all its vehicles in the 2020 model year, and the vehicle (and driver) data gathered powers the Ford Pro fleet management platform and enables offerings like the company’s E-Switch Assist, which enables Ford fleet managers to identify which of its ICE-powered F-150 and Transit assets are ready to make the switch to EV.
“Smart tools informed by data like E-Switch Assist are opening up many new conversations with our commercial customers large and small about EV readiness; we’re already using E-Switch Assist regularly in consultations to help organizations determine if electric trucks and vans are right for them,” says Nate McDonald, EV strategy and cross vehicle brand manager at Ford Pro. “The importance of these tools and technologies goes beyond selling a customer a new vehicle—it changes mindsets about whether electric vehicles will work for their business while potentially saving them time and money.”
So, it makes sense for manufacturers to build that connectivity into their vehicles and makes even more sense to use that data connection to populate a fleet management dashboard that makes it painless for fleet managers to monitor their assets within a trusted ecosystem. Think Android vs. iPhone, and the pain that would go into switching from one to the other after a decade or so of constant interaction – because that’s how the OEMs are looking at it.
Why, then, would an OEM open up that data stream to a third party like Geotab?
The answer, presumably, is that that data sharing is a two-way street: the manufacturer’s are opening up their APIs to Geotab, and Geotab is sharing at least some of the data from other manufacturers with their industry partners.
And Geotab has a lot of partners:
- In 2019, Geotab began working with Ford to integrate Ford’s telematics data into its fleet management platform
- In 2020, Geotab began integrating with GM and its OnStar telematics in North American markets
- In 2022, Geotab began partnering with Stellantis’ Free2move car sharing brand, providing full telematics integration into the MyGeotab platform in North America
- In April of 2024, Geotab partnered with Mobilisights to integrate data from Stellantis’ European brands, including Opel, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Citroën, and Peugeot
- In September of 2024, Geotab announced a new partnership with VW Group Info Services aimed at improving the company’s data integration across its brands
- A deal with Rivian, VW’s partner in a $5 billion joint software venture, followed soon after
All of those players are convinced that the data coming from their vehicles can produce enough value to seriously impact fleet ROI.
Fleet managers seem convinced, too. In a recent McKinsey survey, nearly 57% of EV buyers said they were willing to switch brands in order to get better connectivity features. And, if you’ve ever worked in “a Ford shop” or “a Chevy shop” you already know what a huge that deal that number might be to an OEM.
McKinsey connectivity survey
In that point of view, working with a trusted, universal platform like Geotab who doesn’t have a dog in the vehicle sales fight makes sense. If the Ford Transit the fleet buyer is looking at plays well with their fleet auditing software and systems and the Nissan NV doesn’t – well, it doesn’t really matter if Nissan’s fleetail guy is giving you a better deal at that point. It’s just too painful to operate a second dashboard for one subset of assets.
The man-hours saved with a universal and brand agnostic fleet management platform may not be the easiest to trace all the way to the bottom line, but they’re there.
Additionally, the Geotab dashboard can be configured to collect and even analyze data that’s specifically relevant to EVs. Information like charging history, and regenerative braking efficiency, and overall battery health – data that, over thousands of vehicles, can give fleet managers real insight into how long the new electric vehicles they’re considering will last compared to the gas and diesel vehicles they have experience with.
Geotab research shows that EV batteries could last 20 years or more if they degrade at an average rate of 1.8% per year, as we have observed.
According to our data, the simple answer is that the vast majority of batteries will outlast the usable life of the vehicle and will never need to be replaced. If an average EV battery degrades at 1.8% per year, it will still have over 80% state of health after 12 years, generally beyond the usual life of a fleet vehicle.
Telematics integrations can also help optimize a fleet’s charging schedules, both by scheduling EV charging for lower priced, off-peak hours and by identifying the most dependable high-speed charging stations along regular routes to minimize down time for both vehicles and drivers.
Finally, these data-driven platforms can provide fleet managers tools for tracking and reporting things like carbon emissions and overall energy consumption, which can streamline ESG reporting processes and make it easier for the worker bees to get regulators, administrators, and managers the sort of charts, tables, and graphs they love.
Something like that, anyway.
You can check out my Quick Charge with Nate McDonald, EV strategy and cross vehicle brand manager at Ford Pro, who explores how Ford’s in-house telematics can help fleet managers decarbonize, and head over to Geotab to find out more about their brand agnostic fleet management dashboard, below. Enjoy!
EV or gas – which is right for you?
SOURCES: Fleet Europe, Ford Pro, Geotab, McKinsey; add’l links in article.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Geely-backed performance EV brand Polestar has had some troubling times in recent months, but its future is looking a whole lot better after the company secured a $600 million loan facility to help it keep on keepin’ on.
Despite vehicle sales picking up in 2025 on the strengths of the Polestar EV brand’s Swedish sensibilities, cutting-edge Chinese EV tech, and Volvo-aided safety specs, the company’s financial picture has been anything but rosy, with the threat of having its stock delisted from the NASDAQ looming large at several points.
In a vote of broader confidence and better times ahead, Volvo’s parent company Geely Sweden Holdings AB is backing the brand with more than half a billion dollars of fresh funding to extend its operational runway:
Polestar, as borrower, entered into a credit agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary, as lender, of Geely Sweden Holdings AB in relation to a subordinated term loan facility of up to USD 600 million, of which the last USD 300 million would require lender consent based on Polestar’s future liquidity needs. The term loan facility is available to Polestar for general corporate purposes.
The new funds are just the most recent part of a big week for Polestar – one that saw the Polestar 4 recently begin deliveries to its first North American customers, and recent upgrades to the Polestar 3 have made that car a viable V2G/V2x offering in Europe, as well. With that in mind, it’s no wonder that Geely wants to see how this all plays out.
The company has four models in its current line-up on sale in 28 countries, along with additional planned models that include the Polestar 7 SUV (set to be introduced in 2028) and the Polestar 6 coupe/roadster.
Electrek’s Take
Product-wise, at least, it’s hard to argue that Polestar’s future appears to be anything but bright. The new Polestar 3 crossover is a viable competitor to the industry-leading Tesla Model Y, and the upcoming Polestar 4 and 5 models seem like winners, too. To drive that point home, Polestar is promoting up to $18,000 in incentives to lure in Tesla buyers.
You can find out more about Polestar’s killer EV deals on the full range of Polestar models, from the 2 to the 4, below, then let us know what you think of the three-pointed star’s latest discount dash in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
SOURCE: Polestar.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Whether it’s to keep the lights on after a natural disaster or just to avoid peak energy rates, more people than ever are adding battery energy storage to their home solar systems — but li-ion batteries aren’t the only option. The new WATT Fuel Cell uses the natural gas connection your home already has to generate power when you need it.
Technically a solid oxide fuel cell, the WATT unit turns the natural gas in your home into electricity without combustion, relying instead on a chemical reaction between the natural gas and oxygen in the air to create an electric current in a way that’s conceptually similar to a hydrogen fuel cell, but that makes use of a more readily available (and far cheaper) fuel source to generate power while producing far fewer harmful emissions than a conventional generator.
How it works
The company’s latest offering, the WATT HOME system, recently achieved certification at a 2 kW power rating, marking an important step on the company’s commercialization roadmap as it races to meet market demands for a natural-gas-powered backup solution to guarantee uptime in outage-prone regions.
This week, the company marked another major milestone by installing the of its first 2 kW WATT HOME solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) at the Edward M. Smith National Career and Life Skills Development Center, Hope Gas’ new state-of-the-art training facility in Clarksburg, West Virginia – but the news doesn’t end there.
The company plans to take advantage of the new 30% ITC benefit (a federal tax credit that lets homeowners deduct 30% of the cost of qualifying clean energy systems, which now includes natural gas) under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to help drive sales, with installations beginning in Hope Gas’ utility territory in Q1 of 2026.
“The WATT HOME system’s new 2 kW certification … validates the performance capabilities we’ve engineered for years and strengthens our competitive position as we move into multi-year deployment with Hope Gas,” says Caine Finnerty, WATT’s CEO and Founder. “With the ITC benefit, we anticipate accelerated adoption and substantial value for customers, utilities, and investors.”
The gas fuel cell can send power directly to the home’s panel, keeping the lights on directly, or perform the same function as a solar panel, sending power to a battery where it can be stored for later use.
Keep in mind, though – this isn’t a zero emissions option the way a solar + battery solution is. This is very much a fossil fuel-powered solution that gives off carbon and nitrous emissions, and the only reasons we’re talking about it are:
- the tech is kind of cool
- I didn’t know these existed
- it is objectively cleaner than a conventional ICE generator
That said, while solar is still the better solution in an ideal world, a WATT HOME fuel cell might be a better option in situations where rooftop space is limited (or nonexistent), such as condos or vertically-designed townhomes. In those scenarios, solar panels are unlikely to generate a meaningful amount of electricity, but a fuel cell that can tap into the buildings’ existing natural gas lines to provide reliable backup power if the grid fails.
That makes the fuel cell an attractive option for residents in multi-unit buildings, older historic neighborhoods with strict aesthetic rules, or any building where adding solar panels aren’t feasible, but a low-emission, low-noise backup solution is still needed.
The better question, then, isn’t is it better than solar – it’s is it better than solar for you? If you’re in West Virginia, you might be able to find out in just a few weeks. In the meantime, watch WATT’s own explainer video, below, then let us know what you think of the idea of a natural gas fuel cell in the comments.
Powering your home with a fuel cell
SOURCE | IMAGES: WATT, via PRNewswire.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
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