Ducted
Ducts in good shape and a furnace that works
Common in 1980s to 2000s Halifax and Bedford houses with propane or electric forced air. Nothing goes on your walls.
Heat pumps
Three ways to heat a house with outdoor air
Ducted, single-head ductless and multi-head ductless systems all move heat the same way. What differs is how that heat gets to your rooms, and which houses each one suits.
How a heat pump moves heat
It doesn't burn anything. It moves heat that is already in the outdoor air, even cold air, into the house. In summer the same system runs the other way and cools.
1. Outdoor airAir at -15 °C still holds heat. A fan pulls it across the outdoor coil.
2. Outdoor unitRefrigerant soaks up that heat and the compressor squeezes it hotter.
3. Two copper linesA small hole through the wall carries the refrigerant in and back out.
4. Warm airThe indoor head, or your furnace's blower, releases the heat into the rooms.
Ducted, ductless and multi-head side by side
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see all three systems.
| Question | Ducted, with your furnace | Ductless, one head | Ductless, multi-head |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Houses with sound ductwork and a working furnace | Open main floors, bungalows, one cold room | Houses without ducts, or with closed-off rooms |
| How heat reaches rooms | Through your existing vents | One wall head blowing into the space | A head in each room or zone, two to five in all |
| Backup heat | Your furnace, switched automatically | Your existing baseboards or stove | Your existing baseboards or stove |
| Indoor equipment | A coil on the furnace, nothing on the walls | One head, about a metre wide | One head per zone |
| Install time | One to two days | One day | Two to three days |
| Typical installed price | $9,000 to $15,000 | $4,800 to $7,500 | $9,500 to $18,000 |
Cold-climate performance
What happens when it gets properly cold
Every heat pump gives less heat as the air outside gets colder. Cold-climate models are built to lose less of it and to keep running far below freezing. That is why they are the only ones we install.
-25 °CStill running. Backup heat helps on the rare night this cold.
-15 °CAround Halifax's coldest design day. Sizing is checked here.
0 °CMost of the winter. Steady, efficient running.
+10 °CSpring and fall. Your cheapest heat of the year.
Which homes suit which system
A starting point, not a rule. The assessment settles it, and sometimes the honest answer is a mix: a ducted system downstairs and one ductless head over the garage.
Multi-head
Older homes with baseboards or hot water
No ducts to work with, and rooms divided by walls and stairs. A head in each zone heats them evenly.
One head
Bungalows and open main floors
One well-placed head can carry a small, open house, with the existing heat kept for the bedrooms on cold nights.
Not sure which one your house needs?
That is what the assessment is for. We measure first and recommend second.