A Heat Pump for Your Whole Home: The Ducted Mitsubishi Option
Quick answer: if you want one system that holds a consistent temperature in every room, a Mitsubishi ducted heat pump does it. A multi-position air handler (SVZ or PVA) replaces the oil or propane furnace, connects to your existing ductwork, and is driven by a Hyper-Heating outdoor unit that delivers full capacity at 5°F and keeps operating to -13°F, or -22°F on H2i Plus models. It runs nearly silent, can be zoned so the bedrooms and living area are controlled separately, and it adds central air conditioning to a North Country home that never had it.
Ducted vs. ductless: which is right for your house
A ductless wall unit heats and cools the room it is in. A ducted heat pump pushes conditioned air through supply ducts to every room and pulls it back through a return, exactly like the furnace it replaces. The choice usually comes down to one question: do you already have ductwork in decent shape?
- Yes, from an oil or propane furnace or central AC: a ducted air handler is the cleanest conversion. Nothing on the walls, one piece of indoor equipment, every register in the house served.
- No ducts (boiler, baseboard, woodstove): a ductless mini-split system avoids the cost of building a duct system in an old house.
- Some ducts, some rooms left out: a hybrid: a ducted air handler for the main floor and a ductless unit for the addition or finished attic the ducts never reached.
Compare the indoor options on our ducted air handlers and indoor units pages.
Nearly silent operation
The thing people notice first after replacing a furnace is the quiet. A furnace blower cycles on with a whoosh several times an hour. A Mitsubishi air handler runs a variable-speed fan continuously at low speed, so the air moves gently and the registers barely whisper. On low fan the indoor unit is quieter than a rural night outdoors, and because the compressor is in the outdoor unit, there is no mechanical noise in the basement or closet at all.
Inverter technology: faster to temperature, cheaper to run
The outdoor unit's inverter compressor adjusts speed continuously to match the heat loss of the house at that moment. On a 30°F afternoon it idles; at -10°F at 3 a.m. it runs hard. That is why a Hyper-Heat air handler reaches setpoint quickly after a setback and then holds it without the on-off swings of a furnace. It is also why the electricity used is only what the house needs. Across an Adirondack winter the system delivers roughly three units of heat per unit of electricity, with no fuel delivered. See how Hyper-Heating works and run your own numbers in the savings calculator.
Don't want to heat the whole house? Zone it
If you spend the day in the kitchen and living room and the evening in the bedrooms, you do not need the whole house at 70°F all day. A ducted system can be zoned with motorized dampers so the main floor and the bedroom wing each have their own thermostat. A zone, in HVAC terms, is simply a room or group of rooms on its own control. Many whole-home designs also pair the air handler with one or two ductless units for rooms with very different needs, such as a sunroom or a bonus room over the garage. Control is from an MHK2 wall thermostat or the Mitsubishi Comfort app on your phone, at home or from the road.
A selling point, not just a utility
A ducted heat pump is a premium fixture that buyers and real estate agents notice: whole-house heating and cooling with no oil tank, no chimney and a 12-year parts warranty that transfers with the Adirondack Shield plan. In a market where more North Country buyers ask about heating costs than ever, a documented conversion with NYS Clean Heat rebates on file is a real advantage when you sell.
How a ducted installation goes
Load calculation and duct check
We measure the heat loss room by room and inspect the ducts for leaks, sizing and insulation. Leaky attic ducts get sealed; undersized returns get fixed. See ductwork services.
Equipment selection
SVZ or PVA air handler sized to the ducts and the load, matched to a Hyper-Heat outdoor unit sized for the local design temperature.
Install
Usually one to two days: remove the furnace, set the air handler, connect supply and return, run the line set to the outdoor unit on its stand, pull a vacuum, charge and commission.
Rebates and warranty
We file NYS Clean Heat (NYSEG / National Grid) or Efficiency Vermont paperwork and register the 12-year Diamond Contractor ELITE warranty.
Use a qualified installer. A ducted heat pump is only as good as the duct system and the charge behind it. Adirondack Heat Pumps is a Mitsubishi Diamond Contractor ELITE in Ticonderoga; see how our installation works and our whole-home conversion page.
Frequently asked questions
Can a heat pump use my existing ductwork?
Yes. A Mitsubishi multi-position air handler connects to the supply and return ducts your furnace used. We inspect and seal the ducts first, because leaky attic ducts waste heat no matter what equipment is attached.
Is a ducted heat pump quieter than a furnace?
Much quieter. The variable-speed fan runs continuously at low speed instead of cycling on and off, and the compressor is outdoors, so there is little mechanical noise inside.
Can one ducted heat pump heat a whole Adirondack house at -10°F?
When sized to the home's heat loss, yes. Mitsubishi Hyper-Heating delivers full capacity at 5°F and operates to -13°F, or -22°F on H2i Plus. For High Peaks homes we discuss backup for the rare colder nights.
Can I zone a ducted heat pump?
Yes. Motorized dampers can split the house into zones with separate thermostats, and ductless units can be added for rooms with different needs.
Talk to us
Have questions about your home? Call Adirondack Heat Pumps at (518) 812-1958, stop by the showroom at 15 Montcalm Street in Ticonderoga, or request a free in-home estimate. We serve Essex County, the Lake George and Lake Champlain shores, the High Peaks and Addison County, Vermont.