The short answer
Have vents? Go ducted. No vents? Go ductless.
Ducted means one indoor unit pushing air to every room through the metal passages already inside your walls. Ductless means a slim unit on the wall of each room you want comfortable, fed by a small pipe from one outdoor box. Neither is better. They fit different houses.
Side by side
Both sides, plainly, including what each one is bad at.
Ducted
One system, air delivered to every room through existing vents.
- Nothing visible in your rooms except the vents you already have
- One thermostat runs the whole house
- Filters the air for the entire home in one place
- Usually the cheaper route when good ducts are already there
- Only an option if the house actually has ducts
- Every room gets roughly the same treatment, wanted or not
- If the ducts are in poor shape, comfort suffers and that is a separate job
Ductless
A slim wall unit in each room, fed by one outdoor box.
- Works in any house, including one with no ducts at all
- Each room sets its own temperature
- You only pay to condition the rooms you choose
- Very quiet indoors and very efficient
- You can see the units on the wall
- Every room you add costs more
- A large house with many rooms adds up quickly
Which one is you?
Go ducted if…
You have vents in the floors, walls or ceilings and a furnace in the garage, basement or crawlspace. That is a huge share of Puget Sound homes built from the 1960s on, and it means the expensive part is already paid for.
Go ductless if…
Your home has baseboard heaters, wall heaters or radiators and no vents at all. Also the right answer for a converted garage, a bonus room over the garage, an addition, or one upstairs bedroom that is always too hot.
Not sure what you have?
Send us a photo of a vent or a heater and we can usually tell you in a minute. Or book a visit and we will walk the house with you.
Get My Upfront Quote60 seconds online · or call (206) 486-6373
What each one costs
Typical industry ranges for Western Washington — not a quote. Your exact price comes upfront, before any work starts, and you approve it first.
Why homeowners hand it to us
- You approve the price first. Upfront quote before a single screw turns.
- Same-day service. Book in a minute, hear from a tech within 1 business hour.
- 500+ jobs done by 4.9★ rated, professional technicians.
- Fixed right, guaranteed. If it’s not right, we make it right.
Quick answers
How do I know if I have ducts?
Look at the floors, the walls near the floor, and the ceilings. Metal grilles with slats means ducts. Long low heaters along the wall, or a heater set into the wall with a grille and a dial, means no ducts.
Can I mix the two?
Yes, and it is often the smart answer. Keep the ducted system for the main house and add one ductless unit for the room the ducts never reach properly — a bonus room over the garage is the classic example.
Are the wall units ugly?
They are a slim white rectangle high on the wall, about the size of a long shelf. Most people stop noticing them within a week. There are also versions that sit low like a radiator, or go into the ceiling, if the wall unit bothers you.
My ducts are old. Does that rule out ducted?
Not automatically. We will look at what you have and tell you honestly what condition it is in. We do not do duct replacement ourselves, so if that is what your home needs, we will say so rather than sell around it.
Does ductless heat as well as cool?
Yes. Every ductless system we install is a heat pump, so the same equipment warms the room in winter and cools it in summer.
Find out which one your house wants.
Book a visit. We will look at what you have and price the system that actually fits, upfront.
Get My Upfront Quote60 seconds online · or call (206) 486-6373
More comparisons: Mini split vs central AC · Heat pump vs baseboard heat · Central air vs window units · all comparisons