Settle a fight at my shop... we're doing a lot of Capes in Gloucester and Camden County this summer, upstairs is 85 by 3pm and there's no ductwork up there. Half our guys sell a head in every bedroom. The other half want a small ducted air handler in the kneewall or the attic with short runs to each room.
So this one time in AC I put three heads in a Cape and the customer called the next summer saying the kid's room was freezing and clammy and the other two were fine lol. Oversized head in a tiny room.
What do you guys do and how do you decide? Not looking for a brand war.
And the question every customer asks, can you hide the linesets without it looking like spaghetti lol... lineset covers, run them on the back of the house, and talk about it before the install, not after. Some people hate the look of a head no matter what. Those are your ducted customers.
HVAC contractor, owner · 25 years · Middlesex County, NJ
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How I decide:
- Small bedrooms: the smallest wall head is often too big for them, so it short-cycles and doesn't pull moisture out. That favors ducted
- Kneewall space: if there's room for an air handler with short, sealed runs and a real return, ducted is quieter and cleaner looking
- If the kneewall is cramped, or the customer wants room-by-room control, heads
- Either way, the insulation in those kneewalls is usually terrible, so price the air sealing in
Margins are better on the ducted job if you price the labor honestly.
Electrical Contractor · 22 years · Monmouth County, NJ
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Honestly on the raised houses at the shore after Sandy we did a lot of heads, because there was nowhere to put anything. Not Capes, but the same problem: no space, no ducts.
Vo-tech instructor, plumbing & HVAC · 28 years · Passaic County, NJ
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Good thread, I'm stealing it for class. What students should take away is that you decide from the house: the room sizes, the space, the insulation, the customer. Not from whatever your shop usually sells.
Mechanical contractor (HVAC + plumbing) · 24 years · Burlington County, NJ
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Here's how it plays out for us: the ducted kneewall unit is the better system when there's room, but it takes a tech who can actually design duct. Heads are more forgiving for a crew that's still learning. I sell the system my people can install well.
HVAC contractor, owner · 25 years · Middlesex County, NJ
Mentor
For the electricians wondering whether one ducted unit means less circuit work: it depends on the setup. A multi-zone outdoor unit usually powers its heads through the interconnect, so that's one circuit to the outdoor unit. Three separate single-zone systems are three circuits. Follow the install manual either way.
we did a cape in clifton with one ducted unit in the attic over the dormer and it was so quiet the customer thought it was off. getting up there in july was brutal though