Ductless mini-splits in San Mateo County

Hot room, no ducts? Ductless fixes that.

A ductless mini-split heats and cools a room, or several, with no ductwork: an outdoor unit feeds one or more wall or ceiling units inside. We install single-zone and multi-zone systems for homes without ducts and for rooms the ducts never served well.

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What is a ductless mini-split, and is it right for my house?

A ductless mini-split is a heat pump with the air handler moved into the room. A small outdoor unit connects to indoor units by refrigerant lines and a thin cable, so nothing needs to run through walls, attic or crawlspace the way ductwork does. It heats in winter and cools in summer.

A single-zone system has one indoor unit on one outdoor unit and suits one room or one open space. A multi-zone system puts several indoor units on one outdoor unit, and each room gets its own temperature setting.

When does a mini-split make more sense than ducts?

  • The house has no ducts. Older homes heated by wall heaters, baseboards or radiators can get heating and cooling in one system.
  • An addition, a converted garage or a room over the garage that the existing system can't reach or can't keep up with.
  • One room that is always too hot or too cold, because the ducts to it are long, small or leaky.
  • A house where new ductwork won't fit, or where tearing into walls and ceilings isn't worth it.
  • Rooms that need different temperatures: a home office, a bedroom, a sunny living room.

If the rest of the house is happy on its ducts, one indoor unit in the problem room is often the simplest fix. If the whole house is the problem, we'll say so and look at the ducts or a full system instead.

Do ductless mini-splits qualify for heat pump rebates?

Yes, where a programme pays for a fully electric heat pump. Peninsula Clean Energy's terms for San Mateo homes say any fully electric heat pump HVAC system qualifies, ducted or ductless, single or multi-zoned. A mini-split is a heat pump, so rebates cover ductless systems too.

Every programme sets its own conditions, and the rules differ between utilities, so check the current terms before you buy. We can tell you what we know about yours.

Source: Peninsula Clean Energy, Home Upgrade Rebates Terms and Conditions (updated May 18, 2026), checked 2026-10-17

Got a room the ducts miss?

Call and tell us about it, or book a visit online.

What a mini-split installation involves

It's a smaller job than a ducted system, but the details decide how well it works and how quiet it is.

  1. We look at the rooms

    How big each room is, how much sun it takes, where the indoor unit can go on the wall or ceiling and where the outdoor unit can sit.

  2. We mount the units and run the lines

    A small hole through the wall, copper refrigerant lines, a condensate drain and power to the outdoor unit.

  3. We pressure-test and evacuate the lines

    The lines are checked for leaks and pulled down to a vacuum before the system is opened up.

  4. We start it up and show you the controls

    Heat and cool are both run and checked, and we walk you through the remote and the settings.

Tell us what it's doing. We'll take it from there.

Call and describe the problem: the noise, the smell, the room that never warms up. Or book a visit online.

A heat pump outdoor unit with its service panel off beside a San Mateo home

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