Bartlett houses on their second system
The typical Bartlett house was built in 1992, according to the Census Bureau. Many replaced their first system in the late 2000s, and that second system is now reaching the end.
Bluffline Memphis Heat Pumps installs heat pumps across Bartlett, from Ellendale to the Stage Road corridor. The equipment is only half the job here; the ducts are the other half.
What a second replacement finds
- Original ducts now 30 years old, under the floor or in the attic.
- One central return that was tight for the first system and tighter for a modern one.
- A gas furnace in good shape beside an AC that isn’t.
The ducts come first
A heat pump moves about 400 cubic feet of air per minute for each ton.
In a 1990s Bartlett ranch, the trunk tape has often failed, crawlspace insulation has torn and the single return is too small. A new heat pump on those ducts runs loud and short of air.
What we measure
On the first visit we take a static pressure reading. Most residential blowers are built for about 0.5 inches of water column; readings near 0.9 are common in houses with one small return. You see the number before and after any duct work.
What the fix usually is
- A second return, often in the hall ceiling or a back bedroom.
- Mastic on the trunk seams in place of dried-out tape.
- New insulation to at least R-8 where it is torn or wet.
Heat pump ductwork and crawl space ductwork cover the details.
Gas or electric in Bartlett
About 57 percent of Bartlett homes heat with MLGW gas and about 42 percent with electricity. The house you have sets the job.
- Gas with a sound furnace: dual fuel, with a heat pump where the AC was.
- Strip heat: a heat pump with smaller backup strips, which cuts the winter bill most.
- An older heat pump: a straight heat pump replacement, sized from the house.
Sizing from the house, not the nameplate
A Bartlett house that has gained new windows or attic insulation since 1992 often needs less capacity than its old unit. We run a load calculation for Shelby County’s 95-degree summer and 20-degree winter.
Why smaller can be better
A unit that is too big for the house is also too big for its ducts. Getting the size right often relieves a tight return and leaves the house drier. The sizing guide explains the method.
Permits through Bartlett
Bartlett runs its own Code Enforcement Department and has adopted a mechanical code, so heat pump permits and inspections go through the city, not the joint Memphis and Shelby County office.
We pull the permit and schedule the inspection. The install day comes after the permit is issued, and the inspection happens once the new system is running, with the equipment, the wiring and the drain all in place to be seen.
What it costs in Bartlett
For a replacement with a duct fix, the system and the ducts are separate lines on the estimate. Bluffline’s typical ranges:
| Bartlett job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Replace both halves, ducts reused | $8,000 to $16,000 |
| Second return, sealed and rewrapped trunk | $800 to $3,500 |
| Heat pump added to the furnace you have | $5,000 to $10,000 |
| New outdoor unit on a newer air handler | $4,500 to $9,000 |
Your written estimate after the visit sets the price. The cost guide explains what moves it.
Rebates on MLGW
Because Bartlett buys its power from MLGW, a TVA distributor, two EnergyRight payments can apply to one Bartlett job: one for the heat pump itself ($500 at 15 SEER2, $800 at 17) and $300 for duct sealing and insulation. Both need a participating contractor in TVA’s Quality Contractor Network. The TVA rebate guide has the details.
Older Bartlett near the railroad
Bartlett grew out from the old town along the railroad and Stage Road, and the streets near the original center include houses from the 1960s and 1970s, older than the city’s median. Those houses add a few concerns of their own.
What older houses add
- Electric furnaces from the era when many houses here were built all-electric.
- Smaller electrical services, which limit how large the backup strips can be.
- Ducts that were extended as rooms and dens were added over the years.
The electric furnace to heat pump page covers strip-heat swaps, and the panel guide explains when the service needs work.
The outdoor unit on a Bartlett lot
Bartlett lots are wider than many in Memphis, so placement is easier. The unit usually stays where the old one sat, on a raised pad so defrost water drains away, with the maker’s clearances on all sides.
When to move it
We suggest moving the pad when the old spot is under a bedroom window, beside a dryer vent that coats the coil with lint, or in a low corner that floods in a heavy rain. A few feet of extra line set is a small cost next to a unit that sits in water. Placement and noise covers the details.
Two-story houses in Bartlett
Newer Bartlett neighborhoods north of Stage Road include two-story houses on one system, where upstairs runs warm and damp in summer.
What helps
A second return upstairs, sealed attic ducts and a variable speed heat pump that runs long and slow. A bigger unit rarely does.
Ready for the visit
The visit goes faster with:
- Photos of both nameplates.
- The crawlspace or attic access, cleared if you can.
- Rooms that run warm or cold.
- Twelve months of MLGW usage.
Nearby
We work across Bartlett, from Ellendale and Kirby Whitten Road to Appling Road and Old Brownsville Road.
Germantown to the south uses the joint county permit office and has older, gas-heated houses. Lakeland and Arlington to the east have newer homes, and Millington to the north is mostly strip heat. The Memphis heat pump buying guide covers the whole decision.
