Ducted air - advice wanted.

[GazFish35]

Not some crazy Russian spambot.

Just finished building, looking at quotes for ducted air installation.
Anyone know anything?

We've had quotes ranging from

$8K for 2 zones, 12kW cooling/13kW heating to
$12k for 4 zones, 14kW cooling/16kW heating

We like the 4 zones as there's at least 1 room we'd like to separate in its own zone as we don't use it much.

Is the extra $4K gonna be worth it over 15-20years?

[ToddG NBUnited]

Haven't had the chance to use it yet as we are still waiting for the ****ing land to be registered and then to build, but we ended up going with the 4 zone ducted aircon (2 zones were free) as we could have the master as one zone, home theatre as one, living areasas one, and then the other 3 bedrooms on one.

the 4 zones made more sense to us by not having to heat/cool half the house when we are only using 1/2 rooms

[GazFish35]

That's what we're thinking.

Though the 2 zone spilt could simply be all bedrooms on one, all living on the other and leave the study/4th bed off the system.

4 zones means we can do master, living, kids beds, study.

We basically want to workout how long it will take for the extra 4K to start paying for itself by saving money not controlling the temp of rooms not being used.

[hawk]

That's what we're thinking.

Though the 2 zone spilt could simply be all bedrooms on one, all living on the other and leave the study/4th bed off the system.

4 zones means we can do master, living, kids beds, study.

We basically want to workout how long it will take for the extra 4K to start paying for itself by saving money not controlling the temp of rooms not being used.

mate once you get it in it has to work well or youll have wasted all ya $.

Get the extra zones and if necessary take the next size up if you are not sure that the smaller one can cover the area. $ will mean jack in 3yrs.

[northern_swan]

I've got 5 zones (3 beds individually, media, living area). The more zones the better I reckon. My parents place only had 3 zones, which made for a heap of wasted air on imho.

[belchardo]

Surely the supplier could give you comparative costs based on your assumptions.

[GazFish35]

Surely the supplier could give you comparative costs based on your assumptions.

You'd think.
But competitive quotes and information provision so we can make an informed decision doesn't seem high on the priority of some service providers in regional nsw.

[The Dunster]

You'd think.
But competitive quotes and information provision so we can make an informed decision doesn't seem high on the priority of some service providers in regional nsw.

That's because domestic air-con like domestic refrigeration pays peanuts compared to what can be made via commercial / industrial installations.

The majority of the blokes doing domestic stuff are cowboys at best.

Family were in the business for around 50 years until they retired.

[Footyhead]

That's because domestic air-con like domestic refrigeration pays peanuts compared to what can be made via commercial / industrial installations.

The majority of the blokes doing domestic stuff are cowboys at best.

Family were in the business for around 50 years until they retired.

That's a bit rough. Some of the guys I deal with are quite good IMO. I work with both domestic and commercial

[The Dunster]

That's a bit rough. Some of the guys I deal with are quite good IMO. I work with both domestic and commercial

I agree, some of the guys are good. Unfortunately a lot of them out there are electricians who did journeyman's courses and are essentially clueless.

[GazFish35]

That's because domestic air-con like domestic refrigeration pays peanuts compared to what can be made via commercial / industrial installations.

The majority of the blokes doing domestic stuff are cowboys at best.

Family were in the business for around 50 years until they retired.

We've been "home" out of the big smoke of Sydney for 18months, and have found almost every trade we've dealt with to be absolutely fantastic, trustworthy and reliable (one plumber wasn't, but he got fired) as word of mouth is so important in our smaller population.

My only gripe is getting info from people prior to committing to a contract seems to take a long time..... And I put that down to a far far far slower pace of life and less competition for our business.

[Jeterpool]

We've got 4 zones too. One zone remains on always and the four zones gave us more flexibility.

Over the years it'll be worth it mate

[baldrick]

Another vote for 4 zones.

[Footyhead]

Go the 4 zones if you can afford it, it'll cost you more if you decide to add it later.
The AC system should be an inverter system, most domestic scale are these days, so it's energy efficient.
What brand you been quoted ? Daikin and Mitsubishi are the best.
I can vouch for Tozer Air Conditioning doing good job, as well as Air Extreme.
Heard Coolrite are good.
Make sure your outdoor unit is located somewhere that a hum does not disturb, ie not outside a bedroom window or in narrow space between colorbnd fence & house where sound can reverberate

[GazFish35]

Go the 4 zones if you can afford it, it'll cost you more if you decide to add it later.
The AC system should be an inverter system, most domestic scale are these days, so it's energy efficient.
What brand you been quoted ? Daikin and Mitsubishi are the best.
I can vouch for Tozer Air Conditioning doing good job, as well as Air Extreme.
Heard Coolrite are good.
Make sure your outdoor unit is located somewhere that a hum does not disturb, ie not outside a bedroom window or in narrow space between colorbnd fence & house where sound can reverberate

Cheers.

One quote we've had is for a daikin, the other an Aussie made "Actron" (not sure of spelling)

We've set our build up so we have a "utilities" courtyard between the garage, kitchen and study, all bedrooms are on the otherwise of the house, and courtyard has good clearance 3-4metres from the fence..... And the neighbouring block is empty.

We are leaning towards the 4 zones.

[The Dunster]

Cheers.

One quote we've had is for a daikin, the other an Aussie made "Actron" (not sure of spelling)

We've set our build up so we have a "utilities" courtyard between the garage, kitchen and study, all bedrooms are on the otherwise of the house, and courtyard has good clearance 3-4metres from the fence..... And the neighbouring block is empty.

We are leaning towards the 4 zones.

Daikin are the Rolls Royce of domestic brands. Whisper quiet and very reliable.

[Footyhead]

Daikin are the Rolls Royce of domestic brands. Whisper quiet and very reliable.

That's cos it's Japanese. Anything Japanese is good stuff, just like our Subaru and Corolla

[Jeterpool]

Daikin are the Rolls Royce of domestic brands. Whisper quiet and very reliable.

Got a Daikin too and we're very happy with it.

That's cos it's Japanese. Anything Japanese is good stuff, just like our Subaru and Corolla

Jeez are my multi or something?! I've got a Subaru and Corolla too!

[northern_swan]

Can also vouch for Tozer & Dakin. We were deciding between Dakin & Actron and from memory the noise and energy efficiency was better on Dakin.


On the tangent comment, we looked at split systems and found that the price difference was negligible and air coverage was not as effective on a split system.

[Jeterpool]

Can also vouch for Tozer & Dakin. We were deciding between Dakin & Actron and from memory the noise and energy efficiency was better on Dakin.
.

We found this too and was also a contributor to our decision