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Ducted or split is the first decision on almost every Sunshine Coast job. For a Queensland home, ducted suits larger, multi-room living with roof space, and split systems suit a few rooms or a tight budget. Delta Temp has installed more than 1,000 systems, and the right answer comes down to the house, not the brand.
Should I choose ducted or split system air conditioning for a Queensland home?
Choose ducted if you want to cool most of the house from one system with hidden outlets and zones. Choose split systems if you only need a few rooms covered, have no usable roof space, or want the lowest upfront cost. Many Queensland homes end up with ducted for living areas and a split somewhere else.
The deciding factors are floor area, how many rooms you actually use at once, the roof space and what you want the house to look like. A single split cools one room very well. Six splits cool six rooms, but you also get six wall units, six sets of pipes and six filters to look after.
Ducted runs one outdoor unit and one indoor unit in the roof, with ducting to a diffuser in each room. You see a neat round or square outlet in the ceiling and a wall controller, and that is it.
How does the cost of ducted compare with split systems?
A single split system costs far less than a ducted system, but ducted costs less per room once you cool most of the house. Ducted is priced by home size, number of zones, brand and roof access. Splits are priced by unit size and pipe run. We quote both fixed, after a site inspection.
Per room, a split is cheaper to start. Once you are cooling four or five rooms, the gap closes quickly, because several splits add up and ducted shares one outdoor unit across the whole house. Our current prices are on how much a ducted system costs.
Finance is available through humm, subject to approval by humm, if you would rather spread the cost.
Is ducted air conditioning better for a Sunshine Coast climate?
Ducted works well on the Sunshine Coast because it handles long, humid summers across the whole house and gives gentle winter heating. It is not automatically better. A well sized split in the room you use most is often the smarter buy, especially in units, townhouses and homes with a low or crowded roof space.
Both are reverse cycle, so both cool, heat and dry the air. The difference is how the air gets to you. Ducted delivers it through ceiling outlets, which is quiet in the rooms and even from room to room. A split blows from one wall unit, which is fast and direct.
Humidity matters here. A system that runs steadily at the right size dries the air better than one that is oversized and cycles on and off. That is why sizing matters more than the type you pick.
Can I zone a ducted system and what do splits do instead?
Yes. A ducted system can be split into zones, so you cool the living area by day and the bedrooms at night. Splits are zoned by nature, because each room has its own unit and its own remote. Ducted zoning needs a controller and motorised dampers in the ducting.
We fit AirTouch 5 zone control. It gives a wall touchscreen and phone control, and you can shut off rooms you are not using. Zoning also affects sizing, which we cover in what size ducted system a 4 bedroom home needs.
The catch with ducted zoning is that the system still has to cope when every zone is open. A good design allows for that rather than assuming only half the house is ever on.
What does your roof space need to allow ducted air conditioning?
Ducted needs enough clear roof space to hang the indoor unit and run insulated ducting to each room. Most tiled and sheet metal roofs on the Sunshine Coast can take it, but low pitched roofs, skillion ceilings and crowded trusses can rule it out. We check this on a free site inspection.
If the roof will not work, a split system or several splits is the sensible answer, and there is no shame in it. Delta Temp does both, so we have no reason to push ducted where it does not fit.
For a ducted quote we always do a free site inspection first, then give a fixed quote after it. You are not given a guess over the phone.
Why choose Delta Temp for ducted or split installation?
Delta Temp Climate Solutions is a Sunshine Coast installer with more than 1,000 systems installed, from Caboolture to Noosa. We are a Fujitsu Dealer and a Hisense Pro Dealer, our licensed team does the work with no subcontractors, and every installation carries a 10 year workmanship warranty.
We hold QBCC licence 15415739, ARCtick AU 59733 and electrical contractor licence 1505107. Manufacturer warranty is 5 years on Fujitsu and 7 years parts and labour on Hisense. More company facts are listed on our business facts page.
If you are weighing brands as well as system type, read Fujitsu vs Hisense on the Sunshine Coast. For the short version of this post, see ducted or split.
