Residential Ducted Air Conditioning Buyers Guide:

 

Ducted air conditioning is a big investment for you and your home. Therefore it is important to make informed decisions to get a great system to suit your budget and requirements. For the sake of this article I am going to break the main considerations down into 3 sections; The Installer, The Unit (Brand and capacity), and the Zone Control System:

 

The Installer:

 

This is arguably the most important decision of the lot.  It is important for a qualified person to inspect your home to tailor a quote to your home and your specific needs.

 

Different room sizes, different room uses, and different locations will have different cooling or heating requirements and capacities, with different amounts and/or sizes of supply outlets.  Different roof spaces may also have different challenges, restrictions, or installation limitations, so it's important that someone qualified visits your home, and gets in the roof space.  That way they can discuss exact locations of return grills, unit positions, etc., and therefore, there should be no unexpected changes or additional costs come installation day.

 

When you have someone out to quote, this is the important time to ASK QUESTIONS… the more questions the better... Who will be installing you system? Are your installers CERT 2 or 3 Qualified? What unit would you recommend and why? What zone control systems do you offer and why? We like it super cold in our master bedroom, do we need a larger outlet in that room? Will there be any constantly open outlets, or spill zones, or will there be a bypass zone (even if you don’t understand this question, ask the representative to explain Constant, Spill and Bypass Zones, and discuss what they would recommend for your needs)? All these questions should give you a better idea of what that particular company will offer you in terms of product and service.

 

In my experience as a technician, servicing hundreds if not thousands of ducted systems over the years, I have seen a vast array of different installations with a varying quality of workmanship. I have seen some very poor workmanship, and in most cases the customer is completely unaware of this, as it is out of sight in the roof space. Supply plenum boxes not sealed or poorly secured duct connections are prime examples of this, resulting in conditioned air leaking into the roof space.  This will reduce system performance, and could cost a small fortune in extra energy usage over time. Quality of the installation is key to ensure optimal performance, longevity and efficiency. With this in mind the cheapest quote now, is not necessarily the cheapest over time!

 

As a small business owner, I personally ensure the installation quality of a Coolrite installation. With our workmanship warranty, and a yearly service visit from Coolrite, you have ongoing piece of mind that your air conditioning continues to run spot on year after year, effectively and efficiently!

 

Brand/Model of Unit:

 

My advice is to stick with a well known reputable brand of unit that you trust. Most manufacturers offer a 5 year parts and labour warranty, it is important to factor in the potential availability of parts and therefore the serviceability of your air conditioning system past the 5 year warranty period, and therefore I would advise to stick with a well known brand for this reason. At Coolrite we can supply and install all the major brands of unit. We can advise and recommend a brand based on your requirements.

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Capacity - when comparing quotes look at the capacity of the units also. If one installer is quoting a 16kW capacity Samsung unit, and another is quoting for a 12kW capacity Daikin, don’t just choose based on your preferred installer or brand, as capacity is a very important consideration and should not be overlooked.  Talk to the installers and confirm with them how the capacity requirement have been determined with regards to zoning. It is surprisingly common for me to come across homes where the unit is undersized. Often an installer may size a unit for ‘Day/Night’ zoning to justify a reduced capacity unit (and therefore a lower price), however in reality a customer may require some ‘night’ rooms running during the day, resulting in poor performance, where a comfortable temperature cannot be achieved for the customer.  In this case the inverter compressor will always be running flat out, which is not as efficient either. As a rule of thumb, a compressor will be most efficiently at slower speeds, and therefore a correctly sized higher capacity unit could in fact use less electricity than an undersized lower capacity unit. On the other hand if a system is oversized then it could mean your system ‘short cycles’ leading to the compressor cutting in an out more often. Given that most new units have inverter compressors these days, this is generally much less of an issue and therefore it is better to slightly oversize the capacity than undersize it!

 

Zones and Zone Control:

 

In recent years there has been a shift towards more sophisticated zone control systems, some offering Wifi control, some offering independent temperature controllable zones. At Coolrite we usually select one of 3 zone controller options depending on the customers needs as follows:

 

Zone Touch 3: As a base zone controller, we offer a zone touch 3 controller in addition to Your A/C units wall controller. Above and beyond a standard switch open/closed zone controller, this small touch screen controller allows you to control airflow to each zone in % increments.  This zone touch system allows you to increase airflow to rooms where you desire more cooling/heating, and reduce airflow to other areas. The unit wall controller is used to control the air conditioning, so the zone touch screen controller is installed in addition, and is usually installed adjacent to the unit controller.

 

Air Touch 2 +: This mid range control solution enables control of the unit as well as the zones in % increments from one large 7” touch screen. This controller can also connect to your home wifi and enables control of the unit and zones from a mobile device installed with the air touch 2+ app.

 

Air Touch 5: This top end 8” touch screen controller has all the features of air touch 2+ but also enables the addition of ITC sensors, enabling you to set different set points for each zone with a sensor. The ITC sensors are wireless that are fixed to the wall in the room), the sensors look a bit like a light switch and they also have a button allowing you to turn the zone on or off locally. Each zone with a sensor in the room will regulate the airflow to maintain the set point for that individual room. The unit automatically selects the most appropriate sensor as the control sensor for the unit, and when all zones achieve set point then it will cut out the compressor. All other zones without sensors are controlled with a % airflow setting as with the air touch 2+.

 

 

A bit about me:

My name is Simon Tyrrell and I established Coolrite, in 2017.  I have worked full time in the industry for over 20 years now. I initially completed an apprenticeship and then worked in the UK as a service technician for a company called Constant Cooling LTD. For Constant cooling LTD, I predominantly serviced and repaired Air Conditioning units for large commercial buildings. I then moved with my family to the Gold Coast in 2015. Upon arriving on the Gold Coast I secured a job as a refrigeration mechanic at ALB services Pty Ltd, installing, repairing and servicing Air Conditioning systems as well as commercial refrigeration systems, before going onto establish my business Coolrite in 2017.

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I have a passion for providing top quality personalised service to my customers at a competitive price point. Please feel free to give me a call, or send an email if you would like any Air Conditioning advice or a quote. My mobile number is: 0499036910. My e-mail is: s.tyrrell@cool-rite.com.au