Ducted Air Conditioning Cecil Hills

Local knowledge

Ducted in Cecil Hills homes

Ducted in Cecil Hills is a big-house design job. The 1990s two-storey brick homes have a moderate upper-floor cavity under a concrete tiled roof, so a properly sized fan coil goes in with a planned duct layout rather than a rushed one, and where an original system exists we normally strip out the tired ductwork and re-run insulated duct to the existing grille positions, which keeps the ceilings tidy. Zoning follows the house: upstairs bedrooms, the master on its own, open-plan living and kitchen, and the theatre or rumpus as a separate zone, so four zones is the norm and five is common. The single-storey homes on the cul-de-sacs are simpler, with a standard fan coil and a living and bedroom split.

The climate driver is the west-facing ridge. Afternoon sun hits the western walls and upstairs glass with no sea breeze and nothing to shade it until the sun drops behind the Parklands, so we size for that load and place the condenser on the southern or eastern side of the house, never on the western wall where the original installers often left it, because a condenser drawing 45°C air off hot brick loses capacity exactly when you need it. On the lake streets the air is calmer but more humid on still evenings, and the system runs longer at lower output there. Leaf litter from the Parklands edge means keeping the condenser clear and coils rinsed at the annual service. Running cost is roughly $1–$2 per hour whole-home, and with four zones most families here run one or two at a time.