Zoned Air Conditioning saves you money on your electricity bill and is better for the environment.

Are you installing ducted air conditioning? Is it zoned?

In this article, we’re putting forward the case that if you want a whole-home heating or cooling solution, you should be choosing Zoned Ducted Air Conditioning.

Ducted Air Conditioning is the ultimate home comfort solution for both cooling and heating your home. But, if you don’t choose zoned air conditioning, you’ll soon know the frustration of deciding whether to turn on the whole system even though you only want to use one room. This decision is often followed by a feeling of guilt because you’ve seen your electricity bill and you know how wasteful it is.

Central Air is great, but it needs to be zoned.

In a typical Australian home, expect 40% of your energy consumption to come from heating and cooling. That’s a massive chunk of your electricity bill, and it’s why we’re all trying to find ways to reduce our electricity consumption and buy more efficient appliances.

So what are you options?

When it comes to heating and cooling you have two options:

• Space heating/cooling
• Central heating/cooling

Space heating/cooling

Space heating is cooling for one space, i.e. a single room. The most efficient method, according to yourenergysavings.gov.au, is reverse-cycle air conditioning. This is because it uses heat pumps to extract the hot or cold air from your home, compared to an electric heater which uses huge amounts of energy to produce direct heat. The difference in consumption is clear, with heat pump systems producing up to 3 times less greenhouse gases.

Central heating/cooling

Standard central air conditioning could cost you more than space heating if you’re forced to use it in every room. However, yourhome.gov.au reports that while “central heating usually uses more energy” if you think about the whole home, “an energy efficient house with central heating may use less energy than an inefficient house with space heating”.

Introducing zoned air conditioning

A Ducted air conditioning system pumps cool or warm air through ducts in the ceiling, walls, and sometimes even the floor. When compared to split-system air conditioning, it becomes more efficient because you only need one outdoor condenser and a control unit inside to power the whole home.

When you add zones to your system, you can now discreetly control the air conditioning in individual rooms in your home. Current systems, like the MyAir 5, come with up to 10 zones. This increases the comfort level dramatically, while also saving your electricity bill.

With zoned air conditioning you can:

• Climate control the bedroom temperature at night.
• Cool both the lounge room and the dining room when guests are round.
• Set timers to start heating before you wake up in the morning.
• Use sensors to automatically adjust the temperature when you enter or leave the room.

The effect of zoned air conditioning on your bill

When you have full control of your heating and cooling, right down to which rooms and when, you’re going to save on electricity bills. The average price of electricity has been increasing, and looks like it will continue to do so. The ability to have complete comfort in your home, while still being efficient and selective of the use of electricity, puts the power in your hands.

The effect of zoned air conditioning on the environment

Using less energy is also great for the environment. We mentioned earlier that heat pump air conditioning (such as ducted air conditioning) produces 3 times less greenhouse gases than standard electric heaters. That is a drastic reduction, but it’s all for nothing if you’re needlessly cooling an entire home when you don’t need to.

Beyond that, the smartest products on the market, comes with apps for you to control your air conditioning, including remote access. This means that if you’ve ever left your air conditioning on when you’ve gone to work, for example, you can remotely switch it off – saving both the environment and your back pocket.

So, when choosing ducted air conditioning, we think the choice is clear. Many brands will have the option of upgrading to a zoned option, or choose our favourite, the Advantage Air MyAir5. It works with major brands such as Samsung, Daikin, Fujitsu, LG, Panasonic, and Toshiba and uses a simple, touch screen control panel or app.

If you’re looking to installed ducted air conditioning in your new home in Brisbane, get in touch with Star Air Conditioning today. If you’re a builder, be sure to check out our client feedback here.