A/02 · Ducted refrigerated air conditioning · Melbourne
Ducted refrigerated air conditioning in Melbourne, concealed and zoned for the whole home.
Whole-home heating and cooling from one concealed air conditioner, supplied and installed across Melbourne, from the Mornington Peninsula through Bayside to the inner east and north-east. Zoned, quiet and finished to suit the house. Every job starts with a free in-home assessment.
Licensed installers
ARC L062149 · VBA 50861
Brands we install
Daikin · Mitsubishi Electric · Fujitsu · Panasonic
5-year warranty
On most premium units
Free in-home assessment
Sized to the room, not the catalogue
Project: Mount Eliza, 2025
Whole-of-home air conditioning install with AirTouch 5 zoning. Concealed indoor fan coil in the plant room, linear slot diffusers through the living spaces.
Ducted refrigerated, in short
One system, every room. Quiet, concealed, zoned.
- →Indoor fan coil · roof cavity or dedicated plant room
- →Outdoor condenser · positioned for airflow and acoustics
- →Wall controller · zoned app and touchscreen
What is ducted refrigerated air conditioning?
One indoor unit, one outdoor unit, every room of your home.
A ducted air conditioner delivers heating and cooling to every room through insulated ducts concealed in the ceiling cavity, with a discreet outlet in each space. One indoor fan coil and one outdoor condenser run the whole system, controlled from a wall touchscreen or your phone.
Against individual split systems, the advantage is consistency: every room at the temperature you set, with no wall-mounted heads in sight. Against evaporative cooling, the advantage is performance in any weather, with dehumidified air on a 40°C day. Every system we install is an inverter-driven reverse cycle heat pump, so one air conditioner cools in summer and heats in winter, ramping up and down to match demand and holding its heating output on the coldest Melbourne mornings.
Weighing options? See our split system air conditioning and ducted gas heating pages, or compare starting prices.
When ducted refrigerated is the right choice
The premium standard for whole-home climate control.
For larger homes, architect-led builds, and homes where every room needs to sit at the right temperature, this is the system we specify. Here is when it is the right fit.
01
New builds & major renovations
Mount Eliza, Brighton, Toorak and the north-east, where ducting can be planned into the build and zoning designed around how the home actually lives. Second-storey heat is the daily summer problem a zoned system finally solves.
02
Larger family homes
Multiple living spaces and bedrooms, each needing its own temperature, and open-plan volumes a single split cannot reach across.
03
Replacing old ducted heating
A modern system can often reuse existing duct runs, subject to inspection, so the home gets cooling for the first time without a full tear-out. Replacing gas ducted heating this way can also qualify for the Victorian rebate.
04
Architecturally led Peninsula builds
Peninsula homes where bulkheads, linear slot diffusers and concealed returns are part of the design brief from day one.
If you are not sure whether refrigerated, gas or evaporative is the right fit, that is what the free heating and cooling assessment is for. We specify around your home, not the other way round.
What it costs
What whole-home ducted cooling costs.
Whole-home ducted cooling starts from $6,990 for a small house, and most houses come in around $11,000. Adding refrigerated cooling to existing ducted heating starts from $4,900 where the ductwork is sound. These are indicative starting prices for whole-home heating and cooling, and the firm figure comes from the assessment.
What moves the number is the size of the home and how many zones it needs, whether existing ductwork can be reused, the ceiling space and roof access, and the electrical work involved. A two-storey home or a tight roof cavity is more work than a single-storey home with easy access.
Replacing gas ducted heating? Swapping an old gas ducted heater for an efficient reverse cycle ducted air conditioner is the upgrade the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program discounts most, because it saves the most energy. The discount is applied to the installation price by an accredited provider, and we confirm your eligibility at the assessment.
We look at the home, work out what suits it, and give you an itemised written quote you can understand. What we will not do is win the job with the cheapest box we can fit and leave you with a system that was wrong for the house. See all our starting prices →
Zone control
Zoning is what separates a premium system from a generic one.
A well-zoned air conditioner conditions only the rooms you are using, holds different spaces at different temperatures for the comfort of whoever is in them, and keeps power bills down instead of cooling the whole house when only the living room and main bedroom matter. For Melbourne homes that are part-occupied through the day, zoning is the difference between an efficient system and an expensive one.
We fit the controller that suits the system and the home: AirTouch 5 where room-by-room sensing and app control matter most, Daikin and Mitsubishi Electric controllers on their own units, MyAir where individual grille control is wanted. Zoning is where the comfort and the running cost of a heating and cooling system are decided, so it is specified at design stage, because adding it later is painful and often visible.
Brands we install
Ducted air conditioning brands we install in Melbourne.
We install premium whole-home systems from Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Fujitsu and Samsung, chosen to perform long-term and stay supported in Australia. The right unit depends on home size, ceiling cavity space, the zoning approach, acoustic priorities and how the system will be controlled.
JP · Australian-tuned ducted
Daikin
Premium ranges built for Australian conditions and broad zoning compatibility.
JP · AirTouch 5 pairing
Mitsubishi Electric
Often paired with AirTouch 5, the most flexible zoning approach for considered homes.
JP · Strong all-rounder
Mitsubishi Heavy
Excellent low-ambient heating, quiet indoor fan coils, well-supported across the range.
JP · Broad ducted range
Fujitsu
Dependable, well-priced, broad indoor-unit range across capacities and head styles.
JP · nanoe™ filtration
Panasonic
Excellent indoor air quality with nanoe filtration, a strong choice when bedrooms matter.
JP · Design-led
Samsung
For design-led builds where the indoor unit profile and controller aesthetics matter.
That is a specification call, not a sales pitch. Tell us how the home will be used, what the architecture allows and how it should be controlled, and we will specify accordingly.
How we install ducted refrigerated systems
What a professional ducted air conditioning installation includes.
A good unit installed poorly is still a poor system. Here is how a Smart Climate installation runs, by a team with years of experience, under ARC refrigerant licence L062149 and VBA registration 50861.
i.
Site visit & specification
We measure the home, look at how each space is used, assess ceiling space and access, and size the system to the heat load, not to win on price.
ii.
Duct design
Runs are planned for short, smooth pathways, because sharp bends and undersized branches are where noise and weak airflow come from.
iii.
Grille & outlet selection
Standard grilles, slimline grilles, linear slot diffusers or concealed bulkhead outlets, selected to suit the architecture.
iv.
Indoor fan coil placement
Roof cavity, garage ceiling or dedicated plant room, chosen for serviceability and acoustic isolation from bedrooms.
v.
Outdoor unit placement
Positioned for airflow, drainage, neighbour acoustics, and how it reads from gardens and outdoor living areas.
vi.
Clean handover
Site cleaned, controller and app paired, and you are walked through the system and the zoning logic, plus the one piece of maintenance that matters, cleaning the return air filter. We install and replace; we do not do repairs, servicing contracts or commercial work.
Recent work
Recent work.
Ducted systems and the ductwork behind them, installed by our own team across Melbourne. The quality is in the sheet metal and the return air path you do not usually see.
Reviews
What customers say.
Nine Google reviews so far, all five stars. Customers mention expert advice, installers who turn up on time, and a clean site afterwards. Call or email and we will be in touch.
★★★★★
“Excellent advice and the perfect system”
Kris has advised and installed split systems in two of our homes over the past few years. He offered excellent advice and the perfect system for our needs. Installed quickly and set us up ready to go. Highly recommend to anyone on the peninsula or beyond!
★★★★★
“The work was impeccable”
Smart Climate were a pleasure to deal with. Chris was courteous and professional. The work was impeccable and all the friendly guys cleaned up after themselves. Top quality service.
★★★★★
“On time and on budget”
Thanks for replacing the old split with a reverse cycle. The ceiling linear and bar grilles are a huge improvement. On time and on budget.
★★★★★
“From the quote through to completion, very happy”
Thank you. From the quote and advice through to completion, very happy. Appreciate the advice and timely manner. Happily recommend to others.
★★★★★
“Communication made it an easy process”
The communication from Kris made this such an easy process, thanks so much. Recommending to all my friends.
★★★★★
“Neatly done and cleaned up”
They did a great job, showed up on time. Everything was neatly done and they cleaned up afterwards.
Ducted refrigerated installation · Melbourne
From the Peninsula to the north-east.
We install ducted air conditioning across premium Melbourne suburbs, VIC. If you are not sure whether we cover your area, call or email and we will tell you. See our pages on air conditioning on the Mornington Peninsula, including ducted air conditioning in Mount Martha, and air conditioning in Bayside.
Mt Eliza · Mornington · Mt Martha · Portsea · Sorrento · Flinders
Brighton · Hampton · Sandringham · Beaumaris
Toorak · South Yarra · Armadale · Hawthorn · Kew · Malvern
North-East
Balwyn · Canterbury · Doncaster · Templestowe · Eaglemont
Ducted refrigerated FAQs
Questions we hear, answered honestly.
If your question is not here, call us on 1800 577 522, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm. We would rather have a five-minute conversation than send you a brochure.
How much does ducted refrigerated air conditioning cost in Melbourne?
Whole-home ducted refrigerated starts from $6,990 for a small house, most houses around $11,000, and add-on cooling to existing ducted heating from $4,900. Indicative starting prices; home size, zoning, ductwork reuse and roof access move the figure, and the firm number comes from the assessment.
How does ducted refrigerated compare to gas heating plus evaporative cooling?
Refrigerated is one heating and cooling system that, dehumidifies, and works in any weather. Gas plus evaporative is two systems with two sets of running costs, and evaporative struggles on humid days. For most premium homes, refrigerated is the cleaner answer.
Do I need smart zoning?
For most Melbourne homes over three bedrooms, yes. Zoning cuts running costs and keeps bedrooms cool overnight without cooling the rest of the house. The controllers run from a wall touchscreen and your phone.
Can you retrofit ducted refrigerated into an existing home?
Often, yes, provided there is ceiling space and roof access. Older homes in Toorak, Hawthorn and Kew sometimes need creative duct routing or bulkheads. We assess that at the site visit.
Can ducted refrigerated reuse my old ducted heating ductwork?
Sometimes. Existing ducts are inspected for size, insulation and condition. If they are sound and sized for cooling, reuse is possible. If not, replacement is the honest answer.
Can I replace my gas ducted heating with ducted reverse cycle?
Yes, and it is the most common ducted job we do. Sound ductwork can be reused, otherwise we replace it and say so before we quote. Replacing gas ducted heating with reverse cycle is the upgrade the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program discounts most, and we confirm your eligibility at the assessment.
How quiet is a modern ducted refrigerated system?
The indoor unit, properly located, is barely audible inside. The outdoor unit sits at 45 to 55 dBA at one metre on most premium models. Placement and acoustic treatment make the difference.
Will it handle Melbourne 40°C summer days?
A correctly sized system, yes. Undersizing is the usual reason systems struggle on hot days. We size against the actual heat load of the home, not the brochure.
How long does installation take?
New installations take two to four days depending on home size, ceiling access and zoning complexity. We give you an honest timeline with the quote.
What’s the warranty on a ducted refrigerated system?
Five years on most premium units, with extended manufacturer cover on selected ranges. Our installation work is covered separately.
Project: Brighton, 2025
Whole-of-home air conditioning install with full zoning across living, bedrooms and home office. Concealed bulkhead diffusers in the master suite.
Talk to Smart Climate
If you know what you want, we’ll quote it. If you’re working it out, we’ll help you get there.
Start whichever way suits you. Describe the system you want and we will quote it, or let us help you specify the right one for your home.
Or pick up the phone:☎ 1800 577 522