Hey all,
I'm new to ducted aircon, first time I've had it and we've recently built a house with it and not sure if it's normal behaviour or not but I have a few questions.
The aircon is zoned, but you can't seem to set the temperature per zone - just turn zones on and off? Is that normal?
When I have multiple zones on its noticeably less pressure than if I just have 1? Is that normal? Seems like it should be designed to deliver enough pressure to be affective anywhere it's on?
Yes, it's normal. I have 6 zones but the temperature & fan speed remains the same. Just can select to turn on/off specific zones. No issues or differences with pressure with turning on all 6 zones at the same time/changing fan speeds.
Normal.
Some model of ducted AC provide for individually controllable zone temperatures, I think its reasonable to say that most don't. ie/ Zone on or Zone off only, control is limited to manually adjusting physical baffles within the ducts to control the flow of air / temperature in each room, but not all ducting may have baffles allowing this adjustment. Some zones are also grouped, ie Daytime / Nightime selection only, meaning groups of zones are controlled together or perhaps not controlled at all (ie always on).
Some models of ducted AC monitor outgoing static air pressure, ie when less zones are on fans ramp down sensing not all capacity is needed, when more zones are on fans ramp up sensing more capacity is needed. Most systems don't do this, so as you suggest if you have the whole house on, there will be less pressure across all zones than if fewer zones are on.
Coming back to price, generally installers who are competing on price will quote up and present the lowest capacity unit to perform the job required in non extreme conditions, ie it may not cool or heat the entire home during times of extreme temperature, it will work well when some zones are OFF but not when all zones are ON. If you are experiencing poor performance its probably best to power the system on early understanding there more cool down or heat up time needed to bring the ambient temperature up or down to a level you find comfortable or run only the zones you are actively using when you get home, ie leave bedrooms OFF until living areas reach a reasonable temp, then bring on other zones.
Yes both normal, the ducts running to the different zones are blocked electronically depending on which zones you have on, so the pressure is higher if you have most zones off, and lower air pressure if they are all open.
Appreciate everyone's answers! Makes me feel better, we had it installed via the builder and when I asked them they weren't very helpful.
Seems like I have nothing to worry about.
Think of it as a car vent. Normally if you close off one vent, the other vents blow slightly more. There should also always be a one vent open aswell.
Also, increase the fan speed if you need more air.
The more expensive models can adjust temperature per zone.
Can confirm. I have ducted aircon at home and it sound normal to me.
Normal
You should be able to set the output per zone which can help in controlling the temperature in that space.
It is normal