Is your property always cold? Melbourne’s weather is highly unpredictable, and you might feel the brisk winter air when you least expect it. Thankfully, there are many great heating and cooling options on the market. Without a doubt, two of the best are ducted heating and hydronic heating.

If you’re considering either option, this article will be a good resource for you to decide on whether ducted heating or hydronic heating is right for you.

How Does Hydronic Heating Work?

A hydronic heating system uses heated water and radiant heat to warm up your property and circulating this through insulated pipes. Depending on where you have them installed, the hot water ends up on your towel rails, radiator panels, or underfloor heating. You’ll feel this heat radiate throughout the home.

An electric/gas boiler or heat pump warms up the water, which then travels through a sealed network of piping to your hydronic heating products. There are two things that happen:

• Convection occurs when cold air enters the grilles and warm air comes out of the trenches or grilles.
• Radiant heat, when warmth is radiated and absorbed into objects such as the walls, provides consistent heating.

What are the different parts of a hydronic heating system?

• A boiler that heats up the water
• A pump that pushes the water into your home
• PVC or copper piping to carry water into your hydronic products
• Hydronic heating products of choice, from towel rails to underfloor systems
• A thermostat that can be programmed and controlled

What are the advantages of hydronic heating?

Hydronic heating does not make your skin feel dry, and it is completely healthy to use in the home. Since no air is blown around, allergies, asthma, dry skin, rashes, headaches, etc, you won’t need to worry about issues sometimes triggered by traditional gas ducted heating.

It produces fewer greenhouse gases, so hydronic heating is eco-friendly and helps you reduce your carbon footprint.

It is very quiet, apart from the buzz of a boiler firing or a water heater.

Perfect for a new construction. Hydronic systems can be installed without complicated ductwork, vents or registers.

With lower greenhouse gas emissions, it uses a lot less energy! With less energy wasted, there’s a lot more savings for you.

Why might hydronic heating not be ideal for you?

• It takes longer to heat up as it needs to travel through the whole system. Your rooms won’t warm up as fast as you want them to.
• Hydronic heating isn’t ideal for setting the heat back at night. Since the system takes a while to heat, they work better when set at a consistent temperature.
• Baseboard convectors require extra space, as they can interfere with furniture arrangement.
• Expansion tanks need to be drained occasionally to operate properly.
• Piping is difficult to access if you need to repair a hydronic heater. The bones of the system are concealed underfoot or in the walls.
• Operating costs are lower; however, there are higher installation costs for materials and labour.
• There is no ductwork for air conditioning. A separate air conditioning system would be needed.
• Water can potentially freeze during a power outage and damage components.
• Pump placement and tubing layout can make or break a hydronic heating system, so careful planning is necessary.
• There’s a lack of ventilation since the air doesn’t circulate. The air can become stagnant!
• Since hydronic systems can’t be installed over existing flooring, they are better suited for brand-new constructions.

How Does Ducted Heating Work?

Also called central heating, a ducted heating system takes in cold air, heats it, then dispels it into different rooms within your house, and fans push it through your insulated ducts. The air then circulates back to the return air grille, so the process repeats. In simple terms, it works by passing cold air over a heat exchanger where the air is warmed through the combustion of gas. The thermostat monitors the temperature of rooms and functions as a sensor, and when the temperature drops below the desired level, it signals the heater to warm the air.

Components include a core central heating unit, a thermostat for temperature control, grilles, vents that take air to the heater, and the ducts that transport heat effectively where you need it. Generally, one unit is installed indoors and another outside. Ducted heating does not function without these components.

What makes ducted heating different? A single heating unit can heat your entire property and is installed either outside the house or in your roof space, connecting to different rooms with a network of ducts. These ducts (or outlets) are located on the floors or the ceiling of rooms to be heated.

With smart zoning features, ducted heating gives you the flexibility to heat specific rooms or set different temperatures, and ducted electric reverse cycle heating and cooling is an energy-efficient way to heat.

What are the benefits of ducted heating?

• Heating is consistent and reliable, no matter the weather forecast. You can enjoy clean, heated air in each room without any cold spots! You’ll stay warm in autumn and winter without wasting money or hiking up energy bills.
• Do you want your entire house heated? Experience better control with zoning. If a family member isn’t using their room on certain days of the week, divide your home up into areas you want heated throughout the day. You can also control the temperature of these rooms, which is a level of control and customisation you won’t get with a split system.
• Cost-effective style of heating makes it stand out, in particular for electric ducted heating and cooling (reverse cycle). The Victorian Government offers discounts and rebates through their Victorian Energy Upgrades program for homes and businesses with energy-efficient products and services. The program aims to save 28 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to taking more than 8.5 million cars off the road for a year.
• Clean and quiet operation. In comparison to old wood fires that would produce smoke and ash, all products of gas combustion are safely removed from the home with a flue system. Your indoor air quality will be healthy, and it won’t irritate your eyes or skin!
• Low maintenance and lasts a long time. You will not need to replace a ducted heating system, you only need it serviced every few years to make sure it works properly.
• They are suitable to retrofit for almost any building (unlike hydronic heating) including new and existing builds. Ducted heating is perfect if you want to upgrade your home’s existing heating and cooling system. You can also add or remove the ducts as needed and customise it to suit you.

Why might you not invest in ducted heating for your property?

Gas ducted heating (unless it’s a reverse cycle) does not have a cooling feature, so you will need to invest in add-on cooling.

The installation process is a bit more challenging than, say, a split system, which is mounted to a wall in your home. Ducted heating isn’t always suitable for all properties, as some (such as older homes) might have space limitations that make installation difficult.

Higher running costs for older units. If you have an older gas system with a lower star rating, it will have more expensive running costs. For example, a 6-star ducted system heats the same area for roughly $700 less than a 3-star system, according to Sustainability Victoria. Lower running costs with responsible temperature control.

Annual energy costs of central heating 2024 graph

Energy Safe Victoria recommends that homeowners should set temperature between 18 – 20 degrees. For every 1 degree increase, your energy bill will increase by 10%.

Which Heating System is Right for You?

If you want your entire house (or most of it) to be the same temperature all day, it’s a good idea to go for ducted heating. Ducted is excellent at lowering temperatures and keeping upstairs warm or cool, and you can turn off unused rooms too. For example, each room can have its own zone with fully ducted air, and you could pick 9 zones.

As for hydronic heating, it can look more appealing aesthetically, but is a big project to install and has the potential to leak if the installation isn’t done correctly. It is also significantly more expensive and depends on the size of your home, the products you use, whether you want underfloor heating, or if you are working with a new build, extension or retrofit. That said, hydronic heating does not require ducts to distribute heat, so there is no risk of airborne contaminants or dust being circulated.

Alternatively, split systems are better if you don’t use your whole home every day, and there is zero wasted energy when cooling or heating a part of your property you aren’t in. However, you will need to install a split system in each room you want to heat.

Let’s take a closer look at a Daikin ducted heating system, the Inverter Ducted model.

• Good energy efficiency achieved through the use of a DC Fan motor, cross-pass heat exchanger and increased outdoor coil passes
• Night Quiet Mode, which cuts outdoor noise levels during sleeping hours and resumes normal operations in the morning.
• Compact indoor unit and a low profile height of under 360mm to fit into a tight roof space of a modern home.
• R22 retrofit capability, which is a cost-effective, convenient upgrade from an existing R22 ducted system.
• Space-saving outdoor unit that allows for flexible placement.
• Complete Aussie-made.

Need Ducted Heating or Hydronic Heating in Melbourne? Call Us Now

Whether you have a new home built in the works, own an office building, or want to install either ducted heating or hydronic heating in Melbourne, Maroondah Air is the team to call. Our technicians are experienced, licensed, and insured technicians who know exactly what to do.

And if you’re stuck on what heating and cooling system is best, we can help you make an informed choice. If you need sales and installation, warranty repairs, or service, repair and maintenance support, feel free to give us a call.